1 01:00:03,599 --> 01:00:06,035 Time is money to the owner and the 2 01:00:06,035 --> 01:00:07,103 operator, like you said. 3 01:00:07,503 --> 01:00:10,707 So that downtime is very important. 4 01:00:12,041 --> 01:00:14,010 And again, I think that's a 5 01:00:14,010 --> 01:00:15,979 bigger factor than just price. 6 01:00:17,313 --> 01:00:19,349 Welcome to Own the Jet by Aspen Aero 7 01:00:19,349 --> 01:00:20,516 Group, where we share 8 01:00:20,516 --> 01:00:21,551 perspectives from some of the 9 01:00:21,551 --> 01:00:23,353 leading voices in private jet ownership 10 01:00:23,353 --> 01:00:24,487 and business aviation. 11 01:00:25,321 --> 01:00:27,256 I'm your host, Derik Savage, along with 12 01:00:27,256 --> 01:00:28,191 my co-host, Jason 13 01:00:28,191 --> 01:00:31,194 Spoor, president of Aspen Aero Group 14 01:00:31,728 --> 01:00:33,162 Our guest today is Stephen 15 01:00:33,162 --> 01:00:34,597 Maiden from West Star Aviation. 16 01:00:34,998 --> 01:00:37,300 As the CEO of West Star, Stephen leads one of 17 01:00:37,300 --> 01:00:39,402 the largest and most respected teams in 18 01:00:39,402 --> 01:00:40,536 maintenance, repair and 19 01:00:40,536 --> 01:00:42,438 overhaul services for private jets. 20 01:00:43,106 --> 01:00:44,941 Join us as we dive deep into the 21 01:00:44,941 --> 01:00:46,476 mechanics, mindset and 22 01:00:46,476 --> 01:00:47,944 moments that define jet 23 01:00:47,977 --> 01:00:50,747 ownership. And together, we'll learn what 24 01:00:50,747 --> 01:00:52,582 it takes to own the jet. 25 01:00:52,982 --> 01:00:55,051 Stephen Maiden, CEO of West Star. 26 01:00:55,051 --> 01:00:55,885 Welcome to Own the Jet. 27 01:00:56,085 --> 01:00:57,020 Thank you so much for being here. 28 01:00:57,020 --> 01:00:57,487 Glad you're here. 29 01:00:57,887 --> 01:00:58,888 Thank you for having me. 30 01:00:58,888 --> 01:01:00,456 I am super excited to be 31 01:01:00,456 --> 01:01:01,624 here and be a part of this. 32 01:01:01,991 --> 01:01:03,659 Tell me for the uninitiated, right? 33 01:01:04,127 --> 01:01:04,927 Can you just give me an 34 01:01:04,927 --> 01:01:07,864 overview of what West Star does? 35 01:01:08,197 --> 01:01:13,136 So West Star Aviation is an acronym MRO, a 36 01:01:13,136 --> 01:01:14,270 maintenance, repair and overhaul 37 01:01:14,337 --> 01:01:16,973 facility. We focus on 38 01:01:16,973 --> 01:01:19,008 maintenance on business jets. 39 01:01:19,275 --> 01:01:21,310 If I'm buying a jet, do I, 40 01:01:21,511 --> 01:01:23,279 as part of that transaction, do I get 41 01:01:23,312 --> 01:01:25,882 introduced to you and your team or am I 42 01:01:25,882 --> 01:01:27,250 expected to kind of like have my own 43 01:01:27,250 --> 01:01:28,317 maintenance stuff figured out? 44 01:01:28,317 --> 01:01:29,952 How does that work if I'm buying a jet? 45 01:01:29,986 --> 01:01:32,922 So typically you would have a 46 01:01:32,922 --> 01:01:34,624 representative if you're buying a jet for 47 01:01:34,624 --> 01:01:35,425 the first time, you're 48 01:01:35,425 --> 01:01:36,893 probably working with a broker. 49 01:01:37,226 --> 01:01:40,463 That broker typically has relationships 50 01:01:40,463 --> 01:01:41,831 with the maintenance community. 51 01:01:43,399 --> 01:01:45,568 Your first introduction to a maintenance 52 01:01:45,568 --> 01:01:47,437 provider would be through your 53 01:01:47,470 --> 01:01:48,504 pre-purchase inspection. 54 01:01:49,505 --> 01:01:53,609 So typically a buyer is buying an 55 01:01:53,609 --> 01:01:55,411 airplane and they will do a pre-purchase 56 01:01:55,545 --> 01:01:56,846 inspection. It would go 57 01:01:56,846 --> 01:01:57,713 to a maintenance facility. 58 01:01:58,281 --> 01:01:58,614 Yeah. 59 01:01:58,614 --> 01:02:01,117 Say it went to West Star and then we would 60 01:02:01,117 --> 01:02:02,852 do the defined inspection. 61 01:02:02,852 --> 01:02:05,688 We would look at your records, provide a 62 01:02:05,688 --> 01:02:08,091 whole records review of kind of the 63 01:02:08,458 --> 01:02:09,859 history of the airplane. 64 01:02:09,926 --> 01:02:10,259 Okay. 65 01:02:10,827 --> 01:02:13,963 It's inspection, you know, pedigree. 66 01:02:14,797 --> 01:02:16,499 And then we would perform an inspection. 67 01:02:16,833 --> 01:02:19,035 We would provide a list of discrepancies 68 01:02:19,035 --> 01:02:21,504 and then it would be like a 69 01:02:21,504 --> 01:02:22,472 pre-inspection of a home. 70 01:02:22,905 --> 01:02:25,441 But that would be your first introduction 71 01:02:25,441 --> 01:02:28,144 into working with a maintenance 72 01:02:28,211 --> 01:02:29,212 provider like West Star. 73 01:02:29,545 --> 01:02:30,613 So typically if somebody does the 74 01:02:30,613 --> 01:02:34,550 pre-inspection with West Star, is it kind of 75 01:02:34,550 --> 01:02:35,418 assumed that they're going to keep 76 01:02:35,418 --> 01:02:37,153 working with you after they purchase that 77 01:02:37,153 --> 01:02:38,855 jet or is it just kind of up to them? 78 01:02:39,555 --> 01:02:41,891 So it is up to them. 79 01:02:42,859 --> 01:02:44,827 You know, it's a great opportunity to 80 01:02:44,827 --> 01:02:45,895 make a first impression. 81 01:02:46,929 --> 01:02:50,933 Our industry, you know, typically we are 82 01:02:50,933 --> 01:02:53,903 on an annual calendar based 83 01:02:54,070 --> 01:02:54,937 inspection schedule. 84 01:02:55,304 --> 01:02:57,607 So that airplane would come due for a 85 01:02:57,607 --> 01:03:00,176 mandatory inspection probably within 86 01:03:00,176 --> 01:03:01,244 the next 12 months. 87 01:03:02,512 --> 01:03:04,714 And, you know, we would be a potential 88 01:03:04,714 --> 01:03:07,316 option, especially if that pre-purchase 89 01:03:07,450 --> 01:03:08,985 inspection went very well. 90 01:03:09,685 --> 01:03:11,454 So can you tell us the 91 01:03:11,454 --> 01:03:13,956 history and where you are now? 92 01:03:14,457 --> 01:03:14,690 Yeah. 93 01:03:14,991 --> 01:03:18,060 So the West Star that everybody knows of 94 01:03:18,060 --> 01:03:22,064 today really started a journey back in 95 01:03:22,064 --> 01:03:25,201 2002 when what we call our founders 96 01:03:25,201 --> 01:03:27,703 bought a company called Premier Air 97 01:03:27,737 --> 01:03:30,940 Center in East Alton, 98 01:03:31,674 --> 01:03:33,643 Illinois, which is right out of St. Louis. 99 01:03:34,277 --> 01:03:37,380 And that business the year before they 100 01:03:37,380 --> 01:03:40,283 bought it did about $7 million worth of 101 01:03:40,283 --> 01:03:40,983 business. 