Private Equity and Private Aviation: A Love Story
Were you forwarded this newsletter? Subscribe here. Private Jet Insider Welcome to the nineteenth edition of Private Jet Insider. Today's newsletter is going to make some people mad. That's ok. That's kind of the reason you read this newsletter in the first place. Today we're going to talk about a beloved topic: Private Equity. Before you automatically click out and delete this, give it a skim. I think you might find some interesting tidbits of who's doing it right and who's doing it... well,...
about 15 hours ago • 7 min readThe Great Fleet Convergence
Were you forwarded this newsletter? Subscribe here. Private Jet Insider Welcome to the eighteenth edition of Private Jet Insider. There’s a verse in the Bible that says, “What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun.” - Ecclesiastes 1:9. Whatever worldview or religion you subscribe to, I think we can all agree there’s wisdom in that verse. It’s the inspiration for this newsletter, which I’m calling The Great Fleet...
10 days ago • 5 min readHow Interest Rates Affect Charter Rates
Were you forwarded this newsletter? Subscribe here. Private Jet Insider Welcome to the seventeenth edition of Private Jet Insider. For those of you who don’t know, I own an aviation finance company called Prestige Aircraft Finance. We help entrepreneurs, executives, and operators secure debt financing for aviation assets. I don’t typically bring this up because the point of this newsletter isn’t to promote my business, but rather to give you an insider’s view into the world of aviation. That...
24 days ago • 9 min readHow to Spend a Million Dollars
Were you forwarded this newsletter? Subscribe here. Private Jet Insider Welcome to the sixteenth edition of Private Jet Insider. In 1992, the Barenaked Ladies released "If I had a Million Dollars." In it, they theorized their prospective purchases they would make with a million dollars. One of my favorites is taking a limo to the store because it costs more. While a limo sounds cool, what if we applied that to airplanes? In today's newsletter, I'm going to suggest how you might spend $500,000...
about 1 month ago • 6 min readHow to Avoid Getting Ripped Off
Were you forwarded this newsletter? Subscribe here. Private Jet Insider Welcome to the fifteenth edition of Private Jet Insider. One of my favorite TED Talks ever is this guy replying to a spam email. Someone named "Solomon Odonkoh" sent a spam email to James Veitch that said: "Hello James Veitch, I have an interesting business proposal I want to share with you, Solomon." It's nine minutes long and is absolutely hilarious. Don't you wish every scam was that easy to spot? In the world of...
about 1 month ago • 7 min readConsumer Funded Growth
Were you forwarded this newsletter? Subscribe here. Private Jet Insider Welcome to the fourteenth edition of Private Jet Insider. Last week I didn't write, and the reason is I attended an event in Orlando for private aviation. I saw new Gulfstream G700, see old friends, meet new ones, and enjoy the first show of the year. In addition, I had two closings so I got busy and didn't have time to write. That's how you know this newsletter isn't written by Chat GPT or Grok, because if it was, you...
about 2 months ago • 7 min readPower Laws and Private Jets
Were you forwarded this newsletter? Subscribe here. Private Jet Insider Welcome to the thirteenth edition of Private Jet Insider. This newsletter is designed to be an insider's look at private aviation, and today you're going to get some real insider information including financials. I get asked often about the viability of providers, and the hard part is that none of them are publicly traded (minus Wheels Up and FlyExclusive). Today, we're going to break down the financials on a business...
2 months ago • 7 min readThe Inefficient Private Jet Hypothesis
Were you forwarded this newsletter? Subscribe here. Private Jet Insider Welcome to the twelfth edition of Private Jet Insider. When I started writing, I wanted to get my thoughts on the internet and maybe some people would read. I usually summarize a weeks worth of conversations with fliers and industry people and distill it down to something I think is digest-able. The typos and the spelling errors tell you that ChatGPT didn't write it, and the off-putting sarcasm and cynicism towards an...
3 months ago • 7 min readBuffett's Private Jet: 'Indefensible' to 'Indispensable'
Were you forwarded this newsletter? Subscribe here. Private Jet Insider Welcome to the eleventh edition of Private Jet Insider. In 1985, Warren Buffet had a particularly strong year. Berkshire's net worth grew by over $600 million (48%), and in 1986 Warren decided it was time to purchase his first aircraft. He spent a whopping $850,000 on a Falcon 20. In 1989, he upgraded to a $6.7m Challenger 600 and famously named his private jet 'The Indefensible'. In the shareholder meeting, Warren...
3 months ago • 14 min readWhat will Trump do for Private Jets?
Were you forwarded this newsletter? Subscribe here. Private Jet Insider Welcome to the tenth edition of Private Jet Insider. I was so glad to see private jet fliers Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, and Mark Zuckerberg (all Gulfstream owners) at the inauguration events. There was over $250m worth of metal represented in that one screen grab. Now that the administration has turned over, I think there are some ramifications for private aviation with the now-in-place administration. This is not a political...
3 months ago • 8 min read