Senior Editor

Jerry Siebenmark

Early in David Rimmer’s charter career, he went to see off one of his first customers at the airport but the airplane wasn’t there, despite representations from the charter operator and FBO that the aircraft was on its way. “I avoided what could have been catastrophic for the relationship,” Rimmer told AIN. “This customer went on to become a very valuable customer and actually bought an airplane and had us manage it. I don’t know that I would have had that opportunity if we had a big service failure from the get-go.”

 


That experience serves as the basis for Rimmer’s new venture, Suits on the Ground, a company that provides concierge services on behalf of charter operators and brokers, FBOs, and corporate flight departments. The 20-year business aviation veteran and former president of Talon Air and his partners, Omar Diaz and Andy Ferguson, started the company this fall working on the belief that the experience of traveling by private jet starts at the moment a passenger pulls into the parking lot of an FBO.

 


“[I] just think there’s a lot to be said for an added level of service,” said Rimmer, CEO and “chief suit” of Suits on the Ground. “I think, personally, that the first and last hundred feet of a trip are make or break for business aviation.”

 


The idea behind Suits On the Ground is to fill a gap that he said exists today, providing passenger meet and greets, facilitating ground transportation, movement of luggage, and fulfilling last-minute requests that may be difficult for busy FBO staff or flight crews to provide.

 


“When somebody is paying the kind of money they do to charter an airplane or own an airplane, they deservedly expect perfection,” Rimmer said. “So not only do we act as a brand extension…we’re also the canary in a coal mine: we can give early warning if things aren’t going to plan. And we have enough time to identify and correct places where service may fall short.”

 


Suits on the Ground services are not restricted geographically. “Either we would have somebody who’s based locally or the partners in the company wouldn’t hesitate to get on an airplane [to provide whatever service is requested of them].”

 


Rimmer wouldn’t disclose the number of trips his company has supported since September other than to say it’s done several. “We have been asked by an FBO to assist with a large movement of passengers,” he explained. “They just didn’t feel they could do the movement justice with the staffing that they had.”

 


With the level of growth and demand the charter market is currently experiencing, Rimmer believes there’s a significant opportunity for Suits on the Ground. “We think that operators and brokers have to ask themselves how they distinguish themselves from their competitors,” Rimmer said. “And I firmly believe that while price is a factor, it’s also service. Customers want to believe that they’re cared for, well cared for, and that their provider goes the extra mile...to provide personal, face-to-face service that typically is not delivered.”

Suits on the Ground Targets Bizjet Concierge Services

Service on the ground is an element missing from today's private jet travel, according to Suits on the Ground CEO David Rimmer.

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