Story ID: 404
Integris Leverages Latin American Experience
By: Ian Sheppard
Caption: Providing support to small flight departments and family offices is a natural extension of Integris's previous work between the U.S. and Brazil.
Word Count: 387
With demand growing in the Americas from business owners and families wanting assistance with their private aviation requirements, Integris Aviation Consultancy is aiming “to provide strategic insights, risk management, and acquisitions consulting.” According to David Clark, president of the Minneapolis-based company, the move expands the consultancy services it has provided to the likes of Jetcraft Avionics and ACASS for the past decade.

“We made this decision because we see a growing need for specialized knowledge and insights when family offices and small flight departments invest in private aircraft,” said Clark. “Those groups don’t always have the institutional knowledge and systems that professional aviation companies have developed to manage the risks associated with private aviation activities.”

Speaking with AIN at LABACE 2019 in São Paulo, Clark estimated that there are approximately 10,000 family offices around the world, with an increasing need to travel quickly. “And that means taking to the air, preferably without hassles.”

He suggested that many of these organizations have decided on owning aircraft outright, buying fractional ownership, or engaging in a host of asset-light options. New regulations and the requirement to maintain aircraft and staff them properly are making it increasingly difficult for these users of private aircraft to manage the situation alone.

Clark said Integris’s original mission was to help North American aviation companies penetrate the then-budding Brazilian market. Having grown up in Brazil, where his father was a bush pilot based around Fortaleza, Clark speaks fluent Portuguese and knows the market well.

“The family’s chief pilot typically handles all aspects of the aviation role at family offices," said Clark. "Most pilots are trained to have the background and experience to fly aircraft in an increasingly complex environment, not to manage people and processes while overseeing complex budgets, fleet forecasts, and complicated aviation tax reporting, as well as aircraft buying and selling.

“We have completed over 20 deals in the past few years: acquisitions, leasing, and sales projects. Our focus is to become the singular leader that family offices and small flight departments in the Americas turn to for expert insights and business leverage when buying, selling, and operating, private aircraft,” Clark concluded.

Integris is also a brand ambassador for Avantto, Brazil’s largest fractional aircraft provider.