✈️ The VIP Seat Weekly

Your business aviation hot takes, served fresh

This week: George Priester Aviation acquires two charter operators in M&A spree, DHS plans to buy deportation aircraft fleet, Icon founder Kirk Hawkins dies in wingsuit accident, Chipotle tests drone delivery, and AI engine maintenance comes to GA.

Season 2, Episode 13 | August 26th, 2025 | Episode Companion

🛫 The Runway Report

The top 5 stories from this week's podcast that are moving the needle in bizav

1️⃣ George Priester Aviation Goes on M&A Shopping Spree

The Scoop: Chicago-based George J. Priester Aviation acquired two charter operators - Omni Air Transport and Sunrise Jets - adding 13 managed aircraft to their already substantial 22-aircraft fleet. The acquisition includes Challengers, a Sovereign, XLS, multiple Learjets, and a HondaJet.

Our Take: This is strategic M&A done right - a generational family business acquiring other legacy operators with similar cultures. Andy Priester is building scale while maintaining the boutique feel that makes these companies work. Smart move targeting operators with 40+ years of history instead of chasing flashy startups.

Links: Private Jet Card Comparisons News | Operator Search PASA

2️⃣ DHS Wants to Own Deportation Fleet (Goodbye Charter Bills)

The Scoop: Department of Homeland Security plans to buy its own aircraft for deportation flights instead of chartering, potentially pulling $100+ million annually from the private aviation ecosystem. ICE has $30 billion earmarked for enforcement operations and wants to stop paying premium charter rates. Key quote: “Tom Cartwright, a private citizen who tracks ICE flights through planes’ tail numbers, said ICE had chartered just over 1,000 flights from the U.S. by the end of July.”

Our Take: This could be disruptive to operators who've built lucrative government contracts around these flights. The feds are good at logistics but terrible at running corporate flight departments. Expect them to buy a bunch of planes, realize it's harder than it looks, then sell everything and go back to chartering.

Links: NBC News Report

3️⃣ Icon Aircraft Founder Kirk Hawkins Dies in Wingsuit Accident

The Scoop: Icon Aircraft founder and aviation innovator Kirk Hawkins passed away in a wingsuit flying accident. The company he founded created the iconic amphibious light sport aircraft that sparked both admiration and controversy in the GA community.

Our Take: Hawkins died doing what he loved - pushing boundaries and living on the edge. Icon may have been contentious, but it was undeniably innovative. He brought fresh thinking to an industry that desperately needed it, even if execution was challenging.

Links: AOPA Tribute | ICON Aircraft Tribute

4️⃣ Chipotle Teams Up with Zipline for Drone Burrito Delivery

The Scoop: Chipotle and Zipline are testing autonomous drone delivery in Rowlett, Texas. The service delivers full menu orders via aircraft that hover at 300 feet while robots lower food packages to customers' doors. Zipline has logged 100+ million flight hours and raised over $800 million.

Our Take: Finally, a drone delivery company with actual product-market fit. Unlike Amazon's ground-based bots, the zipline concept is more tamper-proof and practical. Only question: why test in Texas where Rosa's Tacos exists? That's some serious Tex-Mex competition.

Links: CNBC Report

5️⃣ AI Comes to GA Engine Maintenance (About Time)

The Scoop: Savvy Aviation launched GADFLY, an AI-powered predictive maintenance system for piston aircraft engines, starting with the SR-22. The system analyzes flight data to predict maintenance needs before failures occur, leveraging data from over 10,000 Cirrus aircraft.

Our Take: This is AI being used as a tool, not a replacement for expertise. With 10,000+ SR-22s flying, there's finally enough data to make predictions meaningful. The turbine market has had this for years through Honeywell and GE, but now GA gets affordable access to similar technology.

Links: Savvy Aviation GADFLY | AIN Reports

🤳 Mile High Madness

This week's wildest aviation content from social media

Preston's Rory McIlroy Time Machine: Three hours after finishing at the Tour Championship in Atlanta, Rory McIlroy was courtside at the US Open in New York watching Novak Djokovic. Only possible via private jet - the ultimate time machine for athletes living their best multi-sport life.

Jessie's PE Guy Parody Gold: Comedian Johnny Hildebrandt nailed the private equity stereotype with his NetJets partnership pitch video. "I have my own plane obviously, I don't need NetJets, but..." - absolutely perfect impression of every PE guy at every wedding ever. NetJets should definitely collaborate with this guy.

johnnyhilbrant

149K followers

View more on Instagram

⚡ Quick Hits

Other stories on our radar

• Wheels Up Asset Sales - Sold three subsidiary companies (Baines Simmons, Kenyon Emergency, Redline Assured) for $20M to fund fleet modernization

• Government Charter Reality - Jessie's firsthand experience moving unaccompanied minors shows this has been happening across administrations for years

• M&A Gong Needed - Preston suggests celebration music for all the acquisition news hitting the industry

🎧 This Week's Episode

Missed the podcast? Catch up on the full episode at the links below! We would LOVE if you would give us a 5 start review, and share with your friends!

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube | Website 

✈️ The Final Approach

Summer's ending with a bang - M&A activity heating up, government trying to insource aviation operations, and technology finally trickling down to GA. From legacy operators preserving aviation culture to comedians nailing PE stereotypes, this industry never stops surprising us. Keep those tips and scoops coming!

The VIP Seat Weekly is the companion newsletter to The VIP Seat podcast. We give you the business aviation hot takes for your commute.

Jessie’s Links:
Private Aviation Safety Alliance
FlyVizor
LinkedIn

Preston’s Links:
Prestige Aircraft Finance
Private Jet Insider (Newsletter)
LinkedIn
X (Formerly Known as Twitter)