102 01:03:40,983 --> 01:03:44,854 So relatively small back in 2002 and then 103 01:03:44,854 --> 01:03:48,424 in 2005 they acquired the West Star 104 01:03:48,457 --> 01:03:50,026 name, which was out in 105 01:03:50,026 --> 01:03:51,194 Grand Junction, Colorado. 106 01:03:51,527 --> 01:03:53,396 We started out having small 107 01:03:53,396 --> 01:03:55,932 maintenance shops at each FBO. 108 01:03:57,567 --> 01:04:01,871 You know, today there that has there's 109 01:04:01,871 --> 01:04:03,072 been a lot of consolidation. 110 01:04:04,540 --> 01:04:06,409 But yeah, we are one of 111 01:04:06,409 --> 01:04:09,145 the largest independent MROs. 112 01:04:09,212 --> 01:04:12,582 You know, across the United States, but 113 01:04:12,582 --> 01:04:16,152 in the world, we've won the number one 114 01:04:16,152 --> 01:04:19,488 MRO 10 out of the last 11 years. 115 01:04:19,789 --> 01:04:23,226 So I'll allow that survey to stand on its 116 01:04:23,226 --> 01:04:26,395 own, but super proud of our team at 117 01:04:26,395 --> 01:04:27,296 West Star. 118 01:04:27,363 --> 01:04:29,665 As people are getting into jet ownership 119 01:04:29,665 --> 01:04:31,434 and they're, you 120 01:04:31,434 --> 01:04:32,535 know, I don't know, maybe 121 01:04:32,535 --> 01:04:33,836 they have their jet for a little while. 122 01:04:34,770 --> 01:04:36,539 What are some situations where they might 123 01:04:36,539 --> 01:04:38,774 be introduced to you versus the 124 01:04:38,908 --> 01:04:39,442 competitors? 125 01:04:39,442 --> 01:04:42,311 Like do they have to be like, I don't 126 01:04:42,311 --> 01:04:43,112 know, do they go with 127 01:04:43,112 --> 01:04:43,746 an MRO and that's the 128 01:04:43,746 --> 01:04:44,814 only MRO they go to? 129 01:04:44,814 --> 01:04:45,348 Or is it just kind of 130 01:04:45,348 --> 01:04:46,515 like on a case by case basis? 131 01:04:46,515 --> 01:04:47,817 Like if people are thinking about the 132 01:04:47,817 --> 01:04:50,086 analogy of like car ownership, right? 133 01:04:50,353 --> 01:04:50,553 Right. 134 01:04:50,753 --> 01:04:50,953 Yeah. 135 01:04:50,953 --> 01:04:53,089 Do I like if my alternator goes out, do I 136 01:04:53,089 --> 01:04:56,792 go to like this specific, you know, place 137 01:04:56,792 --> 01:04:59,595 to get it fixed or is it just, I don't 138 01:04:59,595 --> 01:05:00,730 know, you know what I'm saying? 139 01:05:00,730 --> 01:05:01,931 Like is it on my case by case basis? 140 01:05:02,665 --> 01:05:06,469 Every airplane has, almost every airplane 141 01:05:06,469 --> 01:05:08,738 has a calendar based requirement. 142 01:05:09,105 --> 01:05:10,806 So that airplane has to get 143 01:05:10,806 --> 01:05:12,808 inspected on an annual basis. 144 01:05:13,142 --> 01:05:13,342 Yeah. 145 01:05:13,476 --> 01:05:13,676 Okay. 146 01:05:15,711 --> 01:05:19,115 So you have that recurring nature of the 147 01:05:19,115 --> 01:05:21,851 maintenance requirement, but you have to 148 01:05:21,851 --> 01:05:24,654 win that event every single year. 149 01:05:25,187 --> 01:05:27,890 And typically it really is highly 150 01:05:27,890 --> 01:05:30,393 dependent on how you performed in the 151 01:05:30,393 --> 01:05:31,127 previous inspection. 152 01:05:31,327 --> 01:05:31,394 Right. 153 01:05:31,427 --> 01:05:32,662 So when you say you have to win that 154 01:05:32,662 --> 01:05:34,330 event, you mean you guys have to make the 155 01:05:34,330 --> 01:05:35,631 case for them bringing it to you. 156 01:05:35,631 --> 01:05:35,932 That's right. 157 01:05:36,165 --> 01:05:36,365 Yeah. 158 01:05:36,465 --> 01:05:39,101 And typically the owner, the operator, 159 01:05:39,468 --> 01:05:41,304 the director of maintenance or the chief 160 01:05:41,370 --> 01:05:43,873 pilot is typically going out and getting 161 01:05:43,873 --> 01:05:45,408 two or three different quotes. 162 01:05:46,676 --> 01:05:49,345 But if, if you are the tried and true 163 01:05:49,345 --> 01:05:52,548 maintenance provider that has performed 164 01:05:52,548 --> 01:05:54,250 time and time again from an on-time 165 01:05:54,250 --> 01:05:56,085 performance, from a quality perspective, 166 01:05:56,652 --> 01:05:58,954 from a safety, you know, systems 167 01:05:58,954 --> 01:06:01,223 perspective, I think 168 01:06:01,223 --> 01:06:02,358 you put yourself in a 169 01:06:02,358 --> 01:06:05,261 much better position to re-win that 170 01:06:05,261 --> 01:06:06,762 recurring inspection. 171 01:06:07,229 --> 01:06:09,065 What are some of the things that maybe 172 01:06:09,065 --> 01:06:12,068 you're asking people in that situation, 173 01:06:12,068 --> 01:06:13,436 right, when they have the choice to go 174 01:06:13,436 --> 01:06:14,704 with West Star or Brand 175 01:06:14,704 --> 01:06:15,671 X or whatever, right? 176 01:06:16,605 --> 01:06:17,807 What are some of the things you're asking 177 01:06:17,807 --> 01:06:19,642 them to try to get them to see the 178 01:06:19,642 --> 01:06:22,244 differentiators, see the reasons that 179 01:06:22,244 --> 01:06:22,745 they would want to go 180 01:06:22,745 --> 01:06:23,980 with West Star versus the 181 01:06:23,980 --> 01:06:24,413 competition? 182 01:06:24,814 --> 01:06:26,449 There's a lot of really good maintenance 183 01:06:26,449 --> 01:06:27,650 providers out there. 184 01:06:28,184 --> 01:06:29,418 And I'm going to ask you to slam it. 185 01:06:29,418 --> 01:06:30,920 Yeah, no, no, we're all friends. 186 01:06:31,153 --> 01:06:32,955 And we don't look at it as competition. 187 01:06:33,322 --> 01:06:34,390 We really don't. 188 01:06:35,524 --> 01:06:38,294 There's so much demand that's out there. 189 01:06:38,494 --> 01:06:40,396 I think the difference is, are 190 01:06:40,396 --> 01:06:42,131 you going to a one-stop shop? 191 01:06:42,331 --> 01:06:44,000 Are you, are you going to, you know, when 192 01:06:44,000 --> 01:06:46,869 things go wrong and you've got to look at 193 01:06:46,936 --> 01:06:49,705 it, a director of maintenance or a chief 194 01:06:49,705 --> 01:06:52,274 pilot, when they're making a decision to 195 01:06:52,608 --> 01:06:54,744 take their airplane somewhere, you got to 196 01:06:54,744 --> 01:06:57,179 look at it from their perspective that 197 01:06:57,346 --> 01:06:58,714 their job is on the line. 198 01:06:59,348 --> 01:07:02,485 So when things go wrong, you want to be 199 01:07:02,485 --> 01:07:03,786 at a place where you 200 01:07:03,786 --> 01:07:05,888 feel safe and secure and 201 01:07:06,489 --> 01:07:08,190 that that facility is capable. 