emily.synan

Alasdair Whyte, Editor and Co-founder, Corporate Jet Investor
[email protected]

How long have you been at your current organization?

Louisa Whyte (my wife) and I launched Corporate Jet Investor in 2010. We felt there was a need for an online magazine and conferences for the business jet market.

We spun out helicopters in 2012 and in 2016 launched a commercial aircraft version called Aircraft Investor. We also run a superyacht conference.

Although the business jet market was in a downturn in 2010, we were confident that we would be there for an upturn. We are still waiting.

What are your responsibilities within your organization?

I focus on the content (with Louisa managing pretty much everything else). This includes newsletters, longer articles and the agendas for different conferences. But we are a small business so we all get involved in lots of different things.

Describe a typical day or week in your role.

If I am not travelling, I usually drop our children off at school. Louisa and I then often have a meeting whilst walking our office dog. When I get to the office I look at all of the major news stories that day. We divide up who is writing what and I will typically write a short opinion piece before lunch.

After lunch I might discuss some of the biggest issues in the market for one of our conferences. Most days involve a number of phone calls and a lot of emails. Some of these can be very late if I am dealing with the US or very early if Asia or Australia.

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Product Overview

The Gulfstream G280 is a twin-engine business jet built under license by IAI (Israel Aerospace Industries) for Gulfstream Aerospace. It retains the G200 fuselage design, but has otherwise been transformed with a larger wing, upgraded engines, and T-tail.

As of May 2016, 1% of the Gulfstream G280 aircraft were purchased pre-owned by their current owners, the other 99% new. 4.3% are currently for sale with all of those (100%) under an exclusive broker agreement. When for sale, the average number of days on the market is 106.

Brief History

The Gulfstream G280 was initially introduced as the G250 but was renamed in 2011. The G280 was provisionally certified in 2011 by Israel and received full certification from Israel and the U.S. in September 2012. Production began in 2011 and it is still being produced presently. A total of 103 Gulfstream G280 aircraft have been produced with 93 currently in operation and 10 in various stages of the completion process.

Worldwide Appeal

There are 93 Gulfstream G280 aircraft in operation today. Most of these are owned outright (91) with 18% currently leased. North America has the largest percentage of Gulfstream G280 aircraft (72%), followed by Asia (14%).

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Written by Fabrice Roger, former Jetcraft Sales Director, Latin America

Latin America has long been viewed as a key emerging market for business aviation, led by two major countries in the region, Brazil and Mexico. Political and economic pressures, however, intensified in the region in 2015, driven mostly by the slowdown of Brazil’s $US2.2 trillion economy, which is now moving from recession to depression. Once a powerhouse of the region, Brazil’s economy contracted sharply last year, while inflation soared and its currency plummeted. Although Mexico also experienced currency challenges of its own, the market for business aviation in Mexico has grown considerably in the past few years, unlike its southern neighbor.

While Mexico’s business jet market is in ascension, Brazil has taken a backseat in the region, due to recent political and economic turmoil that was intensified by a collapse in the oil and gas sector. Nonetheless, Brazil still offers a significant opportunity for business jet transactions, particularly for those seeking to divest their aircraft investments.

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With prices at historic lows, inventories high, and retrofit options able to transform old airframes into like-new airplanes, will there ever be a better time to buy a preowned aircraft? Possibly, should the long slide in preowned prices that began in 2008 continue. Still, great opportunities for buyers await right now. Just be sure you enlist the help of a broker who possesses the technology that has become so crucial to these deals.

“Top-tier brokers have a lot of technology behind them to manage the sales process for their clients,” says aviation attorney Paul Lange, a party to many business jet transactions. “That’s really a big difference between the larger brokers and the mom-and-pops.”

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Christie Martin-Gray, former Brand Director, Jetcraft
Location: Raleigh, NC, USA

How long have you been at Jetcraft?

My sister Lucy Castle, Jetcraft’s Administrative Director, first introduced me to Jetcraft in 2006. I worked with Jetcraft on an as-needed basis until joining the team fulltime in April 2010 as Marketing Director.

What are your responsibilities within the global Jetcraft team?

My role changed this year to Brand Director, and my primary responsibility is to support the VP of Marketing with planning and executing our corporate branding and paid media strategies. This includes keeping a close eye on accuracy, consistency, clarity and relevance as it relates to our brand to ensure a strong connection with our customers.

Describe a typical day or week in your role.

