Advertise on podcast: The Corporate Jet Investor Podcast

Josh Allen, CEO of Charter Flight Support, talks to Alasdair Whyte about building a business around charter aviation’s most stressful moment: the AOG. He covers his path from unpaid intern to CEO, how CFS prices and manages risk, the Lloyd’s insurance backing, what’s coming next, and where he sees the charter market heading.  Produced by Katie Cassin

Luis Barros, founder and CEO of Leviate Air Group, joins Alasdair Whyte to talk about his path from a first aviation program at 16 to building a Dallas-based business that covers charter, aircraft sales and operations. He explains how he bought the company he once worked for and why he went to Columbia Business School to study private equity. Barros explains how he plans to double Leviate organically, but acquisitions could make it five times larger. They also cover private equity’s role in aviation, the fight over special event fees, the need for tougher penalties on illegal charter, and Leviate’s first airliner project: a  Boeing 767. Luis closes with advice for anyone entering business aviation, buying their first aircraft or going out on their own.  Produced by Katie Cassin

This week on the Corporate Jet Investor podcast, Mark Bearden, Senior Vice President at First American Equipment Finance, explains why fractional ownership is so popular and why his banks likes financing it. Mark discusses why City National lends against the borrower rather than the aircraft, and how that approach fits well with used fractional shares. He covers what drove the post-2020 boom, who is buying fractional today, and when it beats charter, jet cards or whole-aircraft ownership. He also gets into how bonus depreciation has boosted demand, typical loan terms and closing times, and the long manufacturer backlogs. He finishes with where the fractional market goes next. Produced by Katie Cassin

Southern Cross Aircraft is one of the most active large business jet dealers in the world. In this CJI Podcast Pat Hosmann Jr. explains how they look for aircraft with “good bones” and the risks involved in inventory (especially when three brothers are making investment decisions). The company specialises in complex international deals and Hosmann explains how to deal with different cultures. He also says how tight-knit the community is: “In business aviation there is probably three degrees of separation, it’s all about personal relationships.” Produced by Katie Cassin

Denise Wilson has done nearly everything in business aviation: commercial pilot, aircraft manager, operator for 14 years, and now founder and president of The Jet Agent, a brokerage built on real advisory relationships instead of the usual sales hustle. In this episode, Denise talks about why she specialises in specific aircraft rather than a region, how she helps first time buyers cut through all the noise, and what's actually going on right now in the Citation M2 and CJ4 markets. She gets into off market deals, why she's not worried about AI replacing brokers, and the mistakes that quietly cost new jet owners down the line. Produced by Katie Cassin

John Odegard, founder of 5x5 Trading and Chairman of IADA, has spent 30+ years closing deals in private aviation, from NetJets to Wheels Up to building his own firm from scratch. He talks career pivots, the leap of faith it took to launch a new business in the middle of a global shutdown, what it really takes to move aircraft at scale, and the highs of competition and celebration in dealmaking, right down to the horn that goes off every time his team closes a deal. Plus: why he still says the brokerage world can feel like the Wild West. Produced by Katie Cassin

When Trump posted on Truth Social that Bombardier should be banned from the US, we did what any sensible person would do. Called a lawyer. Paul Jebely, partner at Sterlington, was characteristically calm. A Truth Social post isn't a law. There's no order, no tariff, nothing. And banning Bombardier? The Global 8000 wing is built in Texas. The engines are GE and Honeywell. 3,500 Americans build these planes. You'd essentially be banning American business aviation from buying the aircraft it already ordered. His prediction: Bombardier quietly announces more US assembly in Wichita, the White House declares victory, and the whole thing disappears. As Paul put it: keep calm and carry on. Produced by Katie Cassin

Marian Jancarik, Managing Director of aircraft brokerage Jetron, joins Alasdair on this week's episode of the CJI Podcast. Marian traces his path from selling small commuter turboprops in Slovakia, through roles at Seagle Air and ABS Jets, into aircraft sales for Embraer in Saudi Arabia during the 2008–09 downturn, to founding Jetron five years ago.  The discussion covers how far client education has come — from explaining basic ownership costs to today's highly informed buyers — and Jetron's "525" growth plan built around staying a focused, boutique European brokerage rather than chasing global scale. Jankaric contrasts his team-first model with larger brokerages where salespeople compete internally, talks through Jetron's transatlantic deal flow despite its regional reputation, and reflects on generational shifts among both buyers and his own team, including his teenage son's growing interest in the business.  He closes with practical advice for first-time buyers (charter extensively before purchasing) and reflects on the emotional, high-pressure realities of brokering and aircraft management. Produced by Katie Cassin

