Rodger Renaud, President / COO, West Star Aviation

How long have you been at your current organization?

I started at West Star in April of 2012.

What are your responsibilities within your organization?

President and COO – mostly business development, operations and strategy. I have a hand in everything – an overarching vison for everything to come together. There is always a master plan in mind and it takes a lot of coordination with the executive team to pull it off.

Describe a typical day or week in your role.

I start every day by walking the floor. I ask questions, check in on people, address concerns, or just stop by and ask, “How is your day?” What I learn from that every day is a great indicator of how things are going, and I really enjoy the hangar camaraderie.

I’m on email all day long. It’s time consuming, but I believe being responsive is key to not only being effective, but also to buidling genuine and valuable communication. It’s the same with phone calls from customers where it’s anything from sharing intel, reviewing customer feedback on projects, or just staying in touch.

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Product Overview

The Cessna Citation Sovereign+ is the successor to the Citation Sovereign model. The Sovereign+ features upgraded engines, which provide a longer range, and winglets as a standard offering versus an option on the original Sovereign. The Sovereign+ also has improved take-off and landing capability and the addition of the Garmin G5000 avionics. The range is the strongest feature of both the Sovereign and Sovereign+ with Coast-to-Coast capabilities and the ability to take-off and land at short distances thanks to a moderately swept high-aspect ratio wing.

As of March 2019, 24% of Citation Sovereign+ aircraft were purchased pre-owned, the other 76% new. 7% are for sale with more than half of those (83%) under an exclusive broker agreement. When for sale the average time on the market is 98 days.

Brief History

Production of the Citation Sovereign ended in 2013 and was replaced by the improved Sovereign+. The Sovereign+ was initially announced at the October 2012 NBAA, it first flew in April 2013 and was certified in December 2013. A total of 84 Sovereign+ business jets have been built.

Worldwide Appeal

There are 84 Citation Sovereign+ business jets in operation today and all are wholly owned. 8.3% are currently leased. North America has the largest percentage of Sovereign+ aircraft (83%), followed by Europe (9%) and South America (7%).

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Melody Phillips, Sales Engineer, Jetcraft

How long have you been at Jetcraft?

I joined in May 2018, so it’s been just over a year now.

What are your responsibilities within the global Jetcraft team?

I support David Dixon and Tim Yue for the South East Asia Region as well as Mick Doohan & Daniel Renwick for AUS & NZ. I primarily assist with the generating of specs, conducting market research, technical reviews, Valuations and whatever they may need in order to get those transactions successfully completed.

*Note Melody is now based in the U.S.

Describe a typical day or week in your role.

Most days are spent at my desk providing the necessary sales support to my sales directors, other times it requires me networking with clients & customers at events or airshows in my designated areas. The gathering of information takes most of my time in order to provide my sales directors with as much information as possible. Again this is aviation, there is no such thing as a typical day or week, but it does make things interesting and the job is never boring.

What do you love most about your job?

Diversity! Living and working in Hong Kong is amazing, getting to meet people in this industry from all over Asia-Pacific is always fun and exciting to grow my network.

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We are honoured to announce that Jetcraft has facilitated the first-ever pre-owned transaction for the prestigious Gulfstream G500 aircraft.

Thank you to our loyal clients and partners for trusting us with over 100 Gulfstream transactions over the past 10 years, and for allowing us the opportunity to make history with the G500 model.

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This article first appeared in Corporate Jet Investor‘s CJIQ Issue 3. Their posting of the article can be viewed here. An excerpt from the article is posted below.

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Last month we released our 5-Year New & Pre-Owned Business Aviation Market Forecast – the first report of its kind to take a precise, comparative and quantified look at both types of aircraft transactions.

Aside from introducing pre-owned market predictions, we’ve updated our overarching methodology as compared to previous reports, making it even more precise. We’ve shifted to a five-year rather than a 10-year outlook, to better reflect the current aircraft ownership experience, and adjusted the overall population of aircraft analyzed to more closely align with our expertise. Furthermore, we’ve classified new deliveries as transactions only from date of entry into service and retrospectively normalized classifications prior to 2012, when all aircraft built were considered new deliveries. Finally, we’ve leveraged more of our own transaction data for a truly consolidated outline of how we see the industry behaving.

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Product Overview

The Challenger 650 is the updated version of the Challenger 605. The Challenger 650 features 2 additional executive seats to accommodate up to 12 passengers, upgraded engines offering a higher thrust rate to reduce takeoff field length, and larger appliances in the galley to assist with faster meal preparation.

As of March 2019, 6% of Challenger 650 aircraft were purchased pre-owned by their current owner, the other 94% new. 3.5% are for sale with all of those (100%) under an exclusive broker agreement. When for sale the average time on the market is 129 days.

Brief History

The CL-600 platform has evolved over the years with the Challenger 650 being the latest model. The Challenger 604 was introduced in 1995 as a major upgrade to the Challenger 601 – it was given more powerful engines, larger fuel supply, structural improvements to its wings and tail, and a new electronic flight bag. Ten years later (2005), the Challenger 605 was introduced with an avionics and structural upgrade from the 604 design. Ten years after that (2015) came the Challenger 650, which Bombardier first announced at NBAA in 2014 with NetJets being the launch customer. A total of 91 Challenger 650 aircraft have been built with 5 still at the manufacturer.

Worldwide Appeal

There are 86 Challenger 650 business jets in operation today. Most of these are wholly owned (66) with 20 in fractional ownership. 7% are currently leased. North America has the largest percentage of wholly owned Challenger 650 aircraft (56%), followed by Europe (29%) and Asia (10%). NetJets – US has the largest fleet of Challenger 650 aircraft (20).

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Jeremy Bogle, Executive Vice President, JetSelect Aviation

How long have you been at your current organization?

11 years

What are your responsibilities within your organization?

Help to oversee the operation of a 25+ aircraft fleet, to include sales, maintenance, and operations.

Describe a typical day or week in your role.

It can involve walking a prospective owner through the operating cost of aircraft ownership, solving mechanical and crew issues, sales proposals, maintenance planning with owners, etc

What do you love most about your job?

I love the diversity in our side of the business and the ability to interact with customers on a daily basis. Working around airplanes is exciting but trying to stay one step ahead of your aircraft owner is demanding and requires attention to detail in everything we do.

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Product Overview

The Learjet 45 was Learjet’s first clean sheet design since the company’s first aircraft – all other models until that point had evolved from the original 1963 Learjet design of Model 23. This new model changed the Learjet line by combining the efficiency and price of a light jet with the interior space and range of a medium jet. It features lower maintenance costs due to longer inspection intervals.

As of March 2019, 96% of the Learjet 45 aircraft were purchased pre-owned by their current owners, the other 4% new. 10.7% are for sale with more than half of those (69%) under an exclusive broker agreement. When for sale the average time on the market is 289 days.

Brief History

Bombardier announced it was developing the Learjet 45 at the US National Business Aircraft Association’s annual convention in Dallas in September 1992. The Learjet 45 received FAA Certification in 1997 and ended production in 2007. It was the Learjet Division’s principal product from the 1990s until the introduction of the Model 75 variant in 2012. A total of 248 Learjet 45 business jets were built, 6 are retired.

Worldwide Appeal

There are 242 Learjet 45 business jets in operation today. Most of these are wholly owned (232) with 10 in shared ownership. 5% are currently leased. North America has the largest percentage of wholly owned Learjet 45 aircraft (76%), followed by Europe (9%) and South America (8%).

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