In August 2024, European aircraft manufacturer Airbus:
AFM Team Note – kindly contact us for a detailed Excel breakdown of orders and deliveries by airline.
Source: Airbus
Photo Credit: Airbus
Beloit, Wis. / Bristol, England / Tel Aviv, Israel – September 4, 2024 – Comply365, LLC (“Comply365”), a leading global provider of compliance and safety management solutions for the aviation, rail and defense industries, announced the acquisition of Qualtero Limited (“Qualtero”), a leading provider of solutions to optimize civil and military aviation training operations. The acquisition will create a leading global all-in-one compliance, safety and training platform for peak operational performance serving the aviation, defense and rail industries with over 140 customers located in over 30 countries on six continents. Terms of the transaction were not announced.
In January 2024, Insight Partners, a global software investor, and Liberty Hall Capital Partners (“Liberty Hall”), a private equity firm focused exclusively on investments in businesses serving the global aerospace and defense industry, announced a strategic growth investment in Comply365 in connection with Comply365’s merger with VistairLimited (“Vistair”). The acquisition of Qualtero represents Comply365’s first acquisition since its merger with Vistair.
Commenting on the acquisition of Qualtero, Tom Samuel, Vice Chairman, and Rob Morgan, CEO, of Comply365 said, “We are delighted to welcome the Qualtero team into the Comply365 family. Qualtero is a world-renowned provider of innovative training and qualification management solutions for civil and military aviation, with a stellar global customer base. This acquisition brings together complementary product lines and talent, further bolstering our ability to deliver a unique value proposition to our customers by connecting the dots between operational content management, safety management, training management, and data analytics.”
Barak Kirmayer, CEO of Qualtero said, “The acquisition of Qualtero by Comply365 marks a significant milestone in Qualtero’s journey. We see immense synergy between the companies’ solutions and teams, and with the support of Comply365, we are poised to deliver even greater value and more innovative products to our combined customers.”
Henry Frankievich, Managing Director at Insight Partners said, “The acquisition of Qualtero is a natural extension of Comply365’s strategy to create a comprehensive compliance and safety platform serving the global aviation, defense and rail industries. We believe that the addition of Qualtero’s widely respected training and qualifications management capabilities will enable our customers to achieve the highest levels of operational excellence. We look forward to continuing to work with Liberty Hall to support Comply365 in their continued growth.”
James Black, Partner at Liberty Hall Capital Partners added, “With the acquisition of Qualtero, Comply365 extends the value proposition it offers to airlines, defense and rail organizations by expanding its capacity to power operational excellence with a leading training management offering. Along with our partners at Insight, we look forward to supporting Comply365’s continued growth, combining the strengths and expertise of both organizations to deliver even greater value to our collective customers.”
Legal advice to Comply365 was provided by Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, Willkie Farr & Gallagher and Goldfarb Gross Seligman. Qualtero was advised by DLA Piper and Barnea Jaffa Lande & Co.
About Comply365
Comply365 is a leading provider of Operational Content Management, Safety Management and Training Management in the highly regulated industries of aviation, defense and rail. Comply365 provides a powerful combination of expertise and products underpinned by unified best practices, providing airlines, rail and defense organizations with a single digital platform to elevate operational excellence, transform safety management and training, with closer integration of relevant data sets across domains.By empowering airline, rail and defense organizations with an all-in-one compliance, safety, training and data platform, Comply365 ensures their crews and assets always geared for peak operational performance, unlocking unparalleled financial and operational gains through more streamlined, robust and agile operations. Comply365 is the trusted technology partner of many of the most progressive aviation and defenseorganizations worldwide with a global customer base of over 120 airlines, defense and rail organizations.
About Qualtero
Qualtero is a premier provider of training management solutions, empowering organizations to deliver impactful training experiences that drive compliance performance and growth. Qualtero specializes in developing innovative solutions for optimizing commercial and military aviation training operations. Its flagship products include Fox, a comprehensive Training Management System, and Qualtero EQMS, the most modern Qualification Management System. These tools help aviation training organizations of all sizes streamline processes, reduce costs, and enhance throughput.Qualtero’s team of talented and experienced professionals employ proven methodologies to ensure complete customer success, continuously enhancing its solutions with the latest technology to meet their evolving needs.
About Insight Partners
Insight Partners is a global software investor partnering with high-growth technology, software, and Internet startup and ScaleUp companies that are driving transformative change in their industries. As of December 31, 2023, the firm has over $80B in regulatory assets under management. Insight Partners has invested in more than 800 companies worldwide and has seen over 55 portfolio companies achieve an IPO. Headquartered in New York City, Insight has offices in London, Tel Aviv and the Bay Area. Insight’s mission is to find, fund, and work successfully with visionary executives, providing them with tailored, hands-on software expertise along their growth journey, from their first investment to IPO.
About Liberty Hall
Liberty Hall Capital Partners is a private equity firm focused exclusively on investments in businesses serving the global aerospace and defense industry. Liberty Hall’s principals have a 25-plus year history of working together and have led the investment of over $2.5 billion in equity capital in over 25 businesses serving multiple segments of the aerospace and defense industry. Liberty Hall was founded in July 2011 as the first, and remains the only, private equity firm focused solely on investments in middle market businesses serving the aerospace and defense industry. Liberty Hall executes a proven and repeatable investment strategy designed to transform middle market businesses into larger, more capable and diverse strategic assets.
Source: Qualtero
Photo Credit: Qualtero
EPA Training Center (EPA), a 2,700 square meter pilot simulator training facility based in Curitiba, Brazil, leads pilot training in the Latin America region with now four operational full-flight simulators, including:
EPA has highlighted its partnership with United States headquartered global pilot training group and flight simulator manufacturer FlightSafety International with which it has been in partnership with since 2010. The partnership started with the launch of operations of the Embraer ERJ-145/Legacy 600 full flight simulator. Since then FlightSafety International has conducted annual audits on EPA’s simulator maintenance processes and shares nstitutional training materials.
“This partnership has been fundamental for EPA Training Center to strengthen its position as the largest operator of regional aircraft simulators in Latin America.” shared EPA.
Source: EPA Training Center
Photo Credit: EPA Training Center
Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago – Netherlands headquartered MPS, which develops, manufactures, installs and maintains type specific fixed based simulators, CEO Philip Adrian FRAeS represented the company at the CAPA Airline Leader Summit on August 22-23, focused on the Latin America and Caribbean regions. The summit addresses critical issues including the state of the aviation industry in these regions and the harmonization of regulatory standards.
MPS recently announced the installation of a Boeing B737MAX FTD in Panama with Copa Airlines.
Source: MPS
Photo Credit: MPS
Netherlands headquartered MPS, which develops, manufactures, installs and maintains type specific fixed based simulators, has installed a Boeing B737 MAX FTD FAA level 5 with collimated visual at the Copa Airlines training center located in Panama City, Panama. The device has successfully completed factory acceptance and will soon be utilized by Copa for airline MAX training.
The introduction of this device at Copa is important for the region, as a significant amount of all training hours currently performed on Full Flight Devices can be transferred to the MPS simulator. This will allow for greater flexibility, optimization of costs and improvement of schedules.
MPS CEO Philip Adrian expressed his satisfaction with the successful installation and certification of the FTD at Copa Airlines: “On behalf of my team, MPS wants to extend our sincerest appreciation for the excellent working relationship we have developed with Copa, a top airline in the Latin American region. By providing this MPS simulator we hope to contribute to their mission to provide the highest safety standards.”
Source: MPS
Avia Solutions Group, the world’s largest ACMI provider (Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance, and Insurance) services and owner of global pilot training group BAA Training, announced that in its first half results of 2024 it reported a 34% growth in EBITDA year-on-year to €179 million.
Over the first half of 2024, European customers accounted for 55.1% of revenues, while Asia accounted for 27.9%. The Americas, Africa, Australia and Pacific Islands represented 11.8%, 2.7%, and 1.2%, of revenues respectively.
Driving this increase in revenues, and a 44% increase in net profit for the second quarter of 2024 compared to the second quarter of 2023, was the implementation of Avia Solutions Group’s ongoing strategy of investing in bolstering its capacity in a timely manner to meet the continued strong demand from airlines globally for additional aircraft during their peak seasons.
The Avia Solutions Group has ongoing plans to further expand its global presence and ability to offer capacity solutions, particularly during peak seasons, to airlines around the world. The Group is planning to obtain further air operator certificates (AOCs) in Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines and Brazil in the near future.
As part of this strategy, the Group completed the acquisition of Australian based Skytrans in the first half of 2024. The obtained AOC brings the total number of air operator certificates held by the group to 11.
“Our performance over the first half of 2024 underscores our strong market position and ability to meet the rising demand for passenger aircraft. Our 44% growth in net profit for the second quarter is a testament to our team’s dedication and the trust our airline partners place in us, particularly during the peak holiday season in counter seasonal markets. We remain committed to driving further growth and delivering value to our stakeholders.” Jonas Janukenas, CEO of Avia Solutions Group, said. “As such, we will continue to expand our worldwide services operations, fleet capacity and capabilities to continue delivering exceptional services across passenger and cargo operations to customers.”
Testament to investor confidence in the Group’s strategy is the increase of group equity capital by €307 million to €655 million over the first half of 2024. Part of this growth in group equity capital included US-based Certares Management LLC, a private equity investment firm which invested into Avia in 2021, electing to convert its preferred shares to ordinary shares.
To further the Group’s business development initiatives, Avia Solutions Group also successfully issued US$300 million of five-year senior unsecured bonds with coupon of 9.75% in the first half of 2024.
Avia Solutions Group offers its services to customers including some of the largest airlines in the world. The group operates in 68 countries around the world and consists of 100+ companies providing a wide range of aviation services like aircraft maintenance and repair (MRO), pilot and crew training, ground handling, and more. The group’s team encompasses 12,000 highly qualified aviation professionals.
Source: Avia Solutions Group
FlightLogger, a leading provider of flight school management software solutions, has shared changes in its leadership team:
“As I transition into my new role as President, I’ll be focusing on the vision and future development of FlightLogger, ensuring we continue to innovate and lead in aviation training management. I’m also excited to announce that Mads D. Larsen will be stepping into the role of CEO. Mads has been a key part of the FlightLogger team for the past four years, leading our commercial efforts with excellence. I have full confidence in our team, which today is bigger than ever and a perfect combination of passionate aviators, skilled developers, and business professionals. I have no doubt, that under Mads’ leadership, FlightLogger will continue to grow and revolutionize the digital platform for flight schools worldwide.” shared Flightlogger’s President, Kenneth Jeppesen.
“I’m truly honoured to step into the role of CEO at FlightLogger. Huge thanks to Kenneth Jeppesen, Paul Yancich, Daniel Eisen, and the Arcadea Group team for trusting me with this amazing opportunity. I’m excited to carry forward Kenneth’s vision and, together with this amazing team, keep growing the incredible company he’s built. As Kenneth says himself, he continues to be a very active part of this company in his new role as President. FlightLogger is in a really exciting place right now. I honestly couldn’t imagine a more exciting challenge than this one, and I can’t wait to see what we achieve next. I also want to take this opportunity to welcome Stig Salling as our new Head of Sales & Marketing. Stig is yet another example of how we keep strengthening our organisation in our continued ambition to offer the best SaaS solution for managing aviation training.” shared CEO Mads D Larsen.
Source: Flightlogger
São José dos Campos – Embraer will celebrate its 55th anniversary on August 19, 2024 inspired by a history marked by excellence in the development of people and products, as well as significant contributions to the aeronautical industry.
With nine thousand aircraft produced and delivered to more than 100 countries and a modern portfolio of products, the company has currently registered over 800 patents. These, together with several other initiatives, drive the virtuous cycle of continuous innovation capable of transforming knowledge into industrial activity with high-added value.
“The Brazilian aeronautical industry is a global reference, and we are proud to celebrate Embraer and its history of achievements. We have been producing aircraft for 55 years, developing cutting-edge technology, training highly qualified people and contributing to the development of society,” said Francisco Gomes Neto, President and CEO of Embraer. “We look to the future with confidence in the ability of our people to carry forward this legacy with efficiency, quality, innovation, social responsibility and a commitment to a more sustainable aviation.”
In full integration and with intense knowledge exchange between all its business units (Commercial Aviation, Executive Aviation, Defense & Security, and Services & Support), the company has built a successful trajectory guided by the training and qualification of people, technological development, innovation, identification of market opportunities, strategic planning, determination and creativity.
In 2024, Embraer has been executing its plan to meet the aircraft production ramp-up and future growth expected with investments, which includes research and development activities for new technologies.
Today, with a backlog valued at US$21.1 billion, more than 19,000 employees and a truly global presence, Embraer is strengthening its position as a competitive company focused on building the sustainable aviation of the future.
Source: Embraer
Photo Credit: Embraer
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