The corporate aviation activity represents a sizable investment of capital and personnel in many companies today. Large investments are made in corporate aircraft and facilities as well as major budgetary expenditures for employees to operate and maintain equipment. Managers responsible for these resources face the challenges of using capital wisely, operating flexibly and efficiently, and managing small teams with a diversity of functional responsibilities. Of particular note is the growing challenge to "speak the language of finance."

Managing the Corporate Aviation Function emphasizes the fundamental management skills vital to executives and managers who are responsible for the corporate aircraft function. Relevant business cases provide a framework for examining equipment selection and justification, operational issues, financing methods, fleet upgrading, and interpersonal problems.

• Financial Fundamentals: A number of classes will be devoted to the most relevant financial concepts, quantitative techniques, and methods of analysis. Participants will gain fundamental insights needed to understand and analyze the specialized business cases that relate to managing the corporate aviation function.


• Equipment Justification: In today’s business environment, making the case for the acquisition of an aircraft can be a real challenge. Focusing on equipment justification as a management issue, participants will analyze studies on the acquisition of a turboprop airplane, a jet airplane, and a helicopter.


• Operational Issues: Many companies use some form of cost allocation to charge back a portion of operating costs to users. A number of charge-back methods are currently used in well-managed companies. Aircraft usage is directly influenced by the charge-back methods employed. Participants will examine a company that is considering different charge-back methods.


• Financing Methods: Business cases will draw attention to the array of financing methods currently available to companies. In these cases, the company looks at options which include chartering, leasing, fractional ownership, or outright purchase of the equipment to provide the flight hours required by the business.


• Organizational Behavior Problems: The corporate aviation department provides a rich arena within which to explore interpersonal relations. Participants will discuss the behavioral challenges in a representative company’s flight department.

Chief pilots, maintenance managers, executives, and other managers with significant aviation department responsibilities.

• Establish a basic understanding of a company's published annual report.
• Examine the challenges of today's managerial environment.
• Explore a framework for examining equipment selection and justification, operational issues, and financing methods.
• Improve individual interpersonal competence.
• Strengthen fundamental management skills vital to the safe and efficient operation of a flight department.

• Managing People
• Cost Analysis
• Net Present Value 
• Capital Budgeting
• Charge-Back Methods
• Airplane Acquisition  
• Lease vs. Buy vs. Charter 
• Helicopter Acquisition
• Fractional Ownership
• Leadership
• Fleet Planning 
• Basic Financial Statements of the Enterprise 

• Aviation Maintenance Manager 
• Chief Pilot 
• Director of Aviation 
• Flight Operations Supervisor 
• Manager, Aviation Services 
• Manager, Organizational Development 
• Vice President, Human Resources Services 

James G. Clawson
Johnson & Higgins Professor of Business Administration, The Darden School, University of Virginia.

Mark E. Haskins
Professor of Business Administration, The Darden School, University of Virginia.

Phillip E. Pfeifer
Richard S. Reynolds Professor of Business Administration, The Darden School, University of Virginia.

June A. West
Assistant Professor of Business Administration, The Darden School, University of Virginia.