202 01:07:08,958 --> 01:07:10,693 So, you know, I think you look at it, 203 01:07:10,693 --> 01:07:13,562 there is the OEM perspective and that's a 204 01:07:13,562 --> 01:07:16,332 very good, easy answer for somebody to 205 01:07:16,332 --> 01:07:17,633 say, hey, I want my 206 01:07:17,633 --> 01:07:18,768 airplane to be maintained 207 01:07:19,168 --> 01:07:19,835 by the OEM. 208 01:07:20,336 --> 01:07:23,039 At the same point, there are, you know, 209 01:07:23,973 --> 01:07:24,874 various other options 210 01:07:24,874 --> 01:07:26,475 in the OEM and the OEM 211 01:07:26,509 --> 01:07:27,643 can't support every 212 01:07:27,643 --> 01:07:28,711 airplane that's out there. 213 01:07:29,178 --> 01:07:31,047 Most OEMs have less than 50 214 01:07:31,047 --> 01:07:32,648 percent of the market share. 215 01:07:32,882 --> 01:07:34,683 Do the OEMs want that market share? 216 01:07:34,683 --> 01:07:35,818 I mean, is that a thing that they're 217 01:07:35,818 --> 01:07:37,119 trying to go after or? 218 01:07:37,453 --> 01:07:41,023 Yeah, I mean, they don't have the 219 01:07:41,023 --> 01:07:42,425 capacity to support 100 220 01:07:42,425 --> 01:07:43,526 percent of the market share. 221 01:07:44,026 --> 01:07:46,228 So I think they focus on, 222 01:07:46,228 --> 01:07:48,030 you know, a certain vintage. 223 01:07:48,130 --> 01:07:50,032 Certainly they want to support in 224 01:07:50,032 --> 01:07:51,167 warranty airplanes, 225 01:07:51,167 --> 01:07:52,835 airplanes that are probably five 226 01:07:52,902 --> 01:07:54,403 years or newer. 227 01:07:55,304 --> 01:07:56,338 Each of the OEMs have 228 01:07:56,338 --> 01:07:57,406 a different strategy. 229 01:07:57,640 --> 01:07:59,608 But at the end of the day, there isn't 230 01:07:59,608 --> 01:08:03,345 enough capacity for all of the demand. 231 01:08:03,846 --> 01:08:04,046 Yeah. 232 01:08:04,980 --> 01:08:07,016 You know, so again, I think it puts the 233 01:08:07,016 --> 01:08:09,985 independent in a good position to be a 234 01:08:09,985 --> 01:08:12,888 really good alternate to to 235 01:08:12,888 --> 01:08:15,891 the OEM from my perspective. 236 01:08:15,925 --> 01:08:16,926 So more about you. 237 01:08:17,993 --> 01:08:18,894 How did you get into this? 238 01:08:19,762 --> 01:08:22,631 So, you know, I'm probably like a lot of 239 01:08:22,631 --> 01:08:25,134 people that watched the famous movie in 240 01:08:25,134 --> 01:08:28,037 1986 and fell in love with 241 01:08:28,037 --> 01:08:31,106 with aviation coming out of top. 242 01:08:31,707 --> 01:08:32,408 Yeah, top. 243 01:08:32,775 --> 01:08:33,275 Top gun. 244 01:08:33,576 --> 01:08:35,010 But join the Air Force. 245 01:08:35,277 --> 01:08:37,746 It was literally the single best decision 246 01:08:37,746 --> 01:08:41,650 that I probably ever made in my life and 247 01:08:42,418 --> 01:08:45,821 spent just over four years, you know, 248 01:08:45,821 --> 01:08:49,892 working on F-16s and transitioned out to 249 01:08:49,892 --> 01:08:52,094 business aviation and was very fortunate 250 01:08:52,094 --> 01:08:54,430 to get, you know, 251 01:08:54,430 --> 01:08:56,098 have a career immediately 252 01:08:56,098 --> 01:08:57,266 out of the military. 253 01:08:57,600 --> 01:08:59,168 So you are an A&P. 254 01:08:59,702 --> 01:09:02,071 So I'm yeah, I'm a by 255 01:09:02,071 --> 01:09:03,672 trade and avionics technician. 256 01:09:04,073 --> 01:09:04,473 OK, yeah. 257 01:09:04,807 --> 01:09:06,375 I was an environmental and electrical 258 01:09:06,375 --> 01:09:08,611 technician in the Air 259 01:09:08,611 --> 01:09:10,346 Force, but transitioned. 260 01:09:10,679 --> 01:09:13,015 And then, yes, I did go 261 01:09:13,015 --> 01:09:14,383 become a mechanic as well. 262 01:09:14,850 --> 01:09:17,253 So not only, you know, are you are you 263 01:09:17,253 --> 01:09:19,555 the leader and CEO of 264 01:09:19,555 --> 01:09:20,389 this company, but you 265 01:09:20,422 --> 01:09:22,825 understand it from the floor right to 266 01:09:22,825 --> 01:09:23,926 right to where you are. 267 01:09:23,926 --> 01:09:24,493 I do. 268 01:09:24,493 --> 01:09:27,263 And I think, you know, that's something 269 01:09:27,263 --> 01:09:28,464 I'm very proud of, is 270 01:09:28,464 --> 01:09:29,999 that I can relate to, 271 01:09:30,432 --> 01:09:31,500 you know, all of our employees. 272 01:09:31,734 --> 01:09:32,835 I understand it. 273 01:09:33,435 --> 01:09:34,870 You probably don't want me working on an 274 01:09:34,870 --> 01:09:36,872 airplane anymore, but I do love it. 275 01:09:36,906 --> 01:09:39,208 And I love certainly strategizing and 276 01:09:39,208 --> 01:09:39,942 troubleshooting and 277 01:09:39,942 --> 01:09:41,610 talking through difficult 278 01:09:41,644 --> 01:09:42,278 problems. 279 01:09:43,012 --> 01:09:45,314 I love airplanes, but yeah, I certainly 280 01:09:45,314 --> 01:09:48,484 can relate to our technicians. 281 01:09:48,951 --> 01:09:49,852 What do you think about Iron Eagle? 282 01:09:50,185 --> 01:09:50,886 Do you think Iron Eagle 283 01:09:50,886 --> 01:09:51,387 was a little bit too bad? 284 01:09:51,387 --> 01:09:52,087 I love that movie. 285 01:09:52,421 --> 01:09:53,856 Because that was kind of my thing. 286 01:09:53,856 --> 01:09:55,224 Like I love don't get me wrong. 287 01:09:55,224 --> 01:09:56,091 Top Gun was great. 288 01:09:56,091 --> 01:09:59,028 But like my stepdad, who was a pilot, had 289 01:09:59,028 --> 01:10:01,697 a copy of Iron Eagle 290 01:10:01,697 --> 01:10:02,965 on VHS and I just wore 291 01:10:02,965 --> 01:10:03,832 that thing out, man. 292 01:10:04,300 --> 01:10:04,833 Like Doug Masters 293 01:10:04,833 --> 01:10:05,834 going to rescue his dad. 294 01:10:05,868 --> 01:10:07,303 I was like, hell yeah. 295 01:10:07,303 --> 01:10:07,803 That's right. 296 01:10:08,070 --> 01:10:08,671 Let's do it. 297 01:10:08,671 --> 01:10:09,605 I'm flying that 172. 298 01:10:10,139 --> 01:10:12,975 So I probably watched that for that movie 299 01:10:12,975 --> 01:10:14,443 one time for every 300 01:10:14,443 --> 01:10:15,611 three that I watched Top 301 01:10:15,611 --> 01:10:15,811 Gun. 302 01:10:16,011 --> 01:10:16,445 But okay. 303 01:10:17,079 --> 01:10:17,947 Top Gun was great. 304 01:10:17,947 --> 01:10:18,447 Don't get me wrong. 305 01:10:18,714 --> 01:10:19,348 Like like like the 306 01:10:19,348 --> 01:10:21,116 soundtrack to Top Gun was amazing. 307 01:10:21,483 --> 01:10:22,318 The like everything about 308 01:10:22,318 --> 01:10:23,352 Top Gun was different budgets. 309 01:10:23,652 --> 01:10:24,620 Yeah, different budgets too. 310 01:10:24,954 --> 01:10:26,455 And I feel like I feel like at the time 311 01:10:26,455 --> 01:10:27,156 it's like one of those 312 01:10:27,156 --> 01:10:28,324 situations where it's like, 313 01:10:28,324 --> 01:10:29,458 oh, we're making, you 314 01:10:29,458 --> 01:10:30,826 know, jet movies now. 315 01:10:30,826 --> 01:10:32,394 Let's make a, you know, every studio is 316 01:10:32,394 --> 01:10:33,562 kind of like here's our jet movie. 