Air/Lyon Purchases Aviation Engine Supplier
Air/Lyon Inc., the newly formed holding company that last month acquired Martin Aviation, Orange County’s oldest flight service company, said Monday it has purchased a Northern California aviation engine and engine parts supplier.
David Banmiller, who formed Air/Lyon with Newport Beach developer William Lyon, said the acquisition of International Aircraft Support Inc. of Belmont is part of the holding company’s overall plan to develop a network of aircraft and airline service businesses.
International Aircraft specializes in buying and selling or leasing used jet engines and selling overhauled engine parts and components, said President Fred von Husen.
The deal, whose value was not disclosed, has its roots with another airline company. Lyon is the former co-owner and chairman of AirCal, which was sold to American Airlines in 1987. Banmiller is the former president of AirCal, and von Husen is a former AirCal executive.
Banmiller, who was named chairman of Martin Aviation, will hold the same title at International Aircraft, which has approximately $10 million in sales in 1989. He said the two companies will remain separate entities.
Von Husen said that Air/Lyon will increase International Aircraft’s financial capabilities and enable it to increase its stock and thus its customer base.
In addition, he said, the additional financial strength of Air/Lyon has enabled International Aircraft to enter negotiations with a major aviation company for a long-term, multiyear engine lease.
Because jet aircraft engine parts are overhauled or replaced at specified intervals, the usable life of an engine is indefinite.
Aviation companies typically lease engines to reduce cash expenditures or to provide additional supplies when expanding or upgrading their equipment or experiencing difficulties in getting their own engines out of their maintenance shops, von Husen said.
In the past, International Aircraft has leased engines only on a short-term basis, typically a year or less, he said.
The company’s principal customers are airlines and aircraft engine overhaulers, von Husen said.
International Aircraft currently leases a Boeing 747 engine to Federal Express on a short-term lease and has leased engines in the past to United Airlines, United Parcel Service, American Airlines, Swissair and Lufthansa.
In addition to its headquarters in Belmont, about 20 miles south of San Francisco International Airport, International Aircraft also maintains a sales office in London. The company has 21 employees.
