Conklin & de Decker Aircraft Acquisition Planning Seminar
Last week I attended the Conklin & de Decker Aircraft Acquisition Planning seminar in Scottsdale, Arizona with my father, Jay Mesinger. This was the 11th annual conference and I would recommend it to anyone thinking about aircraft ownership for themselves or their corporation. The complexities of owning such a high dollar asset are not to be taken lightly and the more information you can glean from experienced professionals the better off you will be.
My father gave the opening presentation on making the case for business aviation. He has been writing extensively on this topic throughout his career and most recently in the series Business Aviation and the Boardroom in World Aircraft Sales. In these articles he details the various steps and planning needed to present the values of business aviation to a corporate board. The presentations at this seminar were very informative and dealt with everything from management and operating costs to budgeting, taxes and insurance. It was great information for the first time buyer or the head of a flight department looking to gain a more insight into the complexities of ownership and fleet transition. The conference was a wonderful experience for me as I navigate my new career in aviation and learn all of the facets involved. At the same time, we can’t be experts in all things and at our firm we don’t try to be. There are many great tax experts, legal experts, management companies and others in our industry. We always refer each specific piece of the transaction to our skilled peers in the industry and then work as a team to best accomplish our mutual clients’ goals. It is, however, important to understand the challenges a buyer faces in the purchasing process, but you do not want to be liable for a legal opinion or tax guidance when that might not be your field of work.
When I worked in television I would always attend the finance and tax seminars related to the entertainment industry so I could stay on top of new regulations and trends as well as have the opportunity to meet peers and prospects in the process. I want to thank everyone for the meals and the information sharing, as well as a big thank you to the entire Conklin & de Decker team for hosting a great seminar. It was a pleasure to meet you all and I look forward to working with you in the future. Since joining the family business and this industry I have met some great people who have welcomed me with open arms and I am appreciative of all the support and guidance.