Richard Libby, VP Sales, Jetcraft Commercial
Location: Toronto, Canada

What are your responsibilities within the global Jetcraft team?

My responsibilities within Jetcraft commercial are the acquisition and sale of commercial aircraft, primarily within the Americas. We are a small team and we’ve got relationships across the world, so this tends to go beyond the strict lines of the boarder, but that is my primary responsibility.

Describe a typical day or week in your role.

A typical day or week in my role is mainly managing transactions that we have going on. Making sure that any problems that come up, get resolved and between all that, prospecting for new deals and following up with existing relationships.

Describe the company culture at Jetcraft and what it means to you?

The company culture at Jetcraft to me is very collaborative, very supportive and coming from my background in very large corporations, it’s a much more relaxing and collaborative environment to work in.

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Jetcraft is expanding its presence throughout the Americas, appointing Alejandro Noriega as a Sales Director based in Mexico. Noriega’s appointment follows three senior Americas sales hires in recent months and the acquisition of North American broker, CFS Jets, as demand in the region remains strong.

After more than a decade trading aircraft at Aerolineas Ejecutivas (Ale), Noriega will now act as a sales specialist for Jetcraft customers in Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean.

Dan Kilkeary, SVP Sales, Americas, says: “Business aviation continues to soar in Latin America and Alejandro’s appointment builds upon Jetcraft’s recent hire in Brazil, with our thriving team supporting growth in the region."

“As a seasoned professional, Alejandro has been responsible for global transactions across all aircraft segments during his nearly 15 years at Ale. His regional insight ensures we can negotiate the best deals for our customers and locate aircraft that others can’t...

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Having heard from Pascal Bachmann last month, it’s now time to hear from the next member of our Fastest Sales Team in the World – our Owner and Chairman of the Board, Jahid Fazal-Karim.

Why did you decide to start racing?

I started racing shortly after Jetcraft sponsored a GT racing team. The owner of the team said, “As you’re here, you might as well drive.” I had done karting and circuits for fun in the past, but never driven competitively or seriously. I began training in 2021, and in ’22, I had my first race season in GT4. I’m now competing in GT3, sharing a car with Pascal Bachmann, our SVP Sales, EMEA.

What do you enjoy the most about racing?

When you’re in the car, you can’t afford to think about anything else. Throughout the day, my brain is occupied with a million thoughts, but I simply can’t do that while driving or I might crash. So, besides the obvious sporting elements, such as the adrenaline rush and the thrill of the competitiveness, what truly matters for me is being in the moment and completely focused on one task.

What personality traits make for a successful racing driver?

I don’t think it’s exclusive to racing but more about athletes at a competitive level – the leaders have talent, like so many others, but it’s their application to the sport that sets them apart. Their dedication, determination, and attention to detail make all the difference to the level of their success.

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Product Overview

Based on feedback from PC-12 customers, the PC-24 features increased range, speed, and short runway capability. As compared to other business jets in this class, the Pilatus PC-24 achieves this goal with less than 3,000 feet of takeoff distance and 2,120 feet of landing distance.

As of August 2023, 17% of Pilatus PC-24 ownership comes from the pre-owned market, the other 83% from new. 6.3% of those are currently for sale, with the majority (85%) under an exclusive broker agreement. For those on the market, the average sale time is eight months.

Brief History

The Pilatus PC-24 received FAA and EASA type certifications in December 2017 and is certified for single pilot operation. The introduction of the PC-24 was the first entry by Pilatus into the Business Jet Market.

Worldwide Appeal

There are 206 Pilatus PC-24 jets in operation worldwide. The majority of those (177) are wholly owned with five in shared ownership, and 24 in fractional ownership. 6% are currently leased. North America has the largest percentage of wholly owned Pilatus PC-24 aircraft (56%), followed by Europe (29%). Jetfly Aviation SA, Luxembourg owns the largest fleet of Pilatus PC-24 aircraft with 12.

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Todd Spangler, Sales Director, Americas, Jetcraft
Location: Georgia, US.

What are your responsibilities within the global Jetcraft team?

