Michael Johnson started Paramount Aviation Resources Group (Booth No. C12647) of Fredericksburg, Va., in 2007 as a crew procurement company after finishing his contract as chief pilot with Japan Airlines, where he also did contract administration, and realized there was a market for finding and screening flight crews for airlines. He had worked there since 2001 after being furloughed from American Airlines following the 9/11 attacks. He still holds his seniority number at American.
While airline crew recruiting is still a big part of Paramount’s business, a few years ago the company started offering ferry flights, too. “Ferrying turned out to be a good business for us,” Johnson told AIN, “because it has better margins than the crew procurement.” Setting up a ferry flight, he explained, usually takes no more than a month and can sometimes be done in just a few weeks. Finding quality pilots, training them how to prepare for interviews with mostly foreign–mostly Asian–carriers and getting them hired on a contract basis can take three to six months.
So Johnson decided to grow Paramount’s ferry-flight business. In August, he took a major step in this direction by buying Global Trip Support of Pagosa Springs, Colo. “I have a good relationship with Rich Wolfer, the owner of Global,” Johnson said. “We had used other dispatch services before, which were fine, but a few years ago a colleague recommended Global to me and we liked Rich’s work ethic and service. So we’ve been using Global exclusively since then.”
Buying Global, which is now Paramount Global Ferry and Flight Support/Division, brought new customers to Paramount, including maintenance companies, leasing companies and private owners, which all sometimes need ferry flights. Johnson said having dispatch in-house gives Paramount greater control, which means he can provide better service to customers and do everything involved in moving an airplane domestically and internationally. Wolfer plans to keep his office in Pagosa.
Meanwhile, crew recruiting remains strong for Paramount, particularly for Middle East and Asian airlines. Johnson said he has about 85 flight crews working with his company, most of them from Europe, the Middle East and Australia, with only six from the U.S.
Paramount currently lists positions available for crews qualified and experienced in the Airbus A320 and A330/340 and Boeing 737NG, 747-400, 767 and 777, as well as for synthetic (simulator-based) flight instructors for many of these models. Airlines currently recruiting via Paramount include Air China, Air Japan, Hainan Airlines, Korean Air, Shenzhen Airlines, Turkish Airlines, Viet Jet and Yunnan Lucky Air.
Here at its NBAA booth, Paramount is holding a giveaway for two Bose QC3 Quiet Comfort headsets.