317 01:10:34,096 --> 01:10:35,431 They did the same thing with Volcanoes. 318 01:10:35,965 --> 01:10:36,999 About a decade later. 319 01:10:36,999 --> 01:10:37,533 That's right. 320 01:10:37,533 --> 01:10:39,969 So anyway, you know, going back to 321 01:10:39,969 --> 01:10:41,904 competition and everything though. 322 01:10:42,137 --> 01:10:44,006 So I don't have to go to Westar. 323 01:10:44,006 --> 01:10:46,675 I can choose whatever I want, but you're 324 01:10:46,675 --> 01:10:47,009 trying to make 325 01:10:47,009 --> 01:10:48,243 yourselves a default in people's 326 01:10:48,243 --> 01:10:48,611 minds. 327 01:10:48,611 --> 01:10:49,044 Is that right? 328 01:10:49,244 --> 01:10:52,381 Yeah, we're driving initiatives to be a 329 01:10:52,381 --> 01:10:53,682 differentiator and 330 01:10:53,682 --> 01:10:55,284 everybody's following the 331 01:10:55,284 --> 01:10:57,453 same maintenance manual and it comes down 332 01:10:57,453 --> 01:10:58,487 to the processes and 333 01:10:58,487 --> 01:10:59,488 procedures that you put in 334 01:10:59,488 --> 01:11:00,823 place that differentiate 335 01:11:00,823 --> 01:11:03,325 you from the competition. 336 01:11:03,759 --> 01:11:05,694 And that's really what we're focused on. 337 01:11:06,729 --> 01:11:09,465 Again, we don't have all the capacity to 338 01:11:09,465 --> 01:11:11,266 support all the demand that's out there. 339 01:11:11,266 --> 01:11:12,701 We have one point 340 01:11:12,701 --> 01:11:14,670 seven million square feet. 341 01:11:14,870 --> 01:11:17,006 So we're, you know, we're 342 01:11:17,006 --> 01:11:18,374 large at the same point. 343 01:11:19,141 --> 01:11:20,743 We only have a fraction of the market. 344 01:11:20,743 --> 01:11:23,212 We only have, you know, 13, 14 percent 345 01:11:23,212 --> 01:11:26,448 market share in all of 346 01:11:26,448 --> 01:11:27,549 the demand that's out there. 347 01:11:27,750 --> 01:11:28,150 Gotcha. 348 01:11:28,150 --> 01:11:29,752 So there's a there's a few organizations 349 01:11:29,752 --> 01:11:31,387 out there that do the whole 350 01:11:31,387 --> 01:11:33,088 MRO thing and kind of go to 351 01:11:33,122 --> 01:11:33,722 the market with the same 352 01:11:33,722 --> 01:11:34,657 thing that you guys are doing. 353 01:11:34,890 --> 01:11:36,692 But you're differentiating yourself as, 354 01:11:37,259 --> 01:11:38,193 you know, maybe the one 355 01:11:38,193 --> 01:11:41,330 that's most and I don't like I 356 01:11:41,330 --> 01:11:42,431 said, I don't want to slam anyone else, 357 01:11:42,431 --> 01:11:44,867 but you're the default, right? 358 01:11:45,234 --> 01:11:46,435 The we want to be 359 01:11:46,435 --> 01:11:47,703 everybody's first choice. 360 01:11:47,703 --> 01:11:48,337 And there you go. 361 01:11:48,804 --> 01:11:52,441 And again, a big part of our business is 362 01:11:52,441 --> 01:11:56,545 doing completions, you know, like our 363 01:11:56,545 --> 01:11:57,112 modifications. 364 01:11:57,680 --> 01:12:01,617 So like interior paint, avionics, you 365 01:12:01,617 --> 01:12:02,885 know, modifications or upgrades. 366 01:12:03,319 --> 01:12:04,820 So that's a big part of it. 367 01:12:04,820 --> 01:12:05,688 Is that kind of like what you guys 368 01:12:05,688 --> 01:12:06,889 specialize in versus some 369 01:12:06,889 --> 01:12:07,790 of the competition maybe? 370 01:12:08,223 --> 01:12:09,425 No, we do it all. 371 01:12:10,326 --> 01:12:11,560 You know, we're doing airframe 372 01:12:11,560 --> 01:12:13,395 maintenance, but we're also doing 373 01:12:13,395 --> 01:12:16,732 modifications while those 374 01:12:16,732 --> 01:12:17,633 airplanes are in. 375 01:12:17,633 --> 01:12:20,703 So 40 percent of our work that comes in 376 01:12:20,703 --> 01:12:21,203 for a scheduled 377 01:12:21,203 --> 01:12:22,905 maintenance event has a modification 378 01:12:23,172 --> 01:12:23,972 attached to it. 379 01:12:24,239 --> 01:12:25,774 So we have to be really 380 01:12:25,774 --> 01:12:27,943 good at complex projects. 381 01:12:27,943 --> 01:12:28,644 I mean, you're talking about 382 01:12:28,644 --> 01:12:31,380 multi-million dollar projects, months 383 01:12:31,380 --> 01:12:33,982 long projects that need 384 01:12:34,283 --> 01:12:37,619 explicit and precise, you know, project 385 01:12:37,619 --> 01:12:38,887 management, planning, 386 01:12:39,188 --> 01:12:41,090 scheduling and prethought 387 01:12:41,223 --> 01:12:42,124 going into it. 388 01:12:42,791 --> 01:12:45,394 Nothing ever goes as it's supposed to. 389 01:12:45,594 --> 01:12:45,761 Right. 390 01:12:45,761 --> 01:12:49,331 You find major corrosion or you find that 391 01:12:49,331 --> 01:12:53,702 there was a modification done before you 392 01:12:54,503 --> 01:12:56,472 you're getting into the airplane that 393 01:12:56,472 --> 01:12:57,906 creates a little bit of a wrinkle. 394 01:12:58,173 --> 01:13:01,610 So how do you handle those situations? 395 01:13:01,977 --> 01:13:04,113 You know, when they come up is something 396 01:13:04,113 --> 01:13:05,748 that we specialize in 397 01:13:05,748 --> 01:13:07,750 and we are hyper focused in 398 01:13:08,016 --> 01:13:09,618 to make sure that we're meeting the 399 01:13:09,618 --> 01:13:11,453 commitment that we set at 400 01:13:11,453 --> 01:13:12,654 the onset of the project. 401 01:13:12,988 --> 01:13:16,091 So turn times, down times, commitments. 402 01:13:16,325 --> 01:13:18,994 Well, that's all a great thing to kind of 403 01:13:18,994 --> 01:13:19,895 go into because it's like 404 01:13:19,895 --> 01:13:21,230 I'm thinking if I've paid 405 01:13:21,697 --> 01:13:23,565 all this ridiculous amount of money for a 406 01:13:23,565 --> 01:13:25,000 jet and then I take it in 407 01:13:25,000 --> 01:13:25,934 and you're like, yeah, it's 408 01:13:25,934 --> 01:13:26,535 going to be a couple 409 01:13:26,535 --> 01:13:28,003 months before we get this thing. 410 01:13:28,303 --> 01:13:30,405 And I'm like, I just paid all this money 411 01:13:30,405 --> 01:13:31,907 so I could fly anywhere 412 01:13:31,907 --> 01:13:33,175 I want to whenever I want 413 01:13:33,175 --> 01:13:34,409 to. How do you handle that? 414 01:13:35,344 --> 01:13:36,211 So I mean, from the 415 01:13:36,211 --> 01:13:37,646 broker standpoint, right? 416 01:13:38,113 --> 01:13:39,748 Well, we're making sure I want to go to 417 01:13:39,748 --> 01:13:40,582 New York standpoint. 418 01:13:40,883 --> 01:13:41,917 Right. Right. 419 01:13:42,484 --> 01:13:43,552 How do you make me happy? 