A lifelong aviation enthusiast who joined&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;in 2007, Curt came to&nbsp;the publication&nbsp;from the broadcast industry where he was a national science and technology television reporter and producer. He writes on the FBO field, aviation finance, and sustainable aviation and occasionally contributes to&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;sister publication&nbsp;Business Jet Traveler. Curt was a member of the AINtv reporting staff that won the 2008 Aerospace Journalist of the Year award for Best Airshow Daily. That same year, he was a finalist for another AJOYA award. He earned an AJOYA for Best Business Aviation Submission in 2018 and was a finalist in that category in 2021. He received the National Air Transportation Association’s&nbsp; Aviation Journalist Award in 2012 and won a Pegasus Sapphire Business Aviation Award for outstanding journalism in 2021.
Before joining AIN, Curt worked with&nbsp;Consumer Reports’ television division, CRTV, and for several local television news staffs. An honors graduate of the State University of New York at Stony Brook, he earned a master’s degree in broadcast journalism from Boston University in 1995. Curt lives in New York State with his wife and two young sons.

Business Aviation Services Editor

Curt Epstein

To position themselves as an industry leading aviation operations software provider, MyFlightSolutions (Booth 4686) and Vessix (Booth 4786) have agreed to merge their respective solutions platforms into one package.

 


MyFlightSolutions began five years ago offering a software platform for flight training providers. It added a maintenance module two years ago, and at last year’s NBAA show it unveiled products for charter and FBO operators. “It’s pretty seamless because there was very little overlap in the products,” said MyFlightSolutions CEO Jack Garzella. “Vessix had all the payment technology, all of the FBO fuel provider contract technology, and we had all of the operations technology. This strategic merger is a game-changer for our industry, providing us with an incredibly advanced and integrated software product offering for aviation businesses that have been underserved in today’s market.”

 


The merger, which will take effect at the end of the year, will mean the end for Vessix. The new company will retain the MyFlightSolutions name, and Vessix co-founder and COO Tom Perkins will take on the role of president of the combined company. He predicts the system will improve productivity by up to 30 percent for its users by reducing the amount of manual entries required currently.

 


The Vessix system currently features secure point-of-sale credit card processing, transaction tracking, fuel-inventory management, tax reporting, facility scheduling and client database. It is in use at 32 Shell-branded FBOs.

 


With the announcement of the merger, a version of the combined, subscription-fee platform, known as Atlas, will be available to all 500 Shell-branded providers. It was installed last week at Tidewater Air, the lone FBO at North Carolina’s Coastal Carolina Regional Airport.

 


A similar deal with Avfuel was also announced this week at NBAA 2016, with the MyFlightFBO module. “This addition of MyFlightFBO means more choices for our branded network,” said William Light, the Ann Arbor, Mich.-based company’s vice president of administration.

 


Here at the NBAA show, MyFlightSolutions unveiled a new all-in-one payment application in conjunction with WEX Virtual Payments. Known as My Copilot, the app will present new technology to pilots, FBOs, trip-planning companies and fuel distributors. “Enabling operators to quickly and automatically reconcile a pilot’s trip expenses is groundbreaking,” said Jim Pratt, senior vice president and general manager of WEX.

 


The app will automate the receipt tracking process so users will not longer need to keep track of receipts for approved expenses. It will also generate a single-use Mastercard payment solution for all fuel and FBO purchases, as well as transportation, commercial airfare and hotel expenses anywhere Mastercard is accepted. “The fuel, the hotel, the ramp fee, the hangar all gets pulled into one transaction, settled at one time and all that data is real time,” Perkins told AIN.

Issues regarding financing of aircraft; aviation insurance; tax issues for aircraft operators; new companies and people in the aviation financing and insurance industries.

MyFlightSolutions and Vessix Tie the Knot

The two aviation software providers have joined forces to provide an end-to-end management solution for industry businesses.

2024 Corporate Aviation Leadership Summit

Charles Alcock

News and issues concerning the aviation charter and fractional-ownership industries and markets, including company announcements, regulations, new developments and labor issues.

News and issues relating to business, corporate and private aviation, primarily regarding turbine-engine-powered airplanes and helicopters. Subjects include aircraft, engines, maintenance, operations, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security, and training.

Per passenger duty rates are far higher for private charter flights than airlines 

EBAA France Warns Tax Could Kill Off Charter Operators

News and developments about airplanes, helicopters and unmanned air vehicles used in all varieties of operations, including airlines, military, business, commercial, general aviation and private.

Values for heavy jets has held up more strongly than smaller models

Amstat Preowned Data Shows Aircraft Size Fluctuations

Amy Wilder

Large-cabin fractional segment up 13.9%

Argus: September Bizav Activity Tops Forecast

News about bills, laws, regulations and other governmental decisions affecting aviation and aerospace. Topics include FAA re-authorizations, taxes on fuel and aviation activities, environmental legislation, ICAO decisions, governmental mediation of labor conflicts and World Trade Organization disputes and decisions.

More In Finance, Taxes, Insurance

EBAA France Warns Tax Could Kill Off Charter Operators

Per passenger duty rates are far higher for private charter flights than airlines

Amstat Preowned Data Shows Aircraft Size Fluctuations

Values for heavy jets has held up more strongly than smaller models

Argus: September Bizav Activity Tops Forecast

Large-cabin fractional segment up 13.9%

French Flight Tax Hits Country’s Charter Operators Hard

Movements by French charter jets have dipped between 11% and 20%

Great Wealth Transfer Could Reshape Air Charter Demand

Younger high-net-worth individuals may shift to charter, avoid capital gains tax burden

JetSmarter Investors Demand JSH Records amid Vista IPO Report

Investors say JSH never responded to July 2026 records request

Canada Looks To Extend 100% Expensing to Aircraft

Measure would be effective Sept. 15, 2026

FlyExclusive Q2 Revenue Rises on Smaller Fleet

Revenue gains achieved with 6% fewer aircraft, company reports

AIN Products

SUBSCRIPTIONS

RESOURCES

ABOUT AIN