In the past two or three editions of Executive & VIP Aviation International I’ve commented on the continued transition from Covid pandemic to Covid compliance, noting how the world, at least as far as business aviation is concerned, was beginning to settle into a new normal. Sure, there have been ups and downs – the omicron crisis in Hong Kong among the latter – but on the whole the ups were outweighing the downs.

And then the world was faced with another crisis: a new, unthinkable and entirely man-made tragedy, staining our lives with an unjust war.
Yet commerce and industry continue against this history-making backdrop, as they must. Business aviation will inevitably continue playing its largely unsung role in making international deals happen, connecting people where no other means of connection exists, moving decision makers and leaders quickly and discreetly and, quite literally in some cases, saving lives.
This Spring edition of EVA includes a personal celebration of Avfuel president and CEO Craig Sincock, recently honoured with the 2022 Kenn Ricci Lifetime Aviation Entrepreneur Award and inducted into the Living Legends of Aviation. Sincock’s life centres on family and aviation, as befits a living legend.

We also enjoy a candid conversation with ACJ President Benoit Defforge, where he reveals his enthusiasm for the ACJ TwoTwenty and plans to conquer the US, in the best possible way.
Elsewhere, we dip into the behind-the-scenes worlds of operations and charter, FBOs and fuel, including two very different companies: Jet Luxe, headquartered in Dubai, and Leviate Air Group, based in Dallas. We talk fuel with AEG and Avfuel, then discover the FBOs and facilities at five UK airports: London Biggin Hill, and the XLR Jet Centres at Birmingham, Bournemouth, Exeter and Liverpool.

Meanwhile, Castle & Cooke Aviation’s President Aviation Operations & Business Development, Tony Marlow, explains the company’s FBO and support offer at Van Nuys and Honolulu, while Interim OCC Manager Emilio Padilla Escoto reveals Manny Aviation’s expansive Mexican ground support operation.

This geographically diverse edition reflects the worldwide nature of business and VIP aviation. Ours is a niche industry with global reach and, I’d like to think, a global family – illustrated no better than through the fact that Kennedy Ricci (president of 4AIR, also featured this time around) is the son of Kenn Ricci, whose award Craig Sincock received. That spirit of family, of unity, has never been more important.