A Founder’s Perspective: What Private Aviation Taught Me About Leadership, Trust, and Long-Term Vision

By Elliot Ross Surgenor, Founder & CEO - Fly Business Aviation

In private aviation, success is rarely defined by speed alone.

It is defined by trust. By consistency. By the ability to make the right decision when no one is watching.

Over the years, building Fly Business Aviation across multiple markets, aircraft types, and cultures, I’ve learned that leadership in this industry follows a different rhythm than most.

Here are a few principles that continue to shape how I lead and how I believe private aviation should be built for the future.

1. Aircraft Matter. People Matter Even More.

The industry often focuses on fleets, ranges, and cabins, and for good reason. The condition, cleanliness, and quality of an aircraft are fundamental. They set the tone before a single word is spoken.

A spotless cabin. Impeccable presentation. A quiet, perfectly prepared interior.

Those details matter deeply.

But what clients ultimately remember goes beyond the aircraft.

They remember how they were treated. Whether the crew anticipated their needs. Whether the flight felt effortless. Whether someone took responsibility when plans changed.

True service begins with an exceptional aircraft, but it is delivered by people who care.

And no technology will ever replace that.

2. Transparency Is the Most Underrated Luxury

In private aviation, complexity is inevitable.

Weather changes. Aircraft reposition. Routes shift. Availability moves by the hour.

What clients value most is not perfection, it is clarity.

Being honest about pricing. Being precise about timing. Explaining risks before they become problems.

In my experience, transparency creates stronger relationships than any upgrade ever could.

Luxury without trust is fragile. Trust without luxury still works.

3. Growth Should Never Outrun Control

The charter industry rewards speed.

Fast quotes. Fast deals. Fast expansion.

But the most dangerous moments in aviation often happen during periods of rapid growth.

At Fly Business, we made a deliberate decision early on: We would never grow faster than our ability to control quality, safety, and service.

That means:

• Working only with top-rated operators

• Investing heavily in compliance and oversight

• Saying no to opportunities that compromise standards

In aviation, shortcuts are expensive. Sometimes not immediately, but always eventually.

4. Technology Is a Tool, Not a Strategy

Innovation excites me deeply.

AI, automation, digital platforms, they are transforming how private aviation operates.

But technology alone does not create advantage.

The real value comes from how technology supports:

• Better decisions

• Faster clarity

• More accurate pricing

• More informed clients

At Fly Business, we don’t adopt technology to appear modern. We adopt it to reduce friction in an industry that desperately needs it.

The future of private aviation will belong not to the most digital companies, but to the most intelligent ones.

5. Reputation Is Built When No One Is Looking

In charter aviation, most flights are invisible.

No press. No social media. No public recognition.

And yet, that is where reputations are truly formed.

In how a company handles a delay. In how it protects a client’s privacy. In how it manages a problem at 3 a.m. in a foreign country.

Leadership is not tested on good days. It is revealed on difficult ones.

Final Thought

Private aviation is not about aircraft.

It is about people trusting you with their time, their family, their business, and often their most important moments.

That responsibility deserves humility. It deserves discipline. And it deserves long-term thinking.

The companies that will shape the future of this industry will not be the loudest.

They will be the most consistent.

And in aviation, consistency is the highest form of luxury.

Elliot Ross Surgenor Founder & CEO Fly Business Aviation