By Brent Jang | April 28, 2014 Estimated reading time 5 minutes, 38 seconds.
Wynne Powell likes what he sees after London Air Services (LAS) completed a recent fleet makeover, phasing in five new Bombardier Learjet 75s.
Powell, the chief executive officer at Vancouver-based LAS, is pleased because the charter operation will benefit from the new jets’ lower operating costs.
LAS is the Canadian launch customer for the Learjet 75, which has supplanted the Learjet 45 at the B.C. firm. Powell touts features such as WiFi capability; but putting on his accounting hat, he also points out improved fuel efficiency of up to four per cent in the 75s versus the 45s.
“We moved up to the 75s because they’ve got more power to the engines, faster takeoff, lower operating costs and a better environmental footprint,” said Powell, a certified general accountant. “It’s really a sweet machine.”
Since LAS began operations in 1999, Powell has reordered new aircraft models at frequent intervals because he believes in keeping up with advances in aviation technology.
“Some of the Learjet 45s were as young as three years, so they weren’t old aircraft by any stretch,” he said.
The LAS fleet now includes five Bombardier Learjet 75s, three Bombardier Challenger 605 jets and three AgustaWestland AW139 helicopters. The Challenger 605s are deployed on long-range trips, while the AW139s are often used to fly passengers to and from Sonora Resort, a luxury lodge located on Sonora Island on the West Coast. LAS also has a Bombardier Global 7000 business jet on order, due to arrive in 2017.
Powell, 67, retired as CEO of the London Drugs retail chain at the end of February, but he remains the head of LAS and Sonora Lodge. All three are owned by the Louie family’s H.Y. Louie Group of Vancouver.
LAS christened the eight-seat Learjet 75s during a February ceremony at the company’s hangar at the south terminal of Vancouver International Airport. Besides the eight leather seats in the Learjet 75, there is also room for an extra passenger at the back of the jet, where the toilet is located.
LAS has bought nearly 30 aircraft from Bombardier since 1999. From the start, Powell has stuck with a proven strategy of buying new aircraft outright without any financing. LAS believes it makes more sense than leasing, especially when factoring in the money that the company collects from selling its used aircraft.
The list price for the five new Learjet 75s totals $67 million.
“We don’t have financing on our equipment, and that helps us a lot. We buy, and we don’t finance,” Powell said.
While final assembly of the 75 model takes place in Wichita, Kan., components are built at various global sites. For instance, the fuselage is made at Bombardier’s Belfast site, and the wings are built at the manufacturer’s Downsview plant in Toronto.
Powell is optimistic about healthy demand for LAS charter services in the years ahead, but he also recalls some tough times.
During the 2008-09 recession, the private jet industry got stung. Some used jet prices fell by more than one-third. But, as corporations slowly regained their financial health, they realized once again that executive jets are a valuable business tool, Powell said.
“Business is about networking. There is video conferencing, but you can’t do only that,” he said.
LAS, which employs more than 25 pilots, saw an upswing in customers in late 2012. But due to a slump in British Columbia’s filming industry, the once-plentiful Hollywood contracts are infrequent.
“This is a very tough business and you can easily over-expand and cause yourself problems. You have to be astute and lucky. The economy can work against you,” Powell said.
Many LAS customers prefer taking on variable costs instead of having to account for a jet on the balance sheet. For example, the Trump Vancouver hotel and condo complex, currently under construction, has signed up with LAS to offer a jet-sharing program. The Trump development plans to provide a certain number of flight hours on the Learjet 75s to condo purchasers.
LAS’s growth over the years has been encouraging, with contracts to fly customers from a wide array of sectors such as energy, mining and real estate. But it pays to stay abreast of the times, especially with firms in the West such as Aurora Jet Partners and Blackcomb Aviation also vying for customers.
“You don’t take your success for granted. You better work hard every day, because there is a competitor who wants to take business away,” Powell said. “You have to have deep pockets, a long-term vision and be fanatical about customer service.”