Priorities can shift quickly, so I start and end each day with a few minutes of assessing priorities and planning. I spend most of my time developing and maintaining brand assets, brand advertising, and some of the sales tools and integrated retail campaigns. Ensuring we adhere to our high standards, deliver on our brand promise and align our brand assets closely with sales objectives involves a myriad of daily activities including strategizing and brainstorming, research, assessing internal documents, directing creative agencies, writing, negotiating media opportunities and so on.

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Product Overview

The Legacy 500 was the first mid-size business jet with digital flight controls with full fly-by-wire. It is an extended version of the Legacy 450 model.

As of May 2016, 4% of the Legacy 500 aircraft were purchased pre-owned by their current owners, the other 96% new. 7.1% are currently for sale with all of those (100%) under an exclusive broker agreement. When for sale, the average number of days on the market is 166 days.

Brief History

The Embraer Legacy 500 had its first flight on November 27, 2012 and was certified on August 12, 2014. A total of 45 Embraer Legacy 500 aircraft have been produced with 28 currently in operation and 17 in various stages of the completion process.

Worldwide Appeal

There are 28 Legacy 500 aircraft in operation today. Most of these are owned outright (24) with 7.1% currently leased. North America has the largest percentage of Legacy 500 aircraft (58%), followed by Asia (17%) and South America (13%).

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Purchasing the right aircraft, at the right price, with the right terms, and avoiding unpleasant surprises can be a daunting process. Unfortunately, because of this, some aircraft buyers do occasionally make mistakes in their buying journey. Here is our advice on watching out for the most common pitfalls and how to avoid them.

Don’t Base the Purchase Solely on Price—Some buyers believe that buying the cheapest is always the best option. Instead, buyers should purchase a well-maintained aircraft with a good pedigree (not too many owners, with a solid manufacturer’s maintenance program, and service performed at an authorized center that kept well documented aircraft records and engine logs), rather than looking for a bargain deal. If not, it could leave buyers with additional maintenance costs down the road. It is important that a buyer knows whether or not the aircraft for purchase is enrolled in a manufacturer maintenance plan, or if there is any remaining warranty that can be transferred.

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Tom Hauge, National Sales Director, Wings Insurance
[email protected]

How long have you been at your current organization?

I started at Wings Insurance in February of 2004. Prior to joining Wings I spent a short period of time in the Reinsurance business working for the world’s largest Reinsurance broker.

What are your responsibilities within your organization?

I am the National Sales Director for Wings Insurance. I also take on the role as my firm’s industry focal for many professional aviation organizations that we support and participate in such as National Aircraft Resale Association (NARA) and the numerous aircraft ownership organizations that exist in the turbine aircraft marketplace (Citation Jet Pilots, TBM Owners, Phenom Owners, Meridian/Malibu Owners, Pilatus Owners etc). Finally, I mentor and oversee our sales staff and lead sales initiatives for our aviation insurance product line.

Describe a typical day or week in your role.

A typical day in my role usually involves interaction with my team in preparing insurance renewal proposals for our current client base. In addition to our existing clients – my team usually has anywhere from 3-5 new business opportunities we are working on every week which range from light aircraft up to commercial aviation risks – we do focus heavily on turbine risks which makes up the bulk of our book of business. In a week’s time I typically will have some travel away from home office. My time away from the office generally will involve visiting clients in our company aircraft or traveling to a convention or outing in support of the owner/pilot and professional aviation organizations that we support.

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Product Overview

Embraer began designing the Phenom 300, a light jet aircraft, after finding that potential customers of the Phenom 100 would also like a bigger aircraft. Designers took the basic fuselage cross-section of the 100 and added an extra 14 inches in length, an all-new wing, and powerful and quiet Pratt & Whitney Canada turbofan engines.

As of May 2016, 15% of the Embraer Phenom 300 aircraft were purchased pre-owned by their current owners, the other 85% new. 5.6% are currently for sale with the majority of those (72%) under an exclusive broker agreement. When for sale, the average number of days on the market is 255.

Brief History

The Embraer Phenom 300 first flew in 2008 and received FAA Type Certification in December 2009 as the Embraer EMB-505. A total of 342 Phenom 300 aircraft have been produced with 324 of them in operation. Two Phenom 300 business jets have been retired.

Worldwide Appeal

There are 324 Embraer Phenom 300 aircraft in operation today. Most of these are owned outright (233) with 4% currently leased. North America has the largest percentage of Phenom 300 aircraft (56%), followed by South America (22%) and Europe (16%).

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