I cover the Southeast US, so I’m responsible for bringing in new clients, listings, acquisitions elements and new inventory to our fleet.

Describe a typical day or week in your role.

A typical day for a sales director is a lot of networking and a lot of travel. Certainly, working through the number of leads generated from our available inventory and the global reach that we have at Jetcraft. The activity that we generate is great. It’s also great to go out and really work in our own areas and be responsible for that and be able to create business for the organisation.

Describe the company culture at Jetcraft and what it means to you?

The company culture at Jetcraft, it’s fantastic. I mean we really do have such a great team of people that cross borders and really work together. It just provides that value for our clients as well, they can be assured that they have a global team that’s working for them.

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The reopening of commercial aviation in Asia has inevitably followed a different timeline to Europe.

While standardization of border crossing regulations in Asia have lagged behind the rest of the world, becoming a point of friction when it comes to travel resuming, demand has picked up again. The China Air Transport Association (CATA) is claiming aviation has returned to near pre-pandemic level, while software business Sabre has identified significant spikes in demand for flights into China as Covid restrictions were relaxed and tourist visas were issued earlier this year. Meanwhile, domestic airlines in India carried a record 13 million passengers in March, according to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation Data and the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam has predicted the country’s air traffic will recover to 2019 levels this year.

Ultimately, while the bounce back is incomplete and imbalanced, we can see some green shoots of recovery, meaning aviation businesses can respond smartly to seize new opportunities.

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The importance of face-to-face meetings and the role of aviation as an engine of business growth was underlined by Ever Forward, 2023’s Pre-Owned Business Jet Market Forecast.

Our industry-leading market intelligence shows transaction values hit a record US$16.3B in 2022 – in part due to the resurgence of corporate aviation – with the corporate buyer roaring back to life following a dip during the pandemic. The share of our buyers from the corporate sector reached 60% in the last year, demonstrating the value businesses place on jet ownership to facilitate in-person meetings.

Nothing beats meeting face-to-face when it comes to finalizing major deals, with video conferencing only ever a temporary substitute. Whether it’s a company acquisition or a new product launch, face-to-face interactions offer the ability to read body language and build relationships, which create the foundations for success. Equally, the return of industry events, such as EBACE and NBAA, underlines t...

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Product Overview

The Cessna Citation CJ4, like its predecessor the Citation CJ3, is a stretch extension of the previous Citation Jet model. It differs most significantly from the previous models in its moderately swept wing design which it borrows from the Citation Sovereign.

As of April 2023, 51% of the Citation CJ4 ownership comes from the pre-owned market, the other 49% from new. 2.4% of those are currently for sale, with 100% under an exclusive broker agreement. For those on the market, the average sale time is 2.9 months.

Brief History

The first flight of the Citation CJ4 took place on May 5, 2008. Deliveries began in 2010 and production ended in 2020.

Worldwide Appeal

There are currently 340 Citation CJ4 aircraft in operation worldwide. The majority of those (321) are wholly owned with 19 in shared ownership and none in fractional ownership. 13% are currently leased. North America has the largest percentage of wholly owned Citation CJ4 aircraft (79%), followed by Europe (14%). 11% of the CJ4 jets in operation today are in fleet ownership with the government in Japan – Ministry of Land, Infrastucture.

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Jennifer Jewett, Controller, Jetcraft
Location: Raleigh, NC, US

What are your responsibilities within the global Jetcraft team?

As the controller for Jetcraft Corporation I am responsible for the worldwide financials, reporting, cash management and things of that nature.

Describe a typical day or week in your role.

My typical day starts with getting a feel for my emails and what’s happened throughout the evenings in the world. I also look to see what deals we have planned for the week and then in general just check in with my team to see what their needs are to complete any activities for the day.

Describe the company culture at Jetcraft and what it means to you?

For me the company culture means Family. I came from a larger corporation before I moved to Jetcraft and I feel like I’m part of a family when I’m here. I have a lot of colleagues around the world. We know their kids names, we know their spouses names and being able to come together once a year really brings that family atmosphere together.

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