Gama Aviation Plc
TypePublic limited company
Founded1983 (1983)
Headquarters
Farnborough, United Kingdom
Key people
Simon To, Chairman
Marwan Khalek, Group Chief Executive Officer
Neil Medley, Chief Operating Officer
RevenueUS$432.4m Total Group revenue (2016)
Websitewww.gamaaviation.com

Gama Aviation (AIM:GMAA) is a British business aviation services company specializing in providing aviation support for individuals, corporations and government agencies. The company has two service divisions: Air and Ground. It was founded in 1983 by Marwan Khalek and Stephen Wright, who funosetrolesEare that of nd Executive Director.[1] Sir Ralph Robins, respectively, who formerly served on the board for Rolls-Royce, is the group's chairman.[2]

Air division

Air services

Since 1983, the company's managed fleet has increased through organic growth and mergers and acquisitions, including the reverse takeover of Hangar8,[3] the acquisition of Aviation Beauport,[4] and most recently the merger of its US Air division with that of BBA Aviation.[5]

Further specialist services were added with the addition of FlyerTech,[6] the organic development of flight training services[7] and its own in-house pilot ground school.

The Scottish Air Ambulance Services (SAS) contract involves the provision of fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters, as well as the coordination and operational management of all flights.[8] This long-term contract resulted in the company investing in the development of new infrastructure at Glasgow Airport, with the creation of the SCOTSTAR facility.[9]

In the USA, the company provides similar turnkey support for the private aviation membership club Wheels Up. The business currently provides all operational support, pilots and pilot training for a fleet of King Air 350i and Cessna Citation XLS aircraft.[10][11]

Ground division

Ground services

Gama Aviation conducts maintenance support for a variety of business aircraft types across its network of bases.[12]

The company also provides fleet support. In the US, this extends to the aircraft of Wheels Up utilizing Textron Aviation's Citation XLS+ and the Beech King Air. In January 2017, the company's Europe Ground division announced a 15-aircraft fleet deal with Wijet to provide maintenance support across Europe for AOG, line and base maintenance.[13]

As with the Air division, the company operates a number of contracts with organisations such as NHS Scotland, the Ministry of Defence,[14] and primary contractors such as Atkins.[15] These contracts has includes updates to the Royal Air Force primary trainer fleet and the Army Air Corps Gazelle fleet,[16] amongst others.

Geographic development of the ground division

Gama Aviation has a network of bases in the US (Bedford HF, Bridgeport, Chicago, Dallas, Las Vegas, Palm Beach, St. Louis, Teterboro, Van Nuys, White Plains) and UK (Farnborough, Aberdeen, Fairoaks, Glasgow, Jersey, Kennington, Doncaster, Waddington, Oxford). There are also additional maintenance facilities in Nice, Sarjah and most recently Hong Kong.[17]

Controversies

As of July 2017, Gama is facing a High Court claim brought against it by Dustin Dryden, CEO of Hangar8, for £6.1 million.[18] The counterclaim is a reaction to an allegation made against Dryden in November 2016, which alleges that Gama Aviation provided services and spare parts to Dryden, who failed to pay.[18] Dryden claimed in response that the work was not performed properly and some of the spare parts had been pledged to another company.[18]

Dryden claimed that, rather than a dispute over his conduct as director, there had been a "departure agreement" including a promise to sell his 5% stake in Gama and spend the proceeds with the company in order to help it hit second-half financial targets in 2015.[18] Gama also attempted to impound one of Dryden's planes, which they claim Dryden unlawfully seized back.[18] Dryden admitted to taking the jet back, but denied any legal wrongdoing.[18]

Gama Aviation informed investors only after the suit was made public by newspapers, making an announcement to the London stock exchange.[19] Its share price fell shortly afterwards.[19] In response to the allegations made by Dryden, Gama Aviation announced that it would not comment while legal action was ongoing, but did release a background statement.[19] Following this, Gama took out an injunction, forbidding newspapers from naming most of its clients.[20] The cases will be heard next June.[20]

A further case was brought against Gama Aviation by Credit Suisse.[21] The bank filed a High Court claim stating that Gama had not turned over a private jet that Credit Suisse was entitled to sell after Challenger-Mondel, who financed the purchase of the aircraft, defaulted on a loan.[22] In addition to this, the millionaire Andre Serruys has also taken action, alleging that the company overbilled him and performed sub-standard technical upgrades while under the management and maintenance control of Hangar8.[23] As of January 2018, Gama is potentially exposed to $15.3 million in damages from claimants.[24]

References

  1. ↑ "Company Overview". bloomberg.com. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  2. ↑ "Gama Group announces appointment of Sir Ralph Robins". corporatejetinvestor.com. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  3. ↑ "Hangar 8 to buy Gama Aviation in reverse takeover".
  4. ↑ "Gama Aviation buys Aviation Beaport".
  5. ↑ "BBA Aviation to merge aircraft management business with Gama Aviation's US unit". 29 September 2023.
  6. ↑ "Gama Aviation acquires FlyerTech and Aerstream".
  7. ↑ "Gama Aviation & CAE partner for new EASA base training requirements".
  8. ↑ "Gama Aviation awarded new Scottish Air Ambulance contract".
  9. ↑ "Gama Aviation opens unique new base for NHS Scotland".
  10. ↑ "Wheels Up Gama Aviation".
  11. ↑ "Wheels Up, Gama Aviation 'democratising' business aviation".
  12. ↑ "Gama Aviation maintenance".
  13. ↑ "Gama Aviation wins Europe wide contract from France's Wijet".
  14. ↑ "Shadow R1 team awarded CDM".
  15. ↑ "Atkins & Gama Aviation win contract to conduct airworthiness reviews for RAF aircraft".
  16. ↑ "Gama Aviation's part 21J team wins new defence contract".
  17. ↑ "Gama Aviation Hutchison commences long-term business aviation maintenance collaboration with China Aircraft Services Limited". 25 August 2017.
  18. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Shah, Oliver. "Legal dogfight erupts at VIP private jet operator Gama Aviation". thetimes.co.uk. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  19. 1 2 3 "Gama Aviation responds to article on Dryden legal action". stockmarketwire.com. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  20. 1 2 Bourke, Joanna (3 November 2017). "More woes for Gama Aviation as finance boss jets off". standard.co.uk. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  21. ↑ "Gama still likes to fly under the radar". London Evening Standard. 8 January 2018. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  22. ↑ Crump, Richard (3 January 2018). "Credit Suisse Sues Aviation Co. For Possession of Private Jet". law360.com. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  23. ↑ Shah, Oliver (2018). "Private jet firm Gama set for hard landing". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
  24. ↑ "Gama Aviation reports strong year amid ongoing legal battles". Hargreaves Lansdown. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
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