Merger between Jet Access Group, Eagle Creek Aviation taking wing

Two Indiana aviation companies have agreed to combine operations, making Greenfield-based Jet Access Group the 12th-largest private charter operator in the country.

Jet Access Group and Indianapolis-based Eagle Creek Aviation announced a merger on Monday. The deal is expected to close on Dec. 17.

The combined company will operate under the Jet Access name and be headquartered in Indianapolis, according to Jet Access Group CEO Quinn Ricker. He declined to disclose how much Jet Access was paying for Eagle Creek Aviation.

The merged company will employ about 380, including more than 110 pilots and 75 aircraft technicians. The majority of the employees are based in central Indiana, with about 150 from Eagle Creek and 75 from Jet Access.

Jet Access is already one of the 20 largest Part-135 Charter operators in the country, operating more than 40 executive jets nationwide from its Palm Beach, Florida, operations base. The company will have more than 50 aircraft in its fleet after the merger.

Jet Access took over operations at Indianapolis Regional Airport (formerly known as Mount Comfort Airport) earlier this year and now oversees 10 fixed-based operators and runs 11 flight schools, including additional Indiana operations at Columbus Municipal Airport and Shelbyville Municipal Airport. It also has operations in Florida, Illinois, Ohio, Tennessee and Texas.

Eagle Creek Aviation has a nearly 40-year history in the Indianapolis area, providing aircraft maintenance, aircraft sales, fixed-based operator and charter services at Eagle Creek Airport in Indianapolis. Eagle Creek Aviation also operates at Indianapolis Executive Airport and Frankfort/Clinton County Airport under the First Wing Jet Center brand.

“We believe when we combine Eagle Creek’s decades-long technical expertise and reputation in the industry with the innovation and growth orientation of Jet Access, we will unleash the potential to become the country’s preeminent provider of the full scope of aviation services,” Eagle Creek CEO Matt Hagans said in a written statement.

Hagans, who founded Eagle Creek Aviation nearly 40 years ago, plans to remain with the combined company.

Company officials said the combined business will be the only full-service private aviation enterprise in the country to offer all of the following services: private aircraft charters, airport management, flight training, aircraft rentals, sales and management, aircraft repairs, maintenance and overhaul and corporate hangars.

“We have strategically designed an integrated vertical business model,” Ricker said in a statement. “This will create unparalleled value for our customers, offering turn-key private jet travel and services significantly below the cost of our competitors—all on a national scale.”