Dan Drohan, founder and CEO, Solairus, takes us through his acquisition of Clay Lacy's aircraft management and charter businesses. He talks through the road to 500+ managed aircraft, extending Solaris's client aviation manager model across the combined fleet and defending against rival operators circling Clay Lacy clients. Drohan also reflects on how the deal came together through his relationship with Clay Lacy's Brian Kirkdoffer, and why — despite the numbers — this was never about chasing scale for its own sake. Apologies for the sound quality on the CJI side. Our mic has died.   Produced by Katie Cassin

Kaye Gitibin spotted something nobody else cared about. Private jet passengers were landing at FBOs across America and being handed dirty, smoke-stained cars dragged over from commercial airports. So he started GoRentals — one location, seven cars, zero ad budget. Thirty years later he runs the only Forbes five-star car rental company in the world, at over 300 FBOs nationwide. His secret? He never called it a car rental company. It's hospitality. The car just comes with it. Produced by Katie Cassin

Alan Walsh didn't come from aviation. He spent 20 years in tech before a chance meeting with Flexjet's Andrew Collins led him to Sentient Jet in 2019. Seven years on, he runs the largest jet card company in the US, with 7,000 card owners and a 90%+ retention rate.  His philosophy is simple: obsessive service. Sentient answers every call, real human, no phone tree, within 15 seconds, 24/7. The World Cup just delivered their busiest summer yet, with 40% week on week growth. And with high net worth individuals in the US projected to grow 50% over four years, he sees no slowdown ahead.  Produced by Katie Cassin

Kerstin Mumenthaler, CEO of Axis Aviation, joins us to explain why her company sees itself as an asset manager, not just an operator. She breaks down Axis's multi-AOC setup across Switzerland, Austria, San Marino and South Africa, why a proprietary governance platform — not flying — is the real product, and the strategy behind the upcoming US expansion.  Kerstin also discusses the AXAero group's full pilot-to-owner ecosystem, why radical billing transparency is changing how owners trust their operators, and the career path that took her from airline pilot to crisis management consultant to running a fast-growing fleet of 50+ aircraft. Produced by Katie Cassin

In our latest episode we are joined by Yann Nado, business development director at multi-service business aviation company Global Jet Concept. With 22 years in business aviation sales, Yann's passion was sparked not by aircraft but by the clientele he serves. A champion of transparency and long-term partnerships, he specialises in large-cabin aircraft management, sales and charter.  We discuss a focus on high-growth African and Middle Eastern markets, how the company has gone paperless, development of in-house software for fuel optimisation, HR, client reporting and AI-driven budget modeling and why despite high fuel prices, aircraft acquisition demand remains strong. Plus much more besides.  Produced by Katie Cassin

If it feels like people are throwing money at you, it’s probably too good to be true. Sellers have been motivated by easy money in past business cycles, and there’s a real danger of that happening again now.   Jay Mesinger, CEO and President of Mesinger Jet Sales, says this goes all the way back to the days when aircraft sales were conducted via fax machine. The machine would ring and unsolicited offers would come streaming in. The same thing happened again with email after the COVID lockdowns ended.   High demand and low supply are both good news and bad news. The shift in market balance causes prices to firm up (and sometimes increase), but it can also lead sellers to believe the entire process can be compressed. That forces everyone to work transactions in a much more difficult environment. Pre-buys get denied. Closings get rushed without proper due diligence — the kind that’s critical for such a significant long-term purchase. Suddenly, the value of professional representation starts to look less important.   It sounds great if you’re a seller. But sellers can easily get caught up in the euphoria. Why pay for representation when buyers are lining up with offers? But wait — is this too good to be true? You bet it can be.   Speakers include: Jay Mesinger, CEO, Mesinger Jet Sales Mary Comazzi, Partner with Barnes & Thornburg David Norton, Partner, Shackelford, McKinley & Norton Joanne Barbera, Partner, Barbera & Watkins, LLC

Mike Swift, group vice president of sales responsible for Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific at Gulfstream, takes us through the bright spots in his huge region. This includes increased momentum in China, why India's growth story is finally arriving, and why the Middle East and Africa keep delivering despite the headlines.  Mike also unpacks what separates buyers across regions and his "long-term greedy" approach to the business. He also explains why Gulfstream's black curtains keep him excited about the future.  Produced by Katie Cassin