Approach

History

Passion for Private Aviation, Proven in Business

Kenneth Ricci—a man whose lifelong passion has been aviation—developed his own vision of the industry and created an investment firm that is unique in private aviation. A highly respected professional aviator, Ricci sees the great potential of the private aviation industry.

For more than 40+ years, Directional Aviation’s leadership has been founding, managing and investing in world-class private aviation companies. This long track record, through decades of macroeconomic ups and downs, speaks to a dedicated industry focus that is responsibly correlated to the capital-intensive realities of private aviation.

The Third Model.

Model 1: Pure Passion
Commonly, many aviation firms are founded and run by pilots or aviation aficionados. Quite often, while they have personal commitment to the industry, those firms underachieve due to limited business skills and allow their passion for our industry to lead them down the path of poor decision making.

Model 2: Diversified Investor Naïve to Aviation Realities
The second type is the diversified business-focused investment partner. Those companies, while strong in spreadsheets, lack the passion and expertise in aviation to truly excel. They will often make significant upfront investments and offer guidance based on holdings in unaffiliated industries that do not translate to the realities of aviation operations. This also aligns with an unrealistic expectation of returns.

Model 3: A Balance Tailored for Private Aviation – Directional Aviation
The third model is Directional Aviation. Kenn Ricci’s aviation passion and business acumen, in conjunction with Mike Rossi’s deep understanding of how to drive financial success within the capital-intensive realities of private aviation is the balance behind Directional Aviation’s rise to becoming a global powerhouse.

“We have modeled so many companies in the private aviation space that we know the industry in and out. When we look at a business, we think does this company have a unique competitive advantage? What is that advantage? Could it help our other companies to have more of a competitive advantage in what they do? Directional is not a cold, investment-based concern. We embrace people; they are what we are about. If we can give a person a chance to achieve something great, then we all prosper.”

-Kenn Ricci, Principal, Directional Aviation