CJI London 2026: Taking Mike Tyson’s advice
Getting to grips with jet sales. (L to R): Alastair Whyte from CJI, Pascal Bachmann, Jetcraft, Memo Montemayor, EMCJET, James Horner, Aero Ventures and Mark Butler, Action Aviation.
“Everybody’s got a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” Boxing legend Mike Tyson is an unlikely source of wisdom for business aviation. But his advice, highlighted by David Hernandez, chair at law firm Vedder in the second session of our CJI London 2026 conference, set the framework for the three days of discussion that followed.
The need for a new plan and the flexibility to modify existing ones were recurrent themes. Whether dealing with supply chain challenges, the shifting landscape of US tariffs or red tape – in Europe at least – adaptability remains key to finding a path through adversity to opportunity.
Talk of opportunity was everywhere. In particularly buoyant mood was Stephen Friedrich, chief commercial officer, Embraer Executive Jets. Supported by a backlog of $7.6bn in orders, Friedrich said: “We don’t have a sales issue as an industry, we have a production issue.” Over the past two years Embraer had achieved a compound average growth rate of 12.5%, which “is probably leading in the industry”.
Underpinning that growth is a new approach to supply chain management. “The days of beating up on the supply chain are long gone,” said Friedrich. “It is now telling the story to the supply chain so that they have confidence to continue to invest and increase capacity.” As part of that process, Embraer has embedded about 600 engineers at “all levels of the supply chain”.
‘Golden age of aviation’
At last year’s conference Friedrich said the industry was enjoying “a golden age of aviation”. One year on: “It’s even more true today than it was then. Business aviation has become a piece of essential infrastructure to the global economy. Business aviation is a utility too, not a luxury good.”
Another leading manufacturing executive with a spring in his step was Duncan Van De Velde, vice president of European Sales, Textron Aviation. Partly responsible for that bounce is Textron’s sale of 171 jet aircraft and nearly 150 turboprops in 2025 adding up to what Van De Velde described as “a solid year, a good year”.
Helping to drive Textron’s sales are its commitment to innovation guided by the Cessna Customer Advisory Board. “Every model is a better version of the previous one – that’s something we are very proud of,” he said. “Innovation is very key for us and we see it in all aspects in what we do.”
Examples of innovation inspired by its customer board include on the Cessna Citation CJ3 Gen2 cockpit Garmin Autothrottle Technology to cut pilot workload and boost safety plus an improved avionics suite in the form of the Garmin G3000. Another innovation on aircraft like the Cessna Citation Ascent suggested by customers is the flat floor design. The new redesigned cabin floor is level throughout the main passenger area rather than having a dropped centre aisle or trenched floor common in many midsize business jets.
A world of opportunity was identified by Eric Jullien, deputy vice president commercial at Airbus Corporate Jets. “There is not really a continent that is sleeping,” he told delegates. Two markets of particular interest were the Middle East and the US. Jullien wanted to contradict the misconception that very large aircraft, like the ACJ TwoTwenty, are more complex and expensive to run than smaller ultra-long-range business jet competitors.
Low-profile AI
Staying with sales, Pascal Bachman, senior vice president, Jetcraft noted that the buzzword 10 years ago was ‘Global’ but now it’s ‘AI’. Deployed to collect data on the business jet market, AI is becoming ever more important – albeit in a low-profile way for the broker, which completed 148 transactions last year. “We are doing artificial intelligence but keeping it in the background,” he said. “The interface between the AI is our sales team.”
Mark Butler, CEO, Action Aviation highlighted the difference between a professional aircraft brokerage and “a Gmail broker”. Amid intensifying competition for aircraft sales, a professional broker had a responsibility to “qualify the client”, he said. “We tell them what they need to know to advise them on the best solution for their needs. Until you do that, you can’t be a true professional.”
Standing out from the bedroom and Gmail brokers depended on “a credible team and a credible platform”, said Memo Montemayor, founder and CEO, EMCJET. To achieve that the company launched its EMCJET Atlas platform, which offers real-time market insights, pricing and liquidity analysis based on completed transactions.