420 01:13:43,786 --> 01:13:46,588 That we're bringing the right airplane to 421 01:13:46,588 --> 01:13:48,524 Westar to begin with. 422 01:13:49,024 --> 01:13:50,993 So hopefully we've done enough due 423 01:13:50,993 --> 01:13:52,928 diligence on the front end. 424 01:13:53,228 --> 01:13:53,529 Yeah. 425 01:13:53,529 --> 01:13:55,464 So we get this into a pre buy situation. 426 01:13:55,798 --> 01:13:56,098 Sure. 427 01:13:56,098 --> 01:13:56,632 And that's where we 428 01:13:56,632 --> 01:13:57,666 would have discovered this. 429 01:13:57,933 --> 01:13:58,700 Right. Gotcha. 430 01:13:59,635 --> 01:14:00,269 But I mean, on the 431 01:14:00,269 --> 01:14:01,403 annual inspections, right. 432 01:14:01,403 --> 01:14:02,304 And you're talking about some of these 433 01:14:02,304 --> 01:14:03,071 things with the 434 01:14:03,071 --> 01:14:04,907 modifications or what have you. 435 01:14:05,140 --> 01:14:05,841 Down time matters. 436 01:14:06,108 --> 01:14:06,341 The downtime. 437 01:14:06,942 --> 01:14:09,912 I think if you go to the owner of the 438 01:14:09,912 --> 01:14:11,246 airplane or the operator of 439 01:14:11,246 --> 01:14:15,150 the airplane, it's the prices are 440 01:14:15,784 --> 01:14:20,088 relatively standard across the industry. 441 01:14:20,289 --> 01:14:22,558 If you brought the airplane to West Star, if 442 01:14:22,558 --> 01:14:28,230 you take it to another MRO, the out the 443 01:14:28,230 --> 01:14:29,298 door price is really 444 01:14:29,298 --> 01:14:30,365 going to be negligible. 445 01:14:31,166 --> 01:14:31,366 Okay. 446 01:14:31,667 --> 01:14:35,504 I think where you can set yourself apart 447 01:14:35,504 --> 01:14:38,106 is driving the 448 01:14:38,106 --> 01:14:39,908 commitment of turnaround time. 449 01:14:40,409 --> 01:14:43,378 And time is money to the owner and the 450 01:14:43,378 --> 01:14:44,446 operator, like you said. 451 01:14:44,713 --> 01:14:44,847 Yeah. 452 01:14:45,447 --> 01:14:47,916 Typically, these airplanes are used from 453 01:14:47,916 --> 01:14:49,952 the moment that they're dropped off. 454 01:14:49,952 --> 01:14:52,387 It's like an inbound flight that they 455 01:14:52,387 --> 01:14:54,723 just wrapped up an hour or 456 01:14:54,723 --> 01:14:55,924 a couple hours or days ago. 457 01:14:56,425 --> 01:14:57,593 And then there's a flight 458 01:14:57,593 --> 01:14:58,694 on the backside of that. 459 01:14:59,027 --> 01:15:02,331 So that downtime is very important. 460 01:15:03,765 --> 01:15:05,634 And again, I think that's a 461 01:15:05,634 --> 01:15:07,469 bigger factor than just price. 462 01:15:08,303 --> 01:15:08,503 Yeah. 463 01:15:08,670 --> 01:15:08,837 Yeah. 464 01:15:08,837 --> 01:15:10,472 So how do you manage that? 465 01:15:10,472 --> 01:15:11,273 And how do you set that expectation? 466 01:15:12,040 --> 01:15:14,109 It really is in the secret 467 01:15:14,109 --> 01:15:16,645 sauce of each of the MROs. 468 01:15:16,645 --> 01:15:18,347 And I think that's how you 469 01:15:18,347 --> 01:15:19,748 schedule, how you pre-plan. 470 01:15:20,215 --> 01:15:22,150 It's the experience of your labor. 471 01:15:22,551 --> 01:15:24,019 And that's another thing. 472 01:15:24,019 --> 01:15:26,588 We have our own internal training staff 473 01:15:26,588 --> 01:15:31,627 where we invest tens of thousands of 474 01:15:31,627 --> 01:15:34,596 hours a year on internal 475 01:15:34,696 --> 01:15:37,633 training to make sure that our people are 476 01:15:37,633 --> 01:15:39,368 well prepared for when that 477 01:15:39,368 --> 01:15:40,536 inspection or that airplane 478 01:15:40,736 --> 01:15:42,304 comes in, that they know 479 01:15:42,304 --> 01:15:43,305 what they're looking for. 480 01:15:43,305 --> 01:15:44,873 They know how to perform the maintenance. 481 01:15:46,174 --> 01:15:50,012 And again, we mitigate any issue that 482 01:15:50,012 --> 01:15:52,848 comes up to try to reduce downtime or 483 01:15:52,848 --> 01:15:54,049 make sure that we're on 484 01:15:54,049 --> 01:15:55,450 time to what we committed to. 485 01:15:56,084 --> 01:15:59,454 30 percent of-- we 486 01:15:59,454 --> 01:16:01,690 measure everything at West Star. 487 01:16:01,890 --> 01:16:03,859 In times, out times, 488 01:16:04,092 --> 01:16:07,262 what we have committed. 489 01:16:08,664 --> 01:16:11,099 And we do an NPS survey at 490 01:16:11,099 --> 01:16:13,368 the follow-on of every event. 491 01:16:13,635 --> 01:16:14,369 Net promoter score. 492 01:16:15,003 --> 01:16:15,370 Got it. 493 01:16:16,738 --> 01:16:17,706 That's for me. 494 01:16:18,507 --> 01:16:20,576 And one of the things that we do is were 495 01:16:20,576 --> 01:16:22,044 we on time in the 496 01:16:22,044 --> 01:16:23,412 customer's eyes, not our eyes. 497 01:16:23,912 --> 01:16:25,847 And we never used to 498 01:16:25,847 --> 01:16:27,549 measure early deliveries. 499 01:16:28,417 --> 01:16:30,886 But once we did, about 11 500 01:16:30,886 --> 01:16:34,289 percent of our events were early. 501 01:16:35,257 --> 01:16:37,893 Where today we're running 30 percent of 502 01:16:37,893 --> 01:16:40,762 our events are delivering earlier than 503 01:16:40,762 --> 01:16:42,164 what we had originally 504 01:16:42,297 --> 01:16:42,731 committed. 505 01:16:43,231 --> 01:16:45,334 And that's a key metric for us because, 506 01:16:45,334 --> 01:16:48,904 again, we want to be on time or early. 507 01:16:49,304 --> 01:16:51,740 At the same point, you don't want to have 508 01:16:51,740 --> 01:16:54,109 so much cushion in an event where 509 01:16:54,109 --> 01:16:55,544 somebody plans four weeks 510 01:16:55,644 --> 01:16:56,612 and that's what they plan. 511 01:16:56,845 --> 01:17:00,549 And all of a sudden, on day 20, you call 512 01:17:00,549 --> 01:17:01,316 them up and say, hey, 513 01:17:01,316 --> 01:17:02,184 your airplane's ready. 514 01:17:02,184 --> 01:17:04,052 You need to make sure that you're keeping 515 01:17:04,052 --> 01:17:06,955 the customer updated on when their 516 01:17:06,955 --> 01:17:07,889 airplane is going to be 517 01:17:08,056 --> 01:17:08,890 return to service. 518 01:17:09,358 --> 01:17:09,558 Yeah. 519 01:17:09,891 --> 01:17:11,059 Is there a boilerplate kind of 520 01:17:11,059 --> 01:17:12,427 expectation I should have? 521 01:17:12,427 --> 01:17:14,196 Like if I have-- or is it 522 01:17:14,196 --> 01:17:15,998 just on a case by case basis? 