BCA chatted with AP Completions’ founder Andrew Broccoli at last year’s NBAA convention.
“I’ve been in this business for years, and I never have two days alike,” says Broccoli. “I’m always learning.”
Broccoli brought many years of experience working with Bombardier to AP Completions, which he established 11 years ago as a specialist on long-range jets.
AP is under contract to complete 15 7500s. Broccoli reckons no other independent completions company is working on as many of the jets. This has become a self-reinforcing benefit, with increased experience generating ever more business.
“I believe we are the most knowledgeable independent because we’ve touched so many aircraft already on this very young program,” he says. “We’re gaining the experience of how the 7500 is built; we’ve seen the evolution of the program, and of course our knowledge base increases.” The company began working on specs for its first 7500 in 2015.
“The majority of [7500] clients are either flying [Bombardier Global] 6000s, 5000s or competitor airplanes, such as Gulfstream,” Broccoliexplains. “They’re not new to aviation, but some are first-time Bombardier clients. I do have a couple of clients where, while it’s not their first airplane, it’s a big jump from where they’re coming from-—like if you’re driving a BMW 3 Series and you’re going to a Bugatti or a Rolls-Royce Phantom.”
Initial discussions focus on agreeing to a floor plan, Broccoli says. Even at this stage, customers have one eye on the resale market.
“With my repeat clients, I know they change airplanes every four or five years,” he says. “They usually will want to have the airplane while it’s under warranty, then trade it and buy another 7500. For them, their floor plan is not something so bizarre that it will be very challenging to find a potential buyer.”
Among these customers, certain options are emerging as constants.
“All my customers have a stateroom,” Broccoli says. “A shower has a high pick rate: if you don’t have it, it’s not a deal-breaker. Maybe 50% have a shower. Then you have cultural aspects, which bring another twist to the equation. My Middle Eastern clients might have different requirements than my Asian clients. Some of my European clients might want a bidet in the lavatory, while the North American customers don’t go for that.
“There’s no right or wrong answer,” Broccoli notes. “These are details that come after the floor plan. But it takes time to get to them, so it’s an expensive process, and to finalize a package takes about a year and a half.”
AP Completion Services has launched an online portal for exchange of information in real time. The data is centralized, related to each completion and accessible to the client at any time. https://apcompletionservices.com/
