To survive in a business as highly competitive as air charter, you must constantly change and reinvent yourself. So goes the conventional wisdom and, indeed, many of the oldest charter companies in the U.S. now tout products that didn’t even exist when they began operation. Some sell so-called “jet cards.” Others have merged or been swallowed by bigger firms.
But then there’s The Air Group, whose 25-year corporate history seems as notable for what hasn’t changed as for what has. The company still touts the same services it offered when Jimmy Carter lived in the White House: traditional charter; help with buying, leasing, selling and trading aircraft; and aircraft management for owners. It has opted not to dabble with jet cards, fractional deals, block charter or online booking. And it continues as an independent operation, run by the same man who co-founded it, chairman and CEO Jon Winthrop. (Robert Christy, the other founder, is officially retired but remains a consultant and shareholder.)
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