523 01:17:16,365 --> 01:17:18,834 But if I-- and that's fine if it is. 524 01:17:19,034 --> 01:17:20,869 And if it's just like you don't know till 525 01:17:20,869 --> 01:17:22,004 you know, that's fine. 526 01:17:22,404 --> 01:17:23,672 But is there something that I should 527 01:17:23,672 --> 01:17:24,973 expect when I have my 528 01:17:24,973 --> 01:17:26,174 annual inspection done? 529 01:17:26,174 --> 01:17:27,075 It sounds like that's like 530 01:17:27,075 --> 01:17:28,543 the big event each year, right? 531 01:17:29,511 --> 01:17:31,046 So when I have that inspection done and I 532 01:17:31,046 --> 01:17:32,514 have whatever needs to be done during 533 01:17:32,514 --> 01:17:34,816 that time done, you know, 534 01:17:34,816 --> 01:17:36,284 and once again, I'm thinking about cars 535 01:17:36,284 --> 01:17:37,986 like, you know, you got your one hour of 536 01:17:37,986 --> 01:17:39,121 oil change or whatever, right? 537 01:17:40,622 --> 01:17:42,624 What is there an expectation about how 538 01:17:42,624 --> 01:17:44,159 long this should take and what kind of 539 01:17:44,159 --> 01:17:45,093 downtime should be associated 540 01:17:45,260 --> 01:17:45,661 with that? 541 01:17:46,094 --> 01:17:47,629 So there is a 542 01:17:47,629 --> 01:17:49,131 progressive inspection schedule. 543 01:17:49,164 --> 01:17:55,037 So your first annual inspection may be a 544 01:17:55,037 --> 01:17:56,638 certain amount of downtime. 545 01:17:57,606 --> 01:18:00,175 Next year it's bigger and then kind of it 546 01:18:00,175 --> 01:18:02,944 goes to the major inspection, which is 547 01:18:02,944 --> 01:18:04,312 every four or five years. 548 01:18:04,546 --> 01:18:05,914 And then it kind of resets. 549 01:18:07,215 --> 01:18:13,689 So the downtime is really predicated on 550 01:18:13,689 --> 01:18:14,890 that inspection, that 551 01:18:14,890 --> 01:18:15,891 specific inspection. 552 01:18:16,124 --> 01:18:16,491 Okay. 553 01:18:16,825 --> 01:18:20,028 The typical findings that you find, the 554 01:18:20,028 --> 01:18:22,297 discrepancies that you find while you're 555 01:18:22,297 --> 01:18:23,231 doing the inspection, 556 01:18:23,665 --> 01:18:25,267 every airplane and every 557 01:18:25,267 --> 01:18:27,769 vintage of airplane has a different 558 01:18:27,769 --> 01:18:30,072 squawk rate or a discrepancy rate. 559 01:18:30,072 --> 01:18:30,472 Okay. 560 01:18:30,472 --> 01:18:31,673 So based on our experience, 561 01:18:31,673 --> 01:18:33,175 we'll be able to provide that. 562 01:18:34,009 --> 01:18:36,545 And then we do a mathematical equation of 563 01:18:36,545 --> 01:18:38,346 how many hours are we going to apply to 564 01:18:38,346 --> 01:18:39,848 that airplane every single day? 565 01:18:40,148 --> 01:18:42,717 And then that determines the uptight. 566 01:18:42,884 --> 01:18:45,487 And then, you know, so that's 567 01:18:45,487 --> 01:18:47,022 something we measure against. 568 01:18:47,489 --> 01:18:50,559 I think in our perspective, it's some of 569 01:18:50,559 --> 01:18:53,695 the larger scale MROs, 570 01:18:53,695 --> 01:18:54,963 you have multiple shifts. 571 01:18:55,497 --> 01:18:58,500 So you have to leverage the 24 hour clock 572 01:18:58,500 --> 01:19:01,002 to your advantage if you really want to 573 01:19:01,002 --> 01:19:05,340 shrink the downtime to what we're talking 574 01:19:05,373 --> 01:19:08,143 about. So, you know, at Westar, we have a 575 01:19:08,143 --> 01:19:09,911 first shift, we have a second shift, and 576 01:19:09,911 --> 01:19:11,947 then we have weekend coverage as well. 577 01:19:12,614 --> 01:19:15,684 We're looking at filling out those off 578 01:19:15,684 --> 01:19:18,053 shifts to make sure that we 579 01:19:18,053 --> 01:19:20,822 have equality across all shifts. 580 01:19:21,156 --> 01:19:23,125 But again, we look at it as a 24 hour 581 01:19:23,125 --> 01:19:26,895 clock and that's one way to differentiate 582 01:19:26,895 --> 01:19:28,930 West Star from everybody else. 583 01:19:29,564 --> 01:19:32,701 You had mentioned earlier an acronym that 584 01:19:32,701 --> 01:19:34,603 I kind of latched onto, AOG. 585 01:19:35,203 --> 01:19:36,004 What does that mean? 586 01:19:36,671 --> 01:19:37,839 So that's Aircraft on Ground. 587 01:19:38,106 --> 01:19:40,041 And that's when you're flying around and 588 01:19:40,041 --> 01:19:41,843 you need to go to New York and your 589 01:19:41,843 --> 01:19:42,744 airplane lands in New 590 01:19:42,744 --> 01:19:43,979 York and there's a problem. 591 01:19:44,412 --> 01:19:48,984 And those strict standards that the 592 01:19:48,984 --> 01:19:51,586 aviation community has to abide by 593 01:19:51,586 --> 01:19:53,655 requires maintenance 594 01:19:53,655 --> 01:19:55,323 before the airplane can fly. 595 01:19:55,323 --> 01:19:57,159 That airplane is no longer airworthy. 596 01:19:58,260 --> 01:19:59,394 So I'm just not allowed 597 01:19:59,394 --> 01:20:00,629 to fly it at that point. 598 01:20:01,229 --> 01:20:02,197 Yeah, it's exactly it. 599 01:20:02,230 --> 01:20:05,901 The crew knows with those... 600 01:20:05,901 --> 01:20:08,170 Sorry, Pat, you got a busted canooter 601 01:20:08,170 --> 01:20:09,604 valve, this thing ain't airworthy. 602 01:20:09,604 --> 01:20:09,971 That's it. 603 01:20:10,071 --> 01:20:10,272 Yeah. 604 01:20:10,305 --> 01:20:11,173 OK, gotcha. 605 01:20:11,173 --> 01:20:11,773 So we got to call 606 01:20:11,773 --> 01:20:12,874 someone, we got to get it fixed. 607 01:20:13,175 --> 01:20:13,475 That's right. 608 01:20:13,708 --> 01:20:14,476 So back in the day, you 609 01:20:14,476 --> 01:20:17,045 used to call local people. 610 01:20:17,045 --> 01:20:17,279 Right. 611 01:20:17,679 --> 01:20:17,879 Right. 612 01:20:18,146 --> 01:20:18,346 Yeah. 613 01:20:19,247 --> 01:20:23,752 Well, now, you know, we have, you know, 614 01:20:24,186 --> 01:20:26,588 Aircraft on Ground or AOG or mobile 615 01:20:26,588 --> 01:20:29,124 maintenance teams to be able to go 616 01:20:29,124 --> 01:20:30,192 support those events. 617 01:20:31,226 --> 01:20:32,828 There's a lot of them out there. 618 01:20:33,061 --> 01:20:34,496 We are the largest. 619 01:20:34,796 --> 01:20:38,366 We have over 200 AOG and MRT technicians 620 01:20:38,366 --> 01:20:40,669 dedicated to that business unit. 621 01:20:41,870 --> 01:20:44,639 We have a 24-7 dispatch center and 622 01:20:44,639 --> 01:20:48,310 maintenance control center that is, you 623 01:20:48,310 --> 01:20:50,345 know, there to answer the phone, talk 624 01:20:50,345 --> 01:20:52,047 through any technical issues that the 625 01:20:52,047 --> 01:20:53,748 airplane is having, make sure that we get 626 01:20:53,748 --> 01:20:56,017 the right tooling and equipment to the 627 01:20:56,017 --> 01:20:57,552 airplane to minimize that impact. 