Janine Iannarelli describes herself as being “a bit of an enigma” when she broke into the business aviation industry decades ago.
That is because Iannarelli was an outsider who got a foot into the door of a sector that is both male-dominated and otherwise tough to enter for anyone not connected.
These days she is the farthest person from the outside.
A staunch industry advocate, Iannarelli made a name for herself in aircraft dealership circles before launching Houston-based business aircraft brokerage firm Par Avion in 1997. Since then, she has helped clients globally buy and sell jets, facilitating transactions that can see $70 million change hands and proving that the aviation industry is not an impenetrable fortress to those without connections.
Iannarelli got her start partly through a chance job advertisement. But she attributes her success to much more, citing character traits instilled by her navy-veteran parents, support from several business mentors, and years of experience learning the intricacies of buying and selling business jets.
“The doors didn’t necessarily open to strangers or people from outside the industry,” Iannarelli says. “Because I was racking up accomplishments, people began to take notice.”
Par Avion represents and advises aircraft buyers and sellers, helping negotiate deals and walking clients through the process. Iannarelli stresses the importance of strong customer relationships and of ethical business practices. She has navigated the company through good and bad times, including the recent pandemic-era boom and the ongoing post-Covid downturn.
STAYING POWER
“All the brokers have lean years at one time or another, but if they’re still standing after 20, that says something,” she says.
A New Jersey native, Iannarelli has long been competitive and driven, qualities she attributes partly to her parents, who stressed discipline, organisation and the value of education and arts.
“[I] had leadership roles demonstrated by both parents,” she says. “The independence and the competitive nature that was nurtured in me is probably what rises to the top, in helping me navigate a very challenging industry.”
In school, Iannarelli played competitive sports like tennis and softball, and has long been involved in equestrianism. She attended Montclair State University in New Jersey and initially pursued an advertising career in nearby New York City, attracted by the prospect of closing big deals and formulating advertising plans.
But during her senior university year, Iannarelli came across an advertisement in the university’s career centre for a part-time job at business aviation research company AMSTAT.
She took the job, and in 1983, after graduating with a bachelor’s degree in business administration, went full-time with AMSTAT.
“I spent 18 months there, met the client base, travelled all over the country and realised I really had an appetite for this,” she says.
Iannarelli in 1984 joined business aircraft dealer AeroSmith/Penny in Houston, Texas, a job exposing her to the risky, complex, capital-intensive and data-driven business of buying and selling jets.
“When you make a bet on an airplane, you are betting the farm,” she says, noting that dealers typically aim to sell aircraft at a 10% profit.
INTRICATE TRANSACTIONS
Iannarelli, who was AeroSmith/Penny’s vice-president of sales and marketing, became skilled at valuing aircraft and at navigating intricate transactions. The work involved collaborating with aircraft manufacturers, maintenance facilities, completion sites and US and foreign aviation regulators.
“I had a great technical background… [and] a great deal of exposure to the mechanics of the sale,” she says. “I know my way around an aircraft transaction.”
Iannarelli attributes her rise partly to support from mentors, including her former boss at AeroSmith/Penny, who also “made sure I had a tremendous amount of exposure. He basically said: ‘You’ve the right stuff’.”
“You’ve got to find a mentor,” she adds. “You have to find someone who’s going to take an interest in helping you.”
After nearly 14 years at AeroSmith/Penny, Iannarelli says she “maxed out my earning and learning potential”. So she formulated a business plan and risked everything to found Par Avion.
“I had X amount of cash. I had a timeline by which it needed to work. And I was fortunate enough to slowly but surely start to find a few deals that helped me build the business,” she says. “I calculated the risk to the extent possible.”
She got the business rolling by chasing opportunities with clients globally, landing “deals that nobody else really wanted to chase, because they would be more complicated or more time consuming”, she says. “Building these international relationships, I was actually opening the door to a lot more business through word of mouth.”
Par Avion grew to have three offices and about 10 employees, but Iannarelli has since downsized to a single office and one part-time assistant.
The firm specialises in representing buyers and sellers of jets such as Cessna Citations, Bombardier Globals, Dassault Aviation Falcons, and Learjets. Iannarelli’s “sweet spot” of clients are high-net-worth individuals, business leaders and entrepreneurs. “I like working with people who have made something from nothing,” she says.
Par Avion works deals ranging in value from $1.5 million to upward of $70 million, as was the case with a transaction involving a Global 7500.
Brokers typically earn percent-based commissions; Iannarelli says 5% was once typically but that discount brokers have since undermined that benchmark.
“If it’s too cheap, there’s a reason. If it’s too expensive, you need to rethink that,” she says.
In addition to running the business, Iannarelli has worked to benefit the broader industry. She has chaired the European Business Aviation Association’s Associate Member Advisory Council, and been presiding officer to the Texas Aerospace and Aviation Advisory Committee. She is a member of Women in Aviation International, and in 2016 was inducted into the Aviation Hall of Fame of New Jersey.
While declining to specify Par Avion’s annual revenue, Iannarelli says good brokers might sell 10 aircraft annually amid high demand and four per year during slow periods.
The business aircraft market had boomed early during the pandemic; prices soared and inventory moved fast as new customers flocked to private travel amid low interest rates. But the market significantly slowed recently.
Iannarelli notes that the aircraft-sales business is unregulated – with neither brokers nor dealers needing licenses – and fiercely competitive. The vast majority of participants conduct themselves ethically, but less-scrupulous players do exist, and underhanded tactics such as poaching clients and misrepresentations do occur.
That is partly why forming close, lasting customer relationships is so important, she says. “Even seasoned salespeople encounter challenges from other brokers, that go beyond the spirit of friendly competition. In challenging times, some get really hungry.”
Iannarelli thinks the brokerage sector could benefit from better education opportunities and certification standards, but says such resources must be widely available and not financially prohibitive to the small firms that compose much of the industry.
“I hold myself to a higher standard all the time,” she says. “That is just because of who I am.”