Despite the advent of new technology transacting aircraft will continue to depend on personal relationships and trust, speakers agreed. “Buying and selling an airplane is intimate relationship, clients are trusting you with their money and their lives onboard,” said Montemayor.
‘Data becomes intelligent’
Staying with tech innovation, Per Marthinsson, co-founder and chief revenue officer, Avinode Group said that while charter has been digitised in recent years, the sector has not seen the digitalisation it should have done to create new digital tools to advance business. That would happen over the next five years, he predicted. “What charter salespeople need is actionable data,” said Marthinsson. “When all the right data flows across the platform, data becomes intelligent.”
While AI would play a larger role in the charter industry and elsewhere, it would never replace human interaction entirely. “We’re not here to replace relationships, but we believe technology can make that relationship stronger and can remove friction,” said Marthinsson.
New technology and AI are playing an increasingly role in predictive engine maintenance, said Lindsey Gillen, vice president, Sales & Marketing – Business Aviation at Rolls-Royce. For example, advanced engine health management systems on the Pearl engine range now investigate 10,000 parameters compared with just five a few years ago. “We are doing continuous data. The goal is to be able to predict what components could cause an AOG [aircraft on ground event],” she said.
‘Now it’s every Tuesday’
George Tsopeis, Customer Engagement – Connected Aircraft, Bombardier described the importance of sharing data in real time as “absolutely critical”. This enables the manufacturer to move critical parts and engineers around the world to remedy problems such as a hard landing or discount fears of one. “The first time we did this, we celebrated. Now it is every Tuesday – it has become part of the job,” said Tsopeis.
Innovation is enabling business, but bureaucracy is hamstringing it, warned Olivier Perdriel, founder and CEO of charter specialist Skyfirst. “We are picking up 300 extra pages of regulations every year [in Europe],” he said. “People who make the rules don’t bring simplicity; they are piling on complexity.” The rising tide of regulations coupled with ever increasing costs are further eroding thin margins, he said. Perdriel argued for a simpler unified approach to regulations within Europe to enable the sector to support business growth in Europe.
Joining the conference after a momentous year for Flexjet was its CEO Andrew Collins. Last year the company closed one of the largest funding rounds in business aviation – an $800m strategic equity financing deal led by L Catterton backed by luxury group LVMH. While admitting some frustration in sourcing aircraft, Flexjet’s division charged with acquisitions and dispositions is making the best of a challenging market.
‘Sourcing metal’
“Last year we did a wonderful order with Embraer for 180 aircraft – a $7m commitment, which was the largest that they or we have ever done. So, this is not our first rodeo when it comes to sourcing metal,” said Collins.
Plus, there’s no sign of demand for new aircraft slowing with some sources suggesting US business aviation growth could reach 5-6% this year. “Theoretically, good times are still ahead but we all know a depression can pop up out of nowhere,” said Simon Davies, vice president, Sales UK, Middle East and India, Global Jet Capital.
“The big unknown now is tariffs. We’ve seen bifurcation in the market; US buyers are hesitant to buy foreign-based aircraft,” said Davies. “There could suddenly be a 50% tariff on the day its imported. That means planes located outside the US have become less desirable but on the other side foreign markets are loving that.”
A more combative approach to answering aviation’s critics came from Aoife O’Sullivan, partner with Keystone Law. While not recommending recourse to boxing gloves, O’Sullivan said: “The whole approach to business aviation needs a reset. We advise some of the strongest, biggest businesses in the planet on the acquisition of a tool that’s going to help them generate more business and get to the areas of work that they need to go.”
But small numbers of vocal protesters garner disproportionate attention. The industry’s response should be to find a more unified voice and a greater willingness to engage with policymakers, the public and critics, agreed O’Sullivan, Roman Kok from the European Business Aviation Association and others.
While O’Sullivan did not quote Mike Tyson directly, she would probably draw comfort from his advice: “As long as we persevere and endure, we can get anything we want.”
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