The JP Airline-Fleets directory, one of the best known brands in the aviation world, has been acquired by Reed Business Information UK (RBI UK) to add to its Flight portfolio.
On 19th March, RBI UK completed two simultaneous acquisitions in Switzerland and the UK. It acquired both the annual JP-Airline Fleets directory from Bucher & Co, a partnership in Switzerland, and also the affiliated Buchair UK Ltd business, which is the largest country distributor for the directories and has built an international premium data business based around the JP directory.
The acquisition opens access to a new stream of premium customers for Flight and also provides the JP products with the backing of the aerospace industry’s leading provider of online news and data.
Ron Harman (l), Buchair UK Ltd founder, signs with Jim
Muttram (r), managing director for Flight at the
RBI UK head office in Sutton, Surrey, UK
RBI UK will now bring both the Swiss and UK businesses together under the same roof, to sit within its Flight portfolio alongside leading the ACAS fleet database and Air Transport Intelligence (ATI) online premium news and data service. The new JP business will be headed by Ron Harman, founder of Buchair UK, who comes over with the acquisition as JP Business Manager.
“After 41 years of producing the JP, we wanted to make sure that the title would continue to be produced for many years to come,” said Frank E Bucher, founding managing director of Bucher & Co. “Flight, with its skilled researchers, international marketing network and longstanding position in e-media was selected as our partner of choice. It is well known as the publisher of Flight International, the premier weekly aerospace magazine, which also helped to give it the edge over competitors in closing the deal.”
Flight premium publisher Tim Fuller said: “We saw Flight as an excellent home for JP, not simply because of our heritage and reputation, but because of the doors that we open for each other: Flight gains access to an expanded audience of aviation operators and enthusiasts all over the world, while JP is plugged into aviation’s leading online publishing network.”
For further information, please contact: Tim Fuller tel: +44 1788 564800, email tim.fuller@flightglobal.com
Source: FlightGlobal.com
