AVIAÂ, an international group purchasing organisation (GPO), is making its debut at the show to promote the benefits of its “professionalised procurement” venture to Europe’s business aviation community.
Founded by Hangar8 founder Dustin Dryden and GPO expert James Hall, AVIAÂ is streamlining the procurement process for owners and operators using what it calls “the collective buying power” of its members to secure the best rates for key operational items. These include insurance, training, connectivity services, fuel, maintenance, parts, aircraft and passenger handling.
As well as helping private jet owners and operators better compete with companies that already benefit from economies of scale, the GPO model also rewards suppliers who are part of the network. “AVIAÂ is a community of buyers and suppliers coming together to help reduce costs and build volumes, respectively,” says Hall. “The programme will have a flywheel effect – the bigger its gets, the more value it will bring,” he adds.
AVIAÂ had its “soft launch” in March 2017, and has since been building its team, suppliers and membership base.
“We expected to have around 50 aircraft in the programme by the end of 2018, but the number has already reached over 200, mainly heavy jets,” Hall says.
“We hope to grow this number to around 1,000 by the end of the year,” he continues.
The company – headquartered at London Oxford airport in the UK, with offices in Irvine, California and Park City, Utah – has secured a number of supplier “partnerships" – including with CAE, Satcom Direct (SD) and UVair – which will deliver savings to its members on training, fuel and inflight connectivity. Deals with the latter two companies were ratified at the show.
“AVIAÂ’s innovative business model reflects our approach to business,” says Michael Skou Christensen, SD's managing director for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. “It will keep suppliers on their toes and make everyone think about how to best satisfy end user needs in a cost-effective way. Working with the AVIAÂ team will help widen our customer base.”
AVIAÂ charges an annual fee for each aircraft, ranging from $2,500 for a light jet to $10,000 for a heavy jet – such as a Bombardier Global 6000. When an aircraft enters the programme, the company analyses between six and 12 months of historical spend data, says Hall, to see where the expenditure falls. “We target a reduction of around 10-15% of the aircraft’s operating costs,” he adds.
Source: Flight Daily News
