7 minute read
Seduced by The Skies
Jonathan Wolpe may just have Jet-A1 fuel flowing through his veins. Not because of a fiery demeanour – he comes across as grounded and measured, choosing his words with care – but rather because of his passion and commitment to shaking up Africa’s aviation industry.
by Sebastian Bartlett
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For the past two decades Wolpe, founder and chief executive officer of United Charter Services and later the United Aviation Group, has made his mark both on the ground – pioneering new service offerings in the world of private aviation – and blazing innovative contrails across African skies.
After finishing his tertiary studies in marketing, Wolpe started his training as a commercial pilot in 1999, but quickly grew disillusioned with the lack of opportunities open to young pilots in Southern Africa. However, showing trademark ingenuity and entrepreneurial flair he quickly identified a gap in the regional aviation market, launching Africa’s first aviation charter brokerage in 2000.
Unlike traditional charter firms, which own and operate their own aircraft, when Wolpe launched United Charter Services (UCS) at the turn of the millennium it was with a bold vision for a new type of aviation company. As a broker, rather than operator, Wolpe could offer private charter clients a wider choice of aircraft, alongside unheard-of flexibility, costsavings, and convenience.
“The distinct advantage of a brokerage like UCS is that you don’t have high overheads, or all the complexities of aircraft licensing,” explains Wolpe. “Instead, you have the ability and flexibility to understand the client’s precise needs and requirements, with the insights and experience to present them with the ideal solution for their specific flying requirements.”
It’s a jaded traveller who doesn’t relish the glamour of travel by private jet, but for Wolpe the primary focus of UCS is on ensuring a seamless journey for the client.
“We focus on the efficiency, not the glamour,” says Wolpe. “It’s certainly a wonderful way to travel, but I don’t believe that is the key to unlocking value in private aviation. It’s about the convenience and the flexibility, and how we can help the client to accomplish what they’re trying to achieve.”
The need for expert knowledge is even more acute in Africa, where the aviation landscape is not as defined, nor the regulations as clear-cut, as other parts of the world.
“Private aviation in Africa definitely has its own nuances, and an understanding of the market, as well as the technicalities in planning a private flight, are crucial. That’s where United Charter Services always proves its worth. We’re a brokerage with extensive experience, and an in-depth knowledge of the aviation landscape, so we can always offer the perfect solution in terms of aircraft and routing,” he says.
To drive that philosophy of customer-centric service, throughout the evolution of UCS, the focus has been on keeping the company lean and efficient.
“We’re a technology driven company,” adds Wolpe, who – from the very beginning – has poured huge energy and investment into building bespoke flight management software, custom-designed to streamline the UCS business and improve client service.
CONSTANTLY CLIMBING TO NEW HEIGHTS
Over the past 20 years UCS has continually evolved in both its service offering and its client base. While initially focused on corporate travel, increasingly UCS is sought after by celebrities and high-net-worth individuals looking to avoid the inconvenience of commercial aviation.
The preference for the privacy of air charters was certainly thrown into stark contrast in 2020, with both corporate and private clients looking for a Covid-safe alternative to scheduled commercial flights.
“To date we’ve probably had more enquiries than actual conversions into flights, but what’s interesting to us is that here’s a whole new market segment opening up, and a new niche which UCS is perfectly placed to serve.”
During the coronavirus lockdowns of 2020, UCS also played a pivotal role in providing last-minute private aviation services for a wide range of corporate clients, working to find loopholes in the system to create miracles in order to repatriate workers stranded abroad.
“When Covid-19 started and people around the world couldn’t get home to family, friends or their businesses, the private aviation market went crazy in terms of enquiries,” remembers Wolpe. “But flying privately is exceptionally expensive, and it was extremely difficult to get charter flights in the air.”
However, with their unrivalled experience in African aviation, Wolpe and the UCS team worked wonders to arrange landing permits, flight plans and permissions to get their clients home.
“Governments certainly made things very difficult, but the entire team at UCS really went out of their way to carefully interpret the regulations, and we managed to find solutions for those clients in a position to arrange private travel,” says Wolpe.
Those clients were also varied, and far-flung, from dive crews salvaging a ship off Mozambique, to a corporate entity with rotational staff stranded in the Nigerian capital, Abuja.
“That particular flight took three weeks to organise,” recalls Wolpe. “But we took care of getting the clients a hotel in Abuja, assisted them all the way through the crisis, put the permissions in place, and got them on an aircraft home.”
For the staff members stranded in a foreign country, there was enormous relief at being reunited with friends and family. For Wolpe and the team at UCS it was just another day at the office, working flat-out to get clients up in the air and en route to their destination.
While the global lockdowns due to Covid-19 have since kept many clients at home, in the post-pandemic world the impact and value of private aviation has certainly been further affirmed.
“Although our corporate business has slowed down, we are confident it will return in 2021, but we have noticed a definite increase in the number of VIP and high-net-worth individuals who are opting for private aviation, where they may in the past have considered a commercial airline.”
Though UCS has revolutionised the regional charter market with its innovative brokerage model, in 2008 it made the bold choice to broaden its offering with the purchase of an established charter company, Owenair.
With a seven-decade track record in African aviation to uphold, “we consider ourselves the custodian, not the owners, of Owenair,” says Wolpe.
The acquisition of Owenair added a dynamic new element to UCS; now able to offer both its own managed and operated aircraft and those from its broader brokerage network. That included Owenair’s respected air ambulance services through its partnership with International SOS and Air Rescue Africa which is widely regarded as one of the finest medical evacuation specialists in Africa.
With a fleet of aircraft added to the fold, Wolpe expanded the company further in establishing United Flight Support, providing fuel and operational support to both its own aircraft and other aircraft owners and operators flying into the region. And as the expensive hardware on the home front grew, and the need to look after it kept pace, it was a natural evolution for Wolpe to launch United Aircraft Maintenance in 2020.
“Launching an AMO and Fixed Base Operator was really the final piece needed to cement United Aviation Group as a fully fledged all-encompassing aviation company,” says Wolpe.
In mid-2020 United Aircraft Maintenance opened the doors to its custom-built 2500m2 hangar at Lanseria International Airport on the outskirts of Johannesburg, South Africa. Though the current hangar is already capable of handling service and maintenance functions for most large jet aircraft, perhaps unsurprisingly Wolpe has bigger ambitions.
In 2021 United will expand into a second 2500m2 hangar which, with an additional three metres of roof height, will allow United Aircraft Maintenance to accommodate the largest executive jets in the skies, right up to the impressive Dassault Falcon and Bombardier Global Express.
It’s a bold new step into the future, and looking ahead to the rest of the decade Wolpe is bullish about the prospects for both private aviation, and the fortunes of United Aviation Group.
“With our new facilities in place we see strong demand for our maintenance and fixed operating base business at Lanseria, and we’re working aggressively to increase the charter business; both our share of the market and overall demand.”
Two decades after Wolpe sent tremors through the industry with his blue-sky thinking, it appears the engines of innovation are revving up once more.
