Execaire Aviation (Montréal Trudeau) is evaluating opportunities for growth outside Canada, mainly in the United States, as the Canadian business aviation market nears saturation, its president Michael Fedele told ch-aviation in an exclusive interview during the NBAA-BACE in Las Vegas.

"When you look at that 600 [business jet] aircraft fleet within Canada, there's a practical limit to any one operator. We're all kind of getting to that practical limit. There are opportunities for growth [in Canada], for sure, but the best opportunities for growth are outside of Canada," he said.

The Canadian company is currently looking at opportunities to expand in the FBO and maintenance segment in the United States. It already manages aircraft in the US under Part 91 and is looking to grow this fleet as well, as this does not require certification in the country. It also recently signed a partnership agreement with the Avfuel network of fuel suppliers.

Execaire Aviation evaluated opportunities for launching a certificate in Europe but has put them on hold for now. Fedele revealed that it can revisit those plans in a few years. The Part 135 growth in the US would be through a partnership with another operator, as ownership laws prevent Execaire from expanding directly into the market.

Focus on broad fleet, services

With 44 aircraft in its charter fleet, Execaire Aviation is already among Canada's biggest business charter operators. Fedele explained that the company, which merged its earlier brands (Execaire, Image Air Charter, Skycharter, and Innotech-Aviation) earlier this year, focuses on supporting its customers "through the entire lifecycle of experience and ownership in corporate aviation."

"Whether that be starting with the acquisition of an airplane or starting as a charter client, moving into jet cards, through to ownership afterwards, then managing those assets, helping them with the ongoing operation of that aircraft. We could help them with refurbishments over the life of that airplane and maintain its use for them, or transition the airplane out through sales and bring in a new one," he outlined.

The company has a flexible approach to aircraft ownership - it currently owns one airframe and could acquire more if the charter market picks up. Conversely, when the charter market is slower, Execaire would sell its own aircraft and focus on managed ones. It has aircraft under management that are not on its charter certificate and remains agnostic regarding charter availability. Whether an aircraft is available for charter depends on the customer's needs.

Fedele added that Execaire had a broad focus regarding aircraft size and no preference for any one category. It also has no firm red lines regarding the types or characteristics of the aircraft that it would take under management, although he conceded that unique types would be more challenging.

"If you're operating a unique aircraft type, that means there are very few pilots qualified on that type in the Canadian market. It makes it harder to support the flying activities of those types. I don't want to say there are airplanes that we're outright not interested in managing, but there are some that are a little bit more challenging than others," he conceded.

He identified the Challengers as one type that is particularly easy given the sizeable fleet already managed by Execaire. The operator has two Challenger 300s, three 350s, four 604s, three 605s, six 650s, and one 800 on its charter fleet.

The 10% luxury tax on new aircraft in Canada "certainly hasn't done any favours for our industry," Fedele said. Advocating for the change of this policy, he argued that the levy did not achieve the goals the government aimed for. At the same time, however, he conceded that a change is unlikely until the 2025 elections in Canada.

Charter market situation

Looking back at the last few years, Fedele said that the fiscal year between April 2021 and March 2022 was great for charter demand on the back of the Covid pandemic. The April 2022-March 2023 period was also good, although a bit slower, while the most recent full fiscal year saw some slowdown, which continued through the summer and autumn of 2024. However, this is simply a return to the pre-pandemic situation and is, in fact, a bit better than the operator expected.

The slowdown is more visible in international demand, as the pent-up demand after the pandemic has been exhausted.

Among the company's growth prospects is the expansion into the fractional ownership market, which is currently fully controlled by AirSprint Private Aviation in Canada. "Certainly, it's an opportunity, starting certainly with smaller aircraft," Fedele said.

FBO and maintenance network

Execaire currently operates four own FBOs at Toronto Pearson, Montréal Trudeau, Ottawa International, and Halifax. It also has partner FBOs at Vancouver International, Windsor, Winnipeg International, and Calgary.

"I think we could increase the number of FBOs that we own and operate within Canada. There are some opportunities for new FBOs in the Canadian market space, but that's a lot more limited than being able to increase our network through acquisition," Fedele outlined.

The company also has high hopes for the maintenance segment. It has a large maintenance facility at Toronto Pearson, which is geared predominantly towards third-party maintenance. Execaire is looking at opportunities to grow its MRO footprint not just in Canada but also "elsewhere in North America."

While supply chain issues affecting maintenance are still a problem, they are improving. "There are still some specific aircraft parts that are challenging to get on certain types, but we have great relationships with all the OEMs. We have a number of third-party parts suppliers with whom we have good relationships. And it hasn't really been a major limiting factor for us. And we have noticed that it's getting better," Fedele said.