CJI Miami Panelists Dissect Scale, Culture in Bizav M&A

A Tuesday afternoon session at CJI Miami 2025 drilled into how aircraft management and operating companies are using mergers and acquisitions to grow, the risks behind those deals, and how to preserve service quality as fleets scale. Panelists from FlyVizor, George J. Priester Aviation, and Airshare described an environment where scale is increasingly necessary—but legacy, culture, and relationships remain at the heart of whether a transaction succeeds.

FlyVizor founder Jessie Naor, set the stage with one large transaction experience. “We weren’t aircraft management,” she paused to note, “totally different business model…I’m from the charter broker side, but I do work in this space in a lot of different areas, and it’s a challenge. I mean, aircraft management, obviously, there’s no fleet valuation. We had $100 million worth of airplanes.

“That kind of changes the financial picture…but it was a strategic which always makes it very interesting…because it’s not just financial; you’re actually looking for synergies and actually building two companies together, which is fun.”

Andy Priester of Priester Aviation outlined his company’s experience on the M&A side. “Since 2021, we’ve had three transactions where we have acquired legacy businesses in the same market space that we are—both management and charter,” he said.

Priester emphasized that deals tend to come to the company because of its long history and reputation. “What we really represent, I think, in terms of an acquirer, is a company that very much plans to lean into and preserve the legacy of each founder,” he said.

That legacy is not just branding. Priester stressed that the firm’s goal is to preserve “the foundation and the roots and the relationships that that particular founder had in that particular region.” In practice, that means spending time with the team and understanding what they want from a transaction. He warned that one-sided deals—where only the acquirer’s goals matter—often falter. 

From the buyer’s perspective, the assets themselves remain fragile. What does a buyer get when acquiring an aircraft management company? “The technical answer that makes all of our lives a little bit difficult is typically 30-day contracts. So there is quite a bit of risk,” Priester said. People risk is just as significant: key staff can leave and take owners with them, and he recalled a moment in the late 1990s when “we had some of our key players leave and took about half of our fleet.”

K.C. Ihlefeld of Airshare has been on both sides of transactions at different companies including Gama Aviaton and Wheels Up. “In the case of Airshare, it was buying scale,” Ihlefeld said. Airshare’s management business had “around 30 airplanes or so, all Midwest-based,” and the acquisition provided a national footprint that he said ultimately helped take the fractional business national as well.

Customer retention during and after a sale is central to whether those acquisitions pay off. Ihlefeld said the number-one question owners ask is basic: whether key players, and thus their relationships, will be retained in the transaction. To limit attrition, he said, buyers need to get ahead of the news. “If you can do that… It’s just a matter of managing the smooth process and making sure that you mitigate or eliminate any kind of transition drama that’s going to flow to the owners or to the crews.”

Despite the short-term nature of contracts, both Priester and Ihlefeld reported high retention. Priester estimated, “We’ve retained at least 90% to 95% of the airplanes.” Ihlefeld added, “Same for those who still have their plans, we’ve retained about 90%.” 

Naor, looking at management businesses from an investor perspective, said the contract structure is one of the biggest concerns for financial buyers. “It’s really hard to underwrite goodwill,” she said. Without technology, systems, and “competitive modes” built into the platform, she argued, it can be difficult to justify outside capital.

The panel also explored where synergies and economies of scale are real versus overstated. Naor said that once a fleet reaches a certain size, the benefits are tangible. “That’s the name of the game, especially when you get to the point where you have 100 aircraft, I mean, the fuel deals that you can do… engine programs… all of those things. You don’t get negotiation power with the OEMs until you have a certain amount of airplanes,” she noted. “So obviously, more airplanes, more power, more cost savings passed on to your customers through the aircraft management space.”

Priester agreed that scale helps, but said it is only part of the story. He divides the benefits into three “buckets”: better terms on commodities such as fuel, insurance, and maintenance; expanded partnership opportunities; and more efficient staffing. For example, he said, multiple small operators might each staff an overnight on-call role separately, while a combined platform can cover the same demand with fewer people. “It’s not just the commodity procurement, it’s really how you organize your workforce.”

Panelists differed slightly on when those economies of scale begin in terms of fleet numbers. Ihlefeld said, “I’d say it starts around 10,” agreeing with Naor’s assertion and adding that growth from there depends on continuously improving relationships with suppliers and partners. Priester suggested a higher threshold, saying, “You can really start making operational improvements from a cost standpoint at 20 airplanes. But I’m not saying that these guys are incorrect at 10.”

Culture and brand emerged as recurring themes in determining whether transactions ultimately deliver value. Naor cautioned that integration remains the biggest failure point. “It’s really, really, really difficult…and also like 70% to 90% of mergers fail to meet expectations because of integration problems,” she said. She cautioned against rushing changes. “Try to get people integrated into the culture first, then you can start making those synergies happen,” she advised.

Priester said his group deliberately caps its ambition to preserve relationships. “We have very publicly stated we want to finish somewhere between 120 and 150 airplanes, period. We don’t want it to get any bigger than that, for that exact reason,” he said. To maintain a local feel, the company uses local brand presidents who are responsible for owner relationships in their regions.

Brand names themselves can be strategic assets. Priester cited the acquisition of Mayo Aviation in Denver as an example. “My personal opinion, it’s critical,” he said of keeping the name. Local customers “know who Mayo Aviation is, and they know that Mayo Aviation has been in Denver for the last 40 years and taken great care of customers,” he noted. “That’s fundamental to our strategy.”

Naor took a more flexible view, suggesting that sometimes it helps to move decisively but thoughtfully on rebranding. “You don’t rip the band-aid off immediately, but give it a good tug,” she said, adding that blended or new names can help signal a fresh start while still respecting both legacy organizations.

Asked how management companies can differentiate themselves in a crowded market, the panelists returned to service and strategy. Naor’s answer was structural: “By having other businesses attached to their business,” she said.

Priester focused on client experience, calling out “how you treat your customers, the personalization of service.” Ihlefeld framed it as a strategic choice about identity: “Do you want to be a charter heavy management company that just wants airplanes to support their demand? Or are you really service-oriented and you want to manage assets for owners?”