ours started with a challenge.
Throughout a three-plus-decade career selling new aircraft, Mark Molloy noticed that operators with low-to-medium usage requirements struggled with finding the right solution when it came to their private aviation options.
For those flying less than 50 hours per year, charter, jet cards and membership programs made the most sense.
For those flying more than 150 hours per year, sole ownership was the logical path. Even considering cost of capital, the advantages and control that came with having their own aircraft and crew provided the best option.
But for those in the middle, those flying around 100 hours per year, the choice was not as clear.
Of all the options available, co-ownership offered the strongest financial path. But the major issues that plague typical partnerships made this option unappealing to most mainstream owners. Despite the significant cost advantage, Molloy observed that most partnerships were notorious for their complications, risks and entanglements. Finding an acceptable partner was the proverbial needle in a haystack, and creating the myriad of required agreements was ad hoc, at best.
The math was compelling. The structure and the path to get there were missing.
Solving those issues became the genesis of Partners in Aviation (PIA). The goal was to develop a program that offers the financial advantages of a partnership with the independence, and peace of mind, that comes with sole ownership.
Molloy partnered with longtime friend and aviation marketing veteran Tom Bertels, and they consulted top aviation experts in finance, legal, tax, aircraft management and maintenance. The team went to work identifying the weak spots inherent to DIY partnerships and created a program that makes sense to owners, satisfies their counsel, and works within the stringent requirements of the FAA and the IRS.
The result is PIA Managed Co-Ownership: A smart, comprehensive ownership solution that addresses all of the challenges low-usage operators face.
Over 30 years in the making, Partners in Aviation was officially launched on September 7, 2016, to overwhelmingly positive reaction and industry support.
