The approach of providing the investor with smaller, specialized assemblages of aviation businesses creates a unique opportunity for investors to participate in the growth of a specific sector of the market that they are interested in.
Some of the business clusters available include:
Minor airlines around the world specialize in solving ground transportation problems by providing an alternative in areas where larger airlines either cannot or will not service. These airlines offer a more efficient and cost effective alternative through the utilization of either fixed or rotor wing aircraft.
Said companies offer transport services to a number of markets including airport shuttle, metropolitan transfer, summer vacation travel or even as a regional reliever to areas where the road system is either congested or unreliable due to weather or construction.
154 West is involved in a number of opportunities associated with small airlines and believes this is a sector that will continue to grow as these airlines fill the niche market which has been created by the limited nature of large airline operation and the ever increasing problems associated with ground transportation.
Safety and security have become a fundamental part of the aviation market with many businesses focused on ways to significantly reduce flight safety risk. From cockpit smoke displacement systems which have been FAA tested and certified to ensure pilot vision in the presence of dense continuous smoke, enabling pilots to see the flight path and vital instruments as well as read approach plates and standard operating procedures during an emergency to aircraft position-reporting and live event notification that provide operators with a complete picture as to the whereabouts of an aircraft at anytime, 154 West is engaged in this fundamentally important sector if the aviation market.
This "grouping" encapsulates all the businesses in the 154 portfolio that are centered around or service the safety and security demands of the industry.
Technology in the aviation industry continues to develop and push the boundaries of possibility. Consolidation of the industries communication and operational requirements into new convenient and state of the art equipment allows those that work within the aviation market to continuously advance their level of efficiency, compatibility and skill. 154 West is involved with a number companies committed to this process including those developing Electronic Flight Bags and aircraft tracking systems.
Whether it is a maintenance organization or a consultancy, the aviation industry is full of small to medium size maintenance businesses that are somehow involved in the ongoing work surrounding keeping an aircraft airborne through services like engine repair and onsite logistical and technical support for AOG aircraft. 154 West is financially invested in a number of these businesses including companies as far as New Zealand and Copenhagen.