What’s your background and how did you get into aviation?
My family has always been in aviation. My father was managing director of the Cessna Citation Centre in Bournemouth, serving the industry for 29 years before he retired early this year. My mother, sister and wife were all cabin crew – my wife was crew on a Dassault Falcon 900 when we first met. I didn’t go into aviation immediately. I started an apprenticeship at the age of 17 in the car industry, but quickly moved into sales. After a spell in an outbound call centre, I was successful in a fast-paced B2B role with Pitney Bowes. In 2007, I sat down with my father. He suggested that I sell aircraft and, when I told him I didn’t know how, he replied: “Well that’s good, because most people doing it already don’t know either.”
Where did you go from there?
I set up my own business called JetConcept, proactively learning all aspects of business aviation. At the same time, I was involved in various other jobs, including establishing a boat forecourt for a friend, building an online business and working nights in a bar, as by then my wife was pregnant with our little boy. In 2009, I sold my first aircraft, a Citation Cessna, for the owner of KwikFit. I then took my skills to PremiAir in Farnborough and succeeded in achieving 16 aircraft sales in just over two years. These successes led to other brokerage opportunities before I was offered a position within Marshall to sell factory-fresh King Airs. After relative success, I was offered an exciting new position at Oriens Aviation to assist with setting up the UK Pilatus distributorship. The opportunity to join such a dynamic entrepreneurial company which was expanding in such an exciting sector of aviation was ideal to further my skillset.
Oriens Aviation
Who has influenced you the most in your career?
My father. I’m proud to follow in his footsteps. Up until Oriens’ expansion into MRO activity with its new dedicated facility at London Biggin Hill early this year, where I am now regularly based, I resided at Bournemouth airport in a hangar which was formerly the Cessna Citation Centre, IDS Aircraft. My father moved there in 1989 when he was 36 and we sat in the same front offices. Another influencer was Mike Preston, former engineering director at PremiAir. He helped me understand the critical nature of maintenance for an aircraft owner and how best to manage their expectations. With Oriens’ acquisition of Avalon Aero’s MRO facility at Biggin Hill airport and its goal to establish a premier leading Pilatus centre, his advice will stand me in good stead.
What’s a typical working week for you?
There’s no such thing, but that is part of the fun. Our environment isn’t one of volume; it’s all about gathering information, finding the opportunity and ensuring you can provide the client with the right information to feel comfortable enough to make a purchase. Principally, my role is to understand the marketplace completely; what aircraft are selling and if potential buyers are looking at the PC-12 or other single-engined turboprop types. At the start of each week, I consider which customers are close to purchasing and will work on such things as agreeing a contract, doing an aircraft spec, and introducing them to people who can manage ownership structures (VAT, legal, etc). I’ll then list existing opportunities I’m working on and look at what stages they’re at; for example, booking a demonstration flight. I also work closely with our marketing department to ensure we don’t miss opportunities. Shows like Goodwood Festival of Speed are especially rewarding for us. Last year, we delivered a new aircraft to a customer at the show. We always keep in close contact with customers after delivery. That is hugely important.
What is the future for single-engined turboprops in Europe?
Business aviation is a very small world and everyone is looking for that next opportunity. Expanding the role of single-engined turboprops is one for sure, now that EASA has approved these types to operate commercially at night and in instrument meteorological conditions. I feel, however, that people are still viewing this rule change – adopted in March 2017 – with an old set of eyes. Many are looking at how to slot commercial opportunities for their aircraft into their existing business model, instead of looking at how to develop what really is an exciting new opportunity that plays to the product’s strengths.
Do you hope to get a PC-12 on a UK air operator certificate in early 2019?
Yes. I’m looking for the right opportunity to support a client with placing the first PC-12 on a UK AOC. There is a reluctance, inevitably, to be “the first” to go through the application process, considering the time, cost and rigorous process. However, at Oriens we are confident that once the first application is granted it will pave the way for others. We have set up an advisory service to help operators navigate the path. The first UK operator with the type on an AOC will have a clear market advantage. Prospective new owners waiting to buy aircraft based on the need for charter income will also have somewhere to go for that need.
Where do you see yourself in five years?
I aspire to be a well-regarded name in business aviation, a professional known for a can-do attitude who is knowledgeable and always finds solutions – the “go-to” specialist in the sector.
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Source: Flight International
