Executive aviation, the safest means of transport; Mexico's air fleet is second in the world.

Today, executive aviation is the safest mode of transportation in the world, and Mexico is the country with the second largest fleet, says Guillermo Morales Montesinos, CEO of Patriot Aviation.

Each year, he added, approximately 48 million operations are carried out on executive jets, with a rate of approximately 200 accidents, most of which are non-fatal. Based on these figures, the risk to a person using executive aviation is practically zero.

Mexico is the country with the second largest fleet of private jets. "This second place is constantly being fought over by Brazil and Mexico.

This is important because the economic flow generated by executive aviation is high, and the savings and benefits as a work tool are significant.

Much of that security is supported by the management of Mexico's Federal Civil Aviation Agency (AFAC), headed by Major General Miguel Enrique Vallín Osuna, who was instrumental in helping Mexican aviation return to Category 1 status with international aviation authorities and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), he explained.

"General Miguel Vallín's work has been very important. The change wasn't easy because after many years of civilian leadership, he took over as head of the AFAC, and the current performance of the authorities has improved."

Currently, the authority maintains a very strict record and conduct to verify that general aviation operations—executive aviation or private aviation—comply with safety regulations. Morales Montesinos pointed out that, based on military principles, there are much stricter standards. Therefore, the benefit of integrating military equipment into the AFAC administration has resulted in time savings, greater efficiency, and increased safety control.

He noted that the development of executive aviation took off starting in 2020, with the pandemic. It has since experienced exponential growth. In the case of Patriot Aviation, its operations have increased by nearly 300% since then.

The pandemic was a turning point; many people used private flights to travel to the US for vaccinations, and companies used them to cover their logistical needs. This is how they began to realize the benefits in terms of time and the advantages of this mode of transportation. Over time, users have also discovered the tax benefits, because by flying on a private plane and using it as a work tool, companies can achieve certain tax deductions. The executive emphasized that with executive aviation, there are significant time and financial savings, as a private plane can make up to three trips to different cities in a single day. If a company with offices or projects in different locations across the country, many of them without commercial flights, needs to send, for example, a team of executives to three cities, using commercial airlines will likely take them Monday through Friday, plus travel expenses and the time invested.

On a private jet, all of the above can be done in one day. This is one of the advantages of executive aviation. With a private jet, travelers step out of their car at a private VIP terminal and immediately board the plane. Upon arrival, the same thing happens, because "time is the most valuable thing, and with a private flight, time is significantly reduced and can be used for work or leisure."

In Mexico, the main cities where executive aviation is used for business purposes are Toluca, Monterrey, Guadalajara, Puebla, Veracruz, and Cancún. For recreational purposes, all the vacation destinations are in demand. "The new Tulum airport, with very good facilities, has worked very well. It was a great achievement for the new administration to open that airport, and—obviously—Cancún, which is number one by far." In terms of safety, the same applies to commercial and private aviation. Virtually no aircraft in the world flies without complying with safety regulations. No commercial, private, or executive company runs the risk of making a mistake that endangers the lives of those flying and those on the ground, or of failing to provide the service it is supposed to provide.

And in terms of punctuality, commercial airlines sometimes experience delays due to the large number of operations, and if it's a night operation, it may already be carrying all the aircraft's delays from the day, but in business aviation, that doesn't exist. There's always punctuality, precision, and safety.

Patriot Aviation is among the top five companies in Latin America with the most executive operations. It has a fleet of 15 aircraft, including Leajet, Hawker, and Challenger, all executive jets. It has covered hangars with over 3,000 m², a 2,000 m² apron, a fully private luxury terminal, a certified maintenance workshop, and 800 m² of offices. Last year, it had approximately 5,900 flight hours and approximately 3,500 takeoffs, making it one of the market leaders in Mexico and Latin America.