628 01:20:57,786 --> 01:20:58,386 Because that can be a big deal. 629 01:20:58,453 --> 01:21:01,056 Like a lot of times I would assume that a 630 01:21:01,056 --> 01:21:02,691 lot of times people don't find out about 631 01:21:02,691 --> 01:21:03,792 these AOG events until 632 01:21:03,792 --> 01:21:05,026 they're like ready to go somewhere. 633 01:21:05,427 --> 01:21:07,295 Is that or there is or they've already 634 01:21:07,295 --> 01:21:08,630 gone somewhere or they've already gone 635 01:21:08,630 --> 01:21:09,264 somewhere and they're stuck. 636 01:21:09,497 --> 01:21:09,998 Yeah, that's it. 637 01:21:09,998 --> 01:21:10,432 Yeah. 638 01:21:10,465 --> 01:21:13,168 That's that's that makes it worse when 639 01:21:13,168 --> 01:21:14,436 you're gone and you're out 640 01:21:14,436 --> 01:21:15,537 in the middle of somewhere. 641 01:21:15,737 --> 01:21:17,572 So you guys are fully equipped to handle 642 01:21:17,572 --> 01:21:18,673 those types of events. 643 01:21:19,307 --> 01:21:21,276 And that like West Star is kind 644 01:21:21,276 --> 01:21:22,711 of the place to call for those. 645 01:21:23,078 --> 01:21:26,548 So, yeah, no doubt we have that service. 646 01:21:26,915 --> 01:21:29,484 I think our advantage is again, we have 647 01:21:29,484 --> 01:21:31,353 200 technicians across the country. 648 01:21:31,820 --> 01:21:34,856 We can we certainly can get a technician 649 01:21:34,856 --> 01:21:37,692 or a group of technicians to that 650 01:21:37,692 --> 01:21:41,296 airplane in a very rapid method or pace. 651 01:21:42,163 --> 01:21:43,431 But they get the benefit 652 01:21:43,431 --> 01:21:45,233 of the entire enterprise. 653 01:21:45,600 --> 01:21:45,800 Right. 654 01:21:46,167 --> 01:21:47,068 OK, we have 3000 655 01:21:47,068 --> 01:21:49,504 employees, over 2500 technicians. 656 01:21:50,138 --> 01:21:52,974 We have a, you know, technical experts 657 01:21:52,974 --> 01:21:55,010 at, you know, in each platform. 658 01:21:55,310 --> 01:21:58,146 We've got trainers in each platform that 659 01:21:58,146 --> 01:21:59,114 our AOG technicians 660 01:21:59,114 --> 01:22:00,348 could go and leverage. 661 01:22:01,650 --> 01:22:04,052 If there's this one troublesome issue or 662 01:22:04,052 --> 01:22:05,553 trying to work through a 663 01:22:05,553 --> 01:22:07,489 very difficult situation. 664 01:22:07,856 --> 01:22:10,025 But yeah, it's one of the things that, 665 01:22:10,025 --> 01:22:14,095 again, does separate us from from the 666 01:22:14,095 --> 01:22:16,031 market is not only can you get your 667 01:22:16,031 --> 01:22:18,633 scheduled inspection done with us, 668 01:22:18,934 --> 01:22:20,902 but we, you know, when things go wrong, 669 01:22:21,336 --> 01:22:23,104 when you're out on the road, we have this 670 01:22:23,104 --> 01:22:26,574 expansive AOG team that can support you. 671 01:22:26,574 --> 01:22:26,808 Nice. 672 01:22:27,609 --> 01:22:30,111 Can you talk to me about like the kind of 673 01:22:30,111 --> 01:22:31,012 where you see the 674 01:22:31,012 --> 01:22:32,547 industry going right now? 675 01:22:33,214 --> 01:22:35,951 And and one of the things that maybe some 676 01:22:35,951 --> 01:22:37,452 initiatives or some things that Westar 677 01:22:37,452 --> 01:22:39,020 might be doing specifically to or maybe 678 01:22:39,020 --> 01:22:39,788 not even specifically, 679 01:22:39,788 --> 01:22:41,156 but just generally to 680 01:22:42,924 --> 01:22:44,759 I don't know, to position yourselves well 681 01:22:44,759 --> 01:22:47,095 with the way that you 682 01:22:47,095 --> 01:22:48,129 see the industry going. 683 01:22:48,496 --> 01:22:51,566 Look, the the industry is growing. 684 01:22:52,067 --> 01:22:56,404 OK, we're you know, it's growing at six, 685 01:22:56,404 --> 01:22:58,073 seven percent a year. 686 01:22:58,673 --> 01:23:00,375 Airplanes are getting bigger. 687 01:23:00,775 --> 01:23:02,010 So there's there's larger 688 01:23:02,010 --> 01:23:03,144 airplanes being delivered. 689 01:23:03,878 --> 01:23:05,080 Yeah, airplanes are 690 01:23:05,080 --> 01:23:06,548 flying more hours than ever. 691 01:23:06,815 --> 01:23:07,682 They're flying longer 692 01:23:07,682 --> 01:23:09,050 distances than ever. 693 01:23:10,051 --> 01:23:11,786 And airplanes are staying around longer 694 01:23:11,786 --> 01:23:13,555 because of the technology, 695 01:23:14,889 --> 01:23:16,057 you know, in the way 696 01:23:16,057 --> 01:23:16,992 they're being manufactured. 697 01:23:17,325 --> 01:23:19,060 So the retirement age 698 01:23:19,060 --> 01:23:20,328 has pushed pushed out. 699 01:23:20,628 --> 01:23:23,732 So there's just more airplanes around. 700 01:23:24,399 --> 01:23:26,234 So the our industry and certainly the 701 01:23:26,234 --> 01:23:28,303 airframe maintenance side of the business 702 01:23:28,303 --> 01:23:31,840 is growing, you know, on a seven and a 703 01:23:31,840 --> 01:23:35,010 half percent Kager every year. 704 01:23:35,010 --> 01:23:36,811 OK. And that's what the outlook is for 705 01:23:36,811 --> 01:23:38,613 the next 10 plus years. 706 01:23:39,080 --> 01:23:43,651 So there isn't enough capacity to support 707 01:23:43,651 --> 01:23:46,621 all of these really large airplanes that 708 01:23:46,621 --> 01:23:47,822 are being delivered. 709 01:23:48,423 --> 01:23:52,293 So square footage capacity hanger sizes 710 01:23:52,293 --> 01:23:53,895 are only getting larger. 711 01:23:54,529 --> 01:23:56,164 And, you know, we have 712 01:23:56,164 --> 01:23:59,100 invested in two builds. 713 01:23:59,267 --> 01:24:01,536 We're building a brand new 714 01:24:01,536 --> 01:24:03,104 hangar in Grand Junction. 715 01:24:03,204 --> 01:24:04,506 We're building another 716 01:24:04,506 --> 01:24:05,473 hangar in Chattanooga 717 01:24:06,741 --> 01:24:09,477 to keep up with that that demand. 718 01:24:09,844 --> 01:24:11,312 But that that's one of the 719 01:24:11,312 --> 01:24:12,447 ways that we're doing it. 720 01:24:12,447 --> 01:24:14,949 But again, we only have a fraction of the 721 01:24:14,949 --> 01:24:16,151 market share that's out there. 722 01:24:16,651 --> 01:24:18,853 But, you know, that's one of the ways 723 01:24:18,853 --> 01:24:21,790 that we're trying to invest in ourselves 724 01:24:21,790 --> 01:24:24,092 to be able to support the industry. 725 01:24:24,692 --> 01:24:26,594 Nice. What would you say to somebody? 726 01:24:27,028 --> 01:24:28,563 You know, because I'm looking I'm looking 727 01:24:28,563 --> 01:24:30,031 at where the industry is right now and 728 01:24:30,031 --> 01:24:31,232 kind of like, you know, we've got a lot 729 01:24:31,232 --> 01:24:32,267 of people buying new jets 730 01:24:32,367 --> 01:24:34,669 because of the the tax situation that, 731 01:24:34,669 --> 01:24:36,671 you know, has happened this year. 732 01:24:38,339 --> 01:24:40,208 And I like to ask this is kind of like a 733 01:24:40,208 --> 01:24:44,045 almost like a bit of advice for people 734 01:24:44,045 --> 01:24:45,447 that are looking to get into jet 735 01:24:45,447 --> 01:24:46,347 ownership or maybe they've been 736 01:24:46,347 --> 01:24:48,016 chartering or what have you. 737 01:24:48,750 --> 01:24:51,052 What would you say to somebody in terms 738 01:24:51,052 --> 01:24:53,688 of MROs and maintenance and thinking 739 01:24:53,688 --> 01:24:55,757 about that if they are getting ready to 740 01:24:55,757 --> 01:24:57,692 get into jet ownership the first time? 741 01:24:57,692 --> 01:24:59,060 What what what one thing would you like 742 01:24:59,060 --> 01:25:00,795 them to know more than anything else? 743 01:25:01,496 --> 01:25:03,832 Yeah, I don't think everybody is equal. 744 01:25:04,833 --> 01:25:07,368 And I think there's a there's a lot of 745 01:25:07,368 --> 01:25:09,070 great options that are out there. 746 01:25:09,337 --> 01:25:11,673 But the way that I look at it is when 747 01:25:11,673 --> 01:25:14,309 things go wrong, can that maintenance 748 01:25:14,309 --> 01:25:16,978 provider support that event? 749 01:25:18,446 --> 01:25:20,548 And, you know, I think that's what 750 01:25:20,548 --> 01:25:22,884 separates, you know, the the different 751 01:25:22,884 --> 01:25:24,118 providers that are out there 752 01:25:24,118 --> 01:25:26,421 when there is major corrosion, 753 01:25:26,421 --> 01:25:28,256 when you have to pull a wing off and you 754 01:25:28,256 --> 01:25:29,257 have to pull pull the 755 01:25:29,257 --> 01:25:30,825 whole vertical or tail off. 756 01:25:31,926 --> 01:25:34,429 You know, because that stuff happens when 757 01:25:34,429 --> 01:25:36,898 they're when you need to reskin a 758 01:25:36,898 --> 01:25:40,335 significant part of the fuselage or just 759 01:25:40,335 --> 01:25:41,970 the technical experience of 760 01:25:41,970 --> 01:25:44,806 how to rig complex systems. 761 01:25:45,206 --> 01:25:47,375 I think, you know, that 762 01:25:47,375 --> 01:25:49,511 is a big differentiator. 763 01:25:49,978 --> 01:25:53,681 You know, I think everybody, you know, me 764 01:25:53,681 --> 01:25:56,351 and in a couple other MPs can go out and 765 01:25:56,351 --> 01:25:58,820 do an inspection and 766 01:25:58,820 --> 01:26:00,021 everything could be fine. 767 01:26:00,555 --> 01:26:03,291 It's really what when things go wrong. 768 01:26:03,591 --> 01:26:07,195 The other thing is naturally, there's a 769 01:26:07,195 --> 01:26:08,696 pretty big differentiator. 770 01:26:09,163 --> 01:26:10,932 And when you have modifications, when 771 01:26:10,932 --> 01:26:12,634 you're going to tear the 772 01:26:12,634 --> 01:26:14,802 whole airplane, the interior part, 773 01:26:14,802 --> 01:26:16,704 and you're going to go, you know, wire a 774 01:26:16,704 --> 01:26:18,039 whole new system or a 775 01:26:18,039 --> 01:26:20,041 complex cabin management system, 776 01:26:21,342 --> 01:26:23,678 you know, think through, you know, the 777 01:26:23,678 --> 01:26:25,914 difficulty of that project, because I 778 01:26:25,914 --> 01:26:28,249 could tell you it's highly complex. 779 01:26:29,284 --> 01:26:32,820 And it requires a precision type planning 780 01:26:32,820 --> 01:26:34,055 to be able to make sure 781 01:26:34,055 --> 01:26:35,490 that that event goes well. 782 01:26:36,925 --> 01:26:38,793 Well said. I mean, that's that's that's a 783 01:26:38,793 --> 01:26:40,128 great thing to be thinking about if I'm 784 01:26:40,128 --> 01:26:42,497 getting into ownership of a jet, because 785 01:26:42,497 --> 01:26:44,265 it's like it's not a Honda Civic. 786 01:26:45,466 --> 01:26:48,002 It's not. Yeah, it's not. It's not just 787 01:26:48,002 --> 01:26:49,237 an easy thing to get into. 788 01:26:49,504 --> 01:26:51,072 And sometimes you don't know until you 789 01:26:51,072 --> 01:26:53,141 start, you know, looking under the hood. 790 01:26:53,508 --> 01:26:55,310 Just remember, these airplanes are flying 791 01:26:55,310 --> 01:26:57,478 two miles or so above the ground. 792 01:26:58,179 --> 01:26:59,414 They're highly crazy, 793 01:26:59,414 --> 01:27:01,382 crazy fast speeds. Yeah. 794 01:27:01,849 --> 01:27:05,620 Yeah. Again, I think that's the key 795 01:27:05,620 --> 01:27:08,056 component there is is just making sure 796 01:27:08,056 --> 01:27:10,592 that you've got the right systems and 797 01:27:10,592 --> 01:27:12,627 processes to to deal with the complex 798 01:27:12,627 --> 01:27:14,996 situations that business aviation brings. 799 01:27:15,496 --> 01:27:17,131 Nice. Any closing thoughts? 800 01:27:17,131 --> 01:27:18,166 Anything else you want to you want to 801 01:27:18,166 --> 01:27:19,400 mention before we wrap things up? 802 01:27:19,834 --> 01:27:23,605 No, I can't I can't thank you enough for 803 01:27:23,605 --> 01:27:25,406 the opportunity to talk a 804 01:27:25,406 --> 01:27:26,474 little bit about West Star, 805 01:27:26,474 --> 01:27:28,343 but more about talking about the industry 806 01:27:28,343 --> 01:27:32,046 and in owning a jet and in what you need 807 01:27:32,046 --> 01:27:32,947 to think through from the 808 01:27:32,947 --> 01:27:33,748 maintenance perspective. 809 01:27:34,415 --> 01:27:35,383 Again, very honored and 810 01:27:35,383 --> 01:27:37,118 grateful to be a part of this. 811 01:27:37,552 --> 01:27:38,353 No, we're glad to hear. Thank you so much 812 01:27:38,353 --> 01:27:39,187 for being here and 813 01:27:39,187 --> 01:27:40,555 taking the time to do it. 814 01:27:40,855 --> 01:27:42,023 So yeah, awesome. Cool. 815 01:27:42,323 --> 01:27:43,891 Stephen, thank you very much. 816 01:27:43,891 --> 01:27:45,526 I appreciate it. Thanks again. Thanks. 817 01:27:45,526 --> 01:27:47,829 Thank you for watching Own the Jet. 818 01:27:48,262 --> 01:27:49,764 If you want to see more Own the Jet, make 819 01:27:49,764 --> 01:27:51,165 sure to subscribe to our channel on 820 01:27:51,165 --> 01:27:52,767 YouTube and leave a comment telling us 821 01:27:52,767 --> 01:27:54,035 what aspect of jet ownership 822 01:27:54,035 --> 01:27:55,370 you'd like to know more about. 823 01:27:56,004 --> 01:27:57,372 Own the Jet is brought to you by Aspen 824 01:27:57,372 --> 01:27:59,407 Aero Group, your trusted partner in 825 01:27:59,407 --> 01:28:00,875 private and corporate jet ownership. 826 01:28:01,409 --> 01:28:03,344 Learn more at Aspen Aero Group dot com. 827 01:28:03,978 --> 01:28:05,513 This has been a Savage Media production.