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The Blame Game

Maybe it’s our Air Capital base, but we take umbrage at today’s jet shaming. As the birthplace of the Learjet, which created the jet set, we understand the unique, vital role of business aviation. We’ve spent our careers showing how jets are time machines, not frivolous toys.

That said, we understand that private aviation provides an easy, high-profile target. For instance, Alphabet’s Google Camp climate-change-focused event in Sicily last summer drew more than A-list celebrities. It attracted 114 private jets. Social media was quick to point out the hypocrisy of voicing concern about global warming while squandering fossil fuel to get there. It seemed to imply: Do as I say, but not as I do.

SAF Panel at NBAA-BACE 2019

The Case for Face to Face

Good things happen when people come together. Teleconferencing can be a decent substitute, but it can never match the magic that happens when people sit down in the same room. Look eye to eye. Shake hands. The human element is a big reason why business aviation exists. And sometimes, for the world’s movers and shakers, there is no other schedule-friendly, security-guaranteeing option to jumping on a jet.

In the UK, some quarters have begun to demand a ban in 2025 on private jets powered solely by fossil fuels. At a minimum, we can expect more stringent fuel economy and emissions regulations. We understand the wish to reduce the amount of CO2 released into the atmosphere. We all want that.

However, since there are only 20,000 or so private jets operating today, their elimination wouldn’t help much. Private jets contribute as little as .04% of the 2-3% of global emissions traced to the full aviation industry.

The industry’s efforts to wean itself from hydrocarbons have been accelerating. Everyone was talking about sustainability and new energy solutions at the National Business Aviation Association’s Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (NBAA-BACE) last month. And that was in the go-go, never-sleep, desert oasis called Vegas. More remains to be done as the industry works through sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) pricing and availability issues. But there is a will to do it that I have not seen before.

The Push for Carbon Neutrality

World Fuel Services says its customers are starting to plan now to respond to Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) regulations taking effect next year. Through various relationships, it can provide the necessary monitoring, verification and reporting required by European Union Emission Trading Scheme (EU ETS), CORSIA and emission requirements throughout the globe.

As new countries require domestic emission programs, World Fuel can help customers navigate and incorporate emission requirements into the most cost-effective, doable sustainability plans. It helps them move beyond mere regulatory compliance to such green initiatives as converting a large hangar to solar energy for heating and cooling. A real perk of doing the right thing could be lower energy spending.

World Fuel Services at NBAA-BACE 2019

Collaboration Instead of Finger Pointing

Working together, we can gain more control of our environmental impact and achieve needed sustainability objectives. We have to. And we are.

This column originally appeared in the Nov. 21, 2019, issue of BlueSky Business Aviation News.

11.21.19 · Sonia Greteman

JetHQ turns to Greteman Group for marketing support

WICHITA, Kan. – Global aircraft brokerage firm JetHQ is on the move – and it wants the world to know it. To communicate the company’s evolution, it turned to Air Capital-based Greteman Group. Working collaboratively, the teams set objectives and strategies to achieve them.

“I founded JetHQ because customers in the preowned market weren’t receiving the same level of service as those buying new from the manufacturer,” says Garett Jerde, founder and managing director. “Greteman Group’s customer-first, proactive service mirrors our own. That and its aviation expertise made the selection process easy.”

JetHQ is growing in size and service offerings. From its central locations in Kansas City, MO, and Dubai, UAE, it conducts business worldwide. Sourcing specific aircraft. Shepherding clients through difficult deals. Aircraft transactions require real-time market data, and JetHQ provides research-based solutions. Its global network of relationships unite qualified buyers and sellers for both business and commercial aircraft, including jets, turboprops and helicopters.

“JetHQ’s global reach and ability to navigate various countries’ intricate and unique regulations come from its deep experience,” says Ashley Bowen Cook, Greteman Group vice president and brand director. “We consider it a privilege to help elevate their outreach efforts and increase understanding of their transformational support. Harried business owners can relax knowing that JetHQ will ensure their aircraft acquisitions and transactions go more smoothly and correctly.”

New branding and a reimagined website launched just prior to the National Business Aviation Association’s Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition (NBAA-BACE) in Las Vegas, Oct. 22-24. JetHQ held private viewings during the show for a Gulfstream G280 and G450 aircraft. The first night of the convention, it held a well-attended, invitation-only event at the Cosmopolitan Chandelier Lounge. This intimate event allowed JetHQ to connect more personally with partners, clients and industry friends.

The refreshed website prominently features JetHQ’s diverse aircraft inventory. Visitors can easily swipe through to review highlights on each aircraft, including recently added planes. Customers now know they can always go to JetHQ.com to see an up-to-date inventory and catch up on the latest company happenings. Staff bios, always a more heavily trafficked page, showcase the personality and diversity of the team through engaging, environmental photography and copy that’s more than a listing of job duties and past positions. They tell stories and paint a picture of the individual. You come away knowing something new about that person – like Jerde’s shark-cage diving off the coast of South Africa and marathon running in Switzerland.

“Our new marketing communicates sophistication, expertise and a global reach,” says Ted Farid, JetHQ chairman. “Even our customers have commented how our brand now better aligns with who we are.”

The evolved, stylized icon draws inspiration from the previous mark while making it more modern. A globe branches out into a set of wings alongside a timeless, serif wordmark. The introduction of gold to the color palette represents JetHQ’s premium inventory as well as its best-in-class service.

“I’ve worked with Greteman Group in previous roles I’ve held and was always proud of what we accomplished together,” says Jill Plumb, JetHQ vice president of marketing and sales management. “I knew this team could take us where we want to go – and it is.”

Sonia Greteman, agency president and creative director, agrees that collaboration and a foundation of trust made the process smooth and successful. “JetHQ represents everything you want in a client – someone who delivers stellar services and is open to a fresh way of telling their story,” Greteman says. “Their management team understands and values the role of strategic creative.”

ABOUT JETHQ

JetHQ was founded in 2012 and has headquarters in Kansas City, MO, and Dubai, UAE. Its team of proven, dedicated aircraft brokers match sellers with qualified buyers worldwide. It has sold aircraft in nearly every country, guiding buyers through the complete sales process, from consultation to delivery. It manages acquisitions and provides brokerage services, aircraft inspections, aircraft acceptance and delivery. Global locations enable JetHQ to provide clients 24/7 support regardless of time zones, distances, culture or language. JetHQ.com

ABOUT GRETEMAN GROUP

Greteman Group has developed an international reputation as an aviation-specialty marketing agency based in Wichita, Kan. – the Air Capital. Leading aircraft manufacturers, flight support, aftermarket services, fractional ownership, insurance, in-flight Wi-Fi, regional airlines and airport analytics have entrusted their brands to Greteman Group. Clients include FlightSafety International, SmartSky Networks, Wichita Eisenhower National Airport, Clay Lacy Aviation, JetHQ, USAIG, King Aerospace, Piedmont Airlines, Aviation Partners and APiJET. The firm is a founding member of the Wichita Aero Club and a longstanding member of the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA). Since its founding in 1989, this certified women-owned business enterprise (WBE) has developed a team of purpose-driven pros. The agency celebrated its 30th anniversary April 1, 2019.

11.19.19 · Deanna Harms

Listening to an Air Capital Encyclopedia

Wichita Aero Club members came out en masse yesterday to hear aviation historian Ed Phillips recount the Air Capital’s one-of-a-kind history. Sonia Greteman, president and creative director of Greteman Group, kicked off the club’s November meeting by introducing our recently published book, Wichita: Where Aviation Took Wing.

Wichita Aero Club members discuss Ed Phillips’ recounting of the Air Capital’s history.

It familiarizes readers with Wichita’s early birds and barnstormers, the daring pioneers and entrepreneurs who risked everything to birth an industry. Most important, it shares why aviation isn’t just our past, but our future. Sonia encouraged everyone in the audience to follow the dreamers that made us the Air Capital. To promote our heritage and our role as one of the world’s only five major aviation clusters. Others are Dallas, Montreal, Seattle and Toulouse. Wichita’s is the most diverse. Wichita brought it all together. The people. The planes. The promise. And we had an excellent speaker to tell us about it.

Uniquely Positioned to tell the Air Capital’s Story

Ed makes the Air Capital and our aircraft manufacturers his specialty. He has authored eight books, including Wings Over the Prairie, and multitudes of articles on the development of Wichita’s aircraft industry. Many of the conversations he shared with people such as Dwayne Wallace, Olive Ann Beech, and other Wichita icons were among the last interviews they granted. He knows his stuff, having earned a degree in journalism with a minor in aviation from the University of North Dakota. Oh, and he’s also a pilot, A&P mechanic and advanced ground instructor. Ed worked for Beech Aircraft and Piedmont Airlines. For more than two decades, he wrote for Aviation Week magazine.

Aviation historian Ed Phillips

The presentation skillfully blended facts with Ed’s unique insights and personal anecdotes. That man has the stories. While I’ve heard him speak before, I appreciated that this time he highlighted more women who had a major influence on aviation in Wichita. A good reminder that breaking the glass ceiling started a long time ago in what is often considered a male-dominated industry.

Greteman Group Brand Manager Samantha Stinson and Vice President/Brand Director Ashley Bowen Cook sold books at the Wichita Aero Club Luncheon.

Interested in reading even more about the men, women and companies that made the Air Capital? You can order your book here.

Ed Phillips and Dave Franson, Wichita Aero Club president, pose with Wichita: Where Aviation Took Wing.

Photos courtesy Junebug Clark, Visual Media Group.

11.13.19 · Ashley Bowen Cook