AINaudiocast: Flight Options’ Kenn Ricci

July 24, 2008

Cleveland-based Flight Options came full circle this week when company founder Kenn Ricci returned to the helm, some six years after he sold the fractional provider. He now comes back to a flagging company in need of help, not to mention one with pilot labor problems. AIN spoke with Ricci to find out his plans for turning Flight Options around, as well as...

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AINaudiocast: Piper’s James Bass

May 29, 2008

Piper Aircraft’s two-year search for a new home came full circle yesterday afternoon when the company announced it will stay in Vero Beach, Fla. Just minutes after the big announcement, AIN sat down with Piper president and CEO James Bass to find out why the aircraft manufacturer chose Vero Beach over Albuquerque, N.M., and Oklahoma City, the other...

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AINaudiocast: Fernand François, the Father of EBACE

May 22, 2008

Former EBAA CEO Fernand François and Jack Olcott, his counterpart from NBAA at the time, launched the European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition eight years ago. Today, EBACE has grown by leaps and bounds. AIN caught up with François, the father of EBACE, at the show this week to find out how it all started and to get his impressions of how the...

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AINaudiocast: Eclipse’s Vern Raburn

May 21, 2008

Eclipse Aviation announced this week that it received approval from U.S. and Canadian authorities to export the Eclipse 500 very light jet and its components to Russia, where it plans to establish an assembly facility in Ulyanovsk. AIN caught up with company founder and CEO Vern Raburn at EBACE to talk about the Russian manufacturing plans and European...

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AINaudiocast: Ed Iacobucci, DayJet

May 08, 2008

On Tuesday, Boca Raton, Fla.-based DayJet made the difficult decision to put its growth plans on hold after not being able to obtain another $50 million in funding to move to the next stage. As a result, the per-seat, on-demand air-taxi operator laid off 100 of its roughly 260 employees and now plans to sell or lease out 16 of its 28 Eclipse 500s. Click...

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AINaudiocast: Kenn Ricci, Nextant Aerospace

May 01, 2008

Kenn Ricci, founder and former CEO of Flight Options, has once more reemerged at a new aviation venture. This time he’s landed at Nextant Aerospace, which recently announced a re-engining and avionics retrofit program for Beechjets and Hawker 400XPs. AIN spoke with Ricci to find out about Nextant’s 400NXT program, as well as parent company Directional...

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AINaudiocast: Cessna’s Jack Pelton

February 07, 2008

Cessna unveiled a mockup of a large-cabin intercontinental jet at the 2006 NBAA Convention, and based on strong market acceptance announced on January 24 the formal launch of the biggest Citation yet. Yesterday, Cessna revealed many more details about the newly named Citation Columbus, and AIN asked Cessna chairman, president and CEO Jack Pelton...

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AINaudiocast: AdamWorks’ Rick Adam

January 31, 2008

Adam Aircraft founder Rick Adam–who left the fledgling Englewood, Colo. aircraft manufacturer last year–has resurfaced at AdamWorks, which aims to design and manufacture complete composite solutions for any industry, including aerospace. AIN spoke with him to find out more about his plans for the newly formed company. Click here to listen.

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AINaudiocast: Avantair’s Steve Santo

January 24, 2008

Piaggio Avanti fractional provider Avantair has been steadily building its operation and is taking delivery of the twin turboprops as fast as Piaggio can make them. Next year it will expand its fleet in a different direction with the addition of entry-level Phenom 100 twinjets. We sat down with Avantair founder and CEO Steve Santo for an update on the...

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AINaudiocast: XOJet’s Nick Solinger

January 15, 2008

Even before it announced an order for 30 Cessna Citation Xs and 80 Bombardier Challenger 300s at the NBAA Convention in September, XOJet was busy blurring the lines between fractional and charter operations. To find out more about the company’s unique business plan and future growth, AIN spoke with XOJet chief strategy and marketing officer Nick Solinger....

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