Fresh off celebrating its silver anniversary at last year’s NBAA Convention, maintenance program provider Jet Support Services, Inc. (JSSI) of Chicago is launching this year at NBAA a trio of services aimed at expanding the breadth of its portfolio.

“After our first 25 years, now we’re entering a new phase in our maturation,” said Neil Book, JSSI president and CEO. “In this new phase, we’re focused on transforming ourselves from an hourly cost maintenance provider to a fully integrated solution provider to the business aviation community.”

The three new services debuting here are JSS1 (JSS One), an all-inclusive tip-to-tail coverage program; the JSSI Asset Monitoring Platform, to help lenders keep tabs on the aircraft they finance; and the JSSI Parts division, offering parts at lower costs through JSSI’s buying power. With close to 1,800 aircraft enrolled in its programs, JSSI has the customer base and maintenance bandwidth to make the portfolio expansion feasible, Book said.

Tip to Tail

JSS1, the tip-to-tail coverage plan, “will be the first program that covers everything, even going beyond maintenance, things every other company excludes: paint and interior, corrosion and aircraft washing,” said Book. “We have bounced this off customers, and we’re seeing a lot of demand in the large-cabin space,” the aircraft category initially eligible for JSS1. Coverage will be customized. “It allows the customer to say, ‘Here’s the operation of my aircraft, I’m going to fly this many hours,’ and we can tell them exactly what it’s going to cost,” said Book.

JSSI anticipates many current customers will upgrade to the tip-to-tail program, and also sees opportunities to win new customers who might be new to hourly programs, but also put off by so many suppliers and programs. According to the company, “Now they can come to JSSI. It removes the stress and complexity.”

Owners of aircraft under factory warranty seeking supplemental protection for non-covered items can also enroll in JSS1. The company believes demand will be especially strong in emerging markets, where owners and operators have little business aviation experience. “You have people who haven’t owned an airplane before buying a Global or a G650,” said Susan Marr, executive v-p and general counsel. “It’s not that they can’t afford to pay for maintenance as events occur, but they want to go with the experts with all the data, the people who understand the airplane.”

At JSSI’s display here at the show (Booth C7318) James Stovall, director of program development, and Kevin Thomas, senior v-p, business development and strategic planning, are eager to meet with attendees interested in tip-to-tail coverage.

Asset Monitoring

The JSSI Asset Monitoring Platform (AMP), a web-based tool, enables banking and lending institutions, with the aircraft owner’s consent, to monitor the state of any aircraft they’re financing that’s enrolled in a JSSI program. AMP was born of a growing trend among lenders to require aircraft they finance to be enrolled in an hourly engine maintenance program. It provides access to maintenance records, a five-year forward-looking view of upcoming maintenance events, flight activity logs and other data, and it can also send alerts and notifications.

AMP has undergone beta testing at six banks in the U.S. and other regions. “Banks loved using the tool and gave us great ideas on new tools and features,” Book said. “They can drill into a fine level of detail. It’s going to reduce their administrative costs, they’ll spend less time on the phone and will have all that data right in front of them.” Book noted that under internal operating procedures, banks must conduct a physical inspection of the asset on an annual basis, a burden AMP eliminates. “JSSI representatives see the aircraft several times a year and collect logbooks and inspect the aircraft on an annual basis, which banks aren’t equipped to do on their own,” said Book. In the event of a default, lenders will have “a true understanding of future maintenance exposure.”

AMP is free, “delivered as a value-add, no-cost, no-subscription-fee,” said Book. “This is a tool to make their life easier.”

JSSI invites lenders attending the show to meet with AMP director James Appel, who spearheaded development of the tool, and see a product demo. “If you’re a bank with an aircraft on a JSSI program, you can see your actual data at the show,” said Book.

JSSI intends to provide “regular updates and add a significant number of features and capabilities on this platform,” Book said. “We’ll see multiple product releases. We’ve got a very exciting technology roadmap.”

JSSI Parts is a new division that “we created because our customers demanded it,” said Book. Customers enrolled in engine maintenance programs often ask JSSI for airframe components, he added. Now JSSI will “leverage our buying power strategically” to get parts at discounts that will allow the company to pass savings along, whether to JSSI maintenance customers or simply owners and operators looking for a break on parts prices. “It’s another opportunity for JSSI to reduce the overall cost of maintenance,” Book said. “We want to provide budget stability.”

Jim Sellers, JSSI director of purchasing, is here at the show and eager to talk to attendees about the new parts division.