Analysis | International Aviation HQ

Inside The Reuben Brothers’ Aviation Empire!

21May

By Alya KulikovaNo Comments

Analysis

Inside The Reuben Brothers’ Aviation Empire!

Best known for their extensive property empire, the Reuben Brothers are also at the helm of a rather impressive aviation empire, consisting of an airport, a heliport and a now-defunct airline. Though not as large as the aviation holdings owned by a solely-aviation investor Kenn Ricci, the brothers' aviation empire neatly fits into the brothers' real estate holdings without suffering overdiversification problems. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Who Are The Reuben Brothers? The Reuben Brothers - David and Simon - are Indian-born British businessmen and property investors worth an estimated £16 billion ($20 billion), whose properties include London's Millbank Tower, AMEX's London HQ and Hampton House. Born in Bombay (now Mumbai), India in 19...

Why Ihor Kolomoisky’s Airline Empire Fell

30Apr

By Alya KulikovaNo Comments

Analysis

Why Ihor Kolomoisky’s Airline Empire Fell

Relatively unknown to people in the West, Ukrainian oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky once owned an airline empire that spanned Europe. But then, he threw it all away... And whilst there are rumors he maintains ownership of a few airlines to this day, it is impossible to prove these claims and the fact of the matter remains: the airlines he once owned openly are no more. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Who is Ihor Kolomoisky? Unlike other airline moguls like Michael O'Leary and Richard Branson, Ihor Kolomoisky isn't exactly a household name in the West, even if he is in his native Ukraine. Born into a Jewish family of engineers in Dnipropetrovsk (modern day Dnipro), then in the Ukrainian SSR in the Soviet Union, Ihor followed in his parent's fo...

23Apr

By Gareth SeagullNo Comments

Analysis

Is Aviation a Good Investment?

An industry worth a staggering $3.5 trillion globally, aviation is arguably one of the most lucrative industries to be in after ones like tech, healthcare and financial services yet so many aviation companies go out of business each year. But it's not just the small ones with limited financial resources that go bust; each year we see headlines with a major international airline declaring bankruptcy or entering bankruptcy protection, whilst others report record profits. So all this begs the question: Is aviation a good investment? All in all, assuming you have the knowledge in your particular sub-niche of aviation, and the financial resources to make it successful, aviation is a good investment. The things that sink a company quickly is bad management and a lack of money. ...

Inside Nextant Aerospace: The Most Unlikely of Aircraft Manufacturers

6Apr

By Salomón MarcoNo Comments

Analysis

Inside Nextant Aerospace: The Most Unlikely of Aircraft Manufacturers

When old aircraft become too expensive to operate, they have historically been sent to one of several aircraft graveyards. However, Nextant Aerospace aim to minimize this through a process called remanufacturing. Essentially recycling certain ageing aircraft, Nextant are able to deliver what is in effect a new aircraft for half the price. So it's probably not surprising that the company has delivered nearly 200 aircraft in a decade and a half, and still has a large backlog of orders. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Background The story of Nextant Aerospace cannot be told without first talking about Kenn Ricci, the man behind several major players in the business aviation industry, including fractional ownership Flight Options LLC and Direction...

Inside Directional Aviation Capital: The World’s Largest Aviation Investment Firm

2Apr

By Alya KulikovaNo Comments

Analysis

Inside Directional Aviation Capital: The World’s Largest Aviation Investment Firm

Headed by Kenn Ricci, the legendary aviation executive and pilot, Directional Aviation has become the largest aviation firm in the world by profit through its ownership of more than a dozen companies. With over 2,200 employees worldwide, $2.5 billion in revenue and over 200,000 flight hours annually, Directional Aviation operates in nearly every aspect of business aviation, competing with the likes of NetJets, VistJet and even Cessna to various extents! (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Background Before Directional Aviation was born, Kenn Ricci was a University of Notre Dame graduate and former ROTC cadet who'd begun working as a pilot. Early into his career, however, he was laid off as a result of the early 1980's recession. After talking ...

23Mar

By Christopher HarrowNo Comments

Analysis

What is a Fixed-Base Operator (FBO)?

Fixed-base operators, also known as FBOs, are the backbone of most airports' operations. Yet most of us - including seasoned fliers and avgeeks alike - what they do exactly is something of a mystery. Indeed, it's one of those terms that's used a lot within the industry, but is somewhat unknown by most outsiders or casual enthusiasts. A fixed-base operator is an organization (typically a for-profit company) rights to provide a v What is an FBO? What do Fixed-Base Operators Do? A History of FBOs How Many Fixed-Base Operators Are There? At present, there are an estimated 5,000 FBO airports located across the world, 3,000 of which are located in the United States alone. This number is expected to grow to 6,000 by 2030 and as high as 7,500 by 2050 according to ...

Inside The Interesting World of Aircraft Dealers

16Mar

By Charles YongzhengNo Comments

Analysis

Inside The Interesting World of Aircraft Dealers

Like many avgeeks, I have spent countless hours scrolling the internet looking at aircraft for sale. Whilst many of these ads were placed by brokers or aircraft owners, a large minority were placed by so-called aircraft dealers. Unlike used car dealerships, whose role is remarkably similar albeit it with cars rather than aircraft, aircraft dealers are not as universally hated, with many in the aviation industry seeing them as vital to the industry. Just not in the way they like to think... (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); What Are Aircraft Dealers? An old joke in the industry is that aircraft dealers are kind of like a mixture of used car dealers and real estate agents, in the sense that they are unregulated (like car dealers) and are high ma...

1Jan

By Salomón MarcoNo Comments

Analysis

Inside Kenn Ricci’s Private Aviation Empire

Though few know his name, Kenn Ricci sits at the helm of arguably the largest private aviation empire ever built, one who operates 150 aircraft, employs more than 2,200 people worldwide and has more than $2.5 billion in revenue! Who is Kenn Ricci? Kenneth C. Ricci, known as "Kenn" to his friends, was born on September 3 1956 and grew up in a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio. A mathematically gifted student, Kenn decided he wanted to become an accountant and enrolled at the University of Notre Dame to help make this happen. Following the advice of "Use your time in college to find your passion" given to him by his father, as well as help him pay his tuition, Kenn got involved with the US Air Force's Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) and learned to fly. Later, he grad...

7Mar

By Christopher HarrowNo Comments

Analysis

What is an “Avgeek”?

At International Aviation HQ, we often throw around the term "Avgeek", they are often the people who read our site, but we have never defined what they are. So, what is an "Av Geek"? The term "Avgeek" only appeared relatively recently. The term is used by millennials to describe people who are fans of aircraft, airlines and any other aviation related topics! (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); History Whilst not explicitly called "Av Geeks", the heritage of aviation lovers can be traced back to even before we began to fly! Since the Roman and Greek times, man has wondered what it would be like to learn how to fly. It's even likely that people before the Greeks wondered what it would be like to fly, although the Greeks were the first to write it ...

4Mar

By Christopher HarrowNo Comments

Analysis

Can you fly with a broken bone?

A friend of mine recently broke his arm, but he is flying to Spain soon. Naturally he wonders if he can fly with a broken bone, so can you, or can't you? As a general rule, most airlines say you can't fly with a broken bone after 24 hours of breaking or fracturing the bone if the flight is under 2 hours. However, most airlines tend to say that you can't fly with a break/fracture after 48 hours if the flight is over 2 hours. Naturally, this may vary from airline to airline, so it is generally advised that you check with the airline you're flying on, however, most major airlines operate the above guidelines. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Why can't you fly with a broken bone? These rules are set in place due to worries about swelling and ...