Luxaviation Group considers Luxaviation San Marino (LSM, Rimini) "an essential element of its strategy" and will soon grow with a first bizliner, a B737-800(BBJ) (BBJ2), but plans to remain a multi-AOC holding using both the Luxaviation and ExecuJet brands for its subsidiaries, Chief Aviation Officer Robert Fisch told ch-aviation in an exclusive interview in Luxembourg.

"Within six years, we achieved 22 aircraft that are managed directly by Luxaviation San Marino, and we represent now about 42-43 San Marino-registered tails, which equals basically 10% of the fleet that is on San Marino's register," he commented, underlining the strong ties with San Marino.

Luxaviation's fleet operated in San Marino includes long-range Dassault Aviation and Bombardier Business Aircraft jets as well as midsize aircraft such as the Gulfstream G200 and Hawker 900XP. Fisch said the Sammarinese AOC, which is not overseen by the European Union Aviation Safety Administration (EASA), is well-positioned to be the "service provider" catering to the "specific needs" of customers from jurisdictions such as the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, Asia, and parts of Africa.

Multi-AOC and brand strategy

Luxaviation Group currently owns fifteen AOCs in Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, and Mexico, including units operating under the Luxaviation and ExecuJet brands (including helicopter AOC Starspeed in the UK). Fisch explained that this was a result of the acquisition of ExecuJet Aviation Group in 2015, after which the holding decided to retain and integrate new units rather than merge them into existing ones.

"We always kept the people in place, as well as the AOCs, because they answer a local need. It is a global structure, but always with that local presence," he said. "There are multiple AOCs, but the operating procedures, the tools that we use, they are basically implemented worldwide."

Managing such a global presence is inevitably "a headache" due to different regulations and oversight by various regulators. Rule interpretations can differ even within a jurisdiction, which the holding experienced when it had two AOCs in the UK in the past (ExecuJet (United Kingdom), which is no longer active, and Luxaviation UK). In order to simplify management, the group obtained an EASA AOC for its Luxaviation Portugal unit in 2020, becoming the first business aviation operator to transfer to unified regulatory oversight in the European Union.

"It had a huge adaptation period, simply because EASA was not used to business aviation; it was more airline-oriented. We were the first one in business aviation, so it just took some time. But at least under EASA, we have a uniform code on how we interpret the rules, and we are right at the source of the interpretation. That helps a lot, working directly with EASA has been a very good experience," Fisch explained.

The Portuguese unit currently operates five aircraft, including a recently inducted Global 6000, CS-JHH (msn 9562), which operated its first charter flight under the 'LMJ' code on October 3, 2024, marking the return of the variant's operations under the Portuguese AOC after 2.5 years (the operator also has one Global 6000 in Portugal). The aircraft is operated for a UK customer but placed on the Portuguese-licenced EASA AOC at their request.

The group continues to evaluate its AOCs and is prepared to close them if they no longer serve a specific market need. ExecuJet Europe (Denmark) is now dormant and has no aircraft because the Danish certificate ceased to offer benefits in terms of taxation. Fisch conceded that the AOC was geared towards customers in Eastern Europe, a market that "completely vanished" due to political complications and its consequences.

While European operations have been consolidated under the Luxaviation brand - besides the Portuguese and UK AOCs, the group also owns Luxaviation Belgium, Luxaviation France, Luxaviation Germany, Luxaviation Malta, and Luxaviation - in other parts of the world, the holding will retain the ExecuJet branding, even though operations are largely handled by Luxaviation units. Fisch explained that this is driven by brand recognition, with ExecuJet being a much more familiar name outside Europe.

Despite recognising the importance of the US market to the group's FBO operations, Fisch said that launching an aircraft operator in the country is off the table due to control and ownership rules. "We own all our businesses 100%, so [the US] does not really make sense," he said.

Fleet expansion and fractional ownership

In mid-2023, Luxaviation debuted its fractional ownership programme SkyClub, initially through Luxaviation Belgium, which currently includes only Cessna Citation Jet 4 Gen2s, of which the operator has five. Fisch said the launch was "extremely successful" and the operator is now expanding the programme to Germany and Scandinavia. It is now evaluating adding super-midsize jets to the programme.

With a fleet ranging from helicopters to bizliners (currently, the group's largest aircraft is Lineage 1000 A6-KAH (msn 19000236) operated by ExecuJet Middle East), Luxaviation Group is open to customers with any aircraft type. However, Fisch conceded that adding a unique type would require a closer look. The holding would consider this if the same customer already had other aircraft under its management, but if the business case does not add up, it would "respectfully decline".

The decision to expand to the large bizliner market with the BBJ2 soon to be operated in San Marino was justified by the chance to charter it out when not in use for its owner.

FBO and partnership strategy

While it has no plans to enter the aircraft operating business in the US, Luxaviation Group wants to grow in the market on the back of the recently bought Paragon Aviation Group (as well as through local charter sales). Its network comprises 58 FBOs in 19 countries, mainly in the United States, but also with a presence in locations such as Monterrey Mariano Escobedo, Mahé, Dubai, Australia, South Africa, and Europe. The transaction was finalised earlier this year, just weeks after Luxaviation bought 17 FBOs in southern Europe from Sky Valet.

"We are a developing company, so we're always looking for further opportunities. From a strategic point of view, the FBO market was definitely something that we were looking at," Fisch said.

The group is also pursuing a partnership strategy through agreements such as the Luxaviation Helicopter Alliance and its strategic alliance with BAA Jet Management (Hong Kong).

"If we have an operator that has the same standards and the same passion for the clients [as us], why not collaborate? Why not use their airplane, their helicopter in an area where we are not present? I think the market is big enough to be shared, so why not be efficient about it," Fisch opined.