Ventura Air Services (VNT, Farmingdale) aims to increase its fleet to around 30 aircraft in the next two to three years, targeting a split of around fifteen Citation Excels and fifteen Challenger 604/605s, its president Sam Wolf told ch-aviation in an exclusive interview during the NBAA-BACE convention in Las Vegas.

"These are two of the most popular charter aircraft ever produced. Their reliability is very high. Parts availability is very good, strong manufacturers support the airplanes, lots of pilots out there, so they check a lot of boxes. But the real big sell for us is that the two types are still being produced today. So there's longevity - these are tried and tested aircraft that are not going to go away," he said.

The company currently operates six Citation Excels, six Challenger 604s, and one Challenger 605. It wants to continue growing with these aircraft families, although Wolf confirmed that the operator is open to other variants from the same family, including the Citation XLS, XLS+, and the future Ascend.

No third aircraft types are currently planned, as Ventura Air Services is heavily focused on achieving economies of scale through large subfleets of the same type.

"Focusing on two fleet types allows us to have a deep pool of pilots, very specific maintenance knowledge, parts inventory; we can operate much more efficiently and reliably," Wolf explained.

Ventura Air Services eventually wants to expand beyond 30 aircraft, and it would like to model itself on "larger floating fleet operators," he said, adding that its business model provides scalability, which should support growth.

Unique management model

Wolf explained that the focus on two types is part of Ventura's unique fleet strategy which specialises in aircraft management and most, though not all, of its aircraft are owned by third parties. But instead of providing traditional management services, Ventura effectively leases the aircraft from its owners which affords it an unprecedented level of operational oversight with no conflicts of interest.

"We cover all the maintenance costs and the crew costs, all the variable and fixed costs on the aircraft. In order to do that, we need to be able to operate with a little bit more efficiency. And the way we operate efficiently is by having uniformity," he explained. "Traditional management for an aircraft owner doesn't really provide alignment with the operator. If you're an owner, under traditional aircraft management, the incentives aren't really there for the operator to mitigate your maintenance costs as much as possible, to optimise charter pricing as much as possible, to get as much revenue on the aircraft as possible."

By assuming all the costs associated with the aircraft, Ventura Air Services is incentivised to secure the best possible rates for maintenance and maximise charter revenues - it does not share those costs or revenue with the owners. This also removes a major source of the owners' frustration related to the amount of work associated with aircraft ownership. Ventura does not need to consult them on issues such as staffing, maintenance, or inspections, which results in "mutual simplicity" for the operator and the owner.

"A lot of owners said the whole reason they bought an aeroplane was that they wanted not to have to worry about these things," Wolf explained.

Fleet standardisation is a major tool that allows Ventura to minimise maintenance and staffing overheads while also maximising charter revenues. A diversified fleet with multiple types, characteristic of many aircraft management firms, would make Ventura's business model much more cumbersome. Because the operator takes away all the risk for the owner, it is forced to function almost like a Part 121 commercial carrier.

The target is to charter each aircraft out for 700-800 hours a year, Wolf said. Owners have guaranteed availability of 75 hours per year at discounted costs amounting to direct operating costs, with the expenses escalating once they exceed this threshold.

Because of its business model, Ventura Air Services does not actively pursue Part 91 management contracts, although it can provide such services.

Maintenance strategy

Ventura's fleet's simplicity has allowed it to minimise the impact of supply chain issues.

"When it comes to scheduled inspections, we've become absolute experts on these aircraft. We have a lot of our own technicians, so we're able to manage a lot of those issues. We have a deep parts inventory and a good relationship with the manufacturers for larger inspections, as well as ongoing support. We have focused hard on reliability," Wolf said.

The company is now focused on improving its maintenance forecasting to identify "typical failure parts" ahead of time. This allows it to plan maintenance better and minimise time off flying. The focus is on long-term thinking about maintenance planning rather than just addressing current issues. Ventura Air Services also emphasises frequent checks on the aircraft with the same maintenance providers to ensure they are "constantly looked at."

Ventura owns an AOG support company based out of Teterboro - Alpha Aircraft Services - which adds another layer of capabilities, although about 60% of the company's work is for third-party customers. The operator also has a Part 145 maintenance facility at its main Farmingdale base.

The company has no plans to invest in its own FBO facilities. Its fleet is fully floating with no fixed bases assigned to the aircraft.

Charter demand

Wolf underlined that despite the overall pressure on the charter market, Ventura has not experienced any drop in demand. Although he admitted that price competition has increased, operators with good reputations and customer bases have not felt the pinch as much as some.

"Demand has not been our core issue. We have been able to build some very strong relationships with large wholesale buyers. Retail has been relatively strong and growing," he said. "The majority of our business is to what I call large partners, like Wheels Up (WUP, Teterboro). But we do have a growing retail business, both on fleet and off."