Steve Grimes has been at the helm of business aviation services company Ocean Sky for around six months. He talks to Flight Evening News about his long career in the business aviation industry, the impact of the economic crisis on Ocean Sky and his ambitions to turn the UK-based company into one of top three business aviation services providers in Europe
What have you achieved during you first six months at the tiller of Ocean Sky?
I have been in the role as group chief executive for six months. What I have tried to do, and think I have achieved, is introduce stability, structure and a solid platform for the future. As a company we have grown very quickly over the past two years and we need to improve on having robust processes, procedures and systems in place to be able to cope with this growth across our bases in Düsseldorf, London Luton, Manchester, Moscow, Prestwick, and Zurich.
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How has the financial downturn affected your businesses?
Of course conditions have made things difficult and there has been some downturn in most sectors. However, there have also been opportunities that have arisen as a result of the economic climate. The Luton start-up, for example, was made possible by space becoming available at the very constrained Luton airport as a result of the commercial traffic reductions at the airport.
We have also been in a position to acquire other businesses because of market conditions, which has put us in an excellent position for the future. With the companies that are surviving the difficult times we are seeing consolidation and this is the same for us. It is important that you fix the areas of the business that don't make money and, if you can't, then move your focus quickly to the stronger areas and build on the profitability of your company there.
Is consumer confidence returning to the market?
Yes. In our aircraft charter business we are seeing huge demand for the larger-cabin jets. Business on the smaller aircraft is returning more slowly but definitely improving. Business at our fixed-base operations continues to grow with movements at Luton for example seeing over 100% increases month on month. We expect to see this confidence continue growing towards the end of the year.
Ocean Sky is a relative newcomer to the business aviation services world. How are you competing with traditional, long-established companies?
Ocean Sky competes by not focusing on what the competition is doing but by ensuring we continue to grow in the key areas of our business. I have made it clear from the start of my time here that Ocean Sky will have 12 FBOs in strategic locations by the end of 2010 and we are well on the way to achieving that.
We have also delivered on the key objective of offering the complete product at the critical location of Luton by purchasing a much prized hangar from Monarch Aircraft Engineering, which will become another major engineering centre along with our Manchester facility. We have already increased our managed aircraft fleet to over 30 this year with the objective of reaching 40 by the end of the year. The key during this strategic growth is not just to maintain high levels of service, but to strive for greater standards. We separate ourselves from our competition with exceptional customer satisfaction in all of our service areas.
As a veteran of the business aviation services industry what lessons have you learned about this market and what experiences have you brought to bear on your role at Ocean Sky?
Things I have both learned and brought to Ocean Sky is that your business will not succeed if you don't listen to the market and be ahead of the game when things change. Also listen to your customers and give them what they want. Never assume anything - especially don't think that things will stay the same. Recent years have shown that this is one of the most unpredictable industries where events happen beyond your control.
I have leant that being prepared and reacting in a positive way is crucial. Spread and limit your risk by offering a wide range of services so that your business is not dependent on one area.
You have made no secret of the fact that you want to be among the top three business aviation services providers in Europe before the end of the decade. How are those plans progressing?
We are on target with our business strategy and making excellent progress in getting to a position in the top three. Focusing on quality and organic growth is working for us in achieving this.
Into which geographical regions would you like to expand?
We want to develop all of our business areas further into Europe with a focus on the east. The Middle East is also a key target for us as is further east towards Asia.
Which services would to you like to expand and introduce?
We want to continue to build on the "one stop" product for our customers, so this could mean delivering a new completion centre next year and the possibility of offering catering, helicopters and heliports.
Ocean Sky and I am very young and there is an incredibly exciting and fun time ahead!
Source: Flight Daily News