Published
March 2024
Products used
Operation type
Corporate Flight Department (Part 91)
Wing Aviation, a Houston-based charter management company operating worldwide, manages a fleet of approximately 30 aircraft. Despite a modern fleet, the company was challenged by “old software” and manual processes. To scale effectively and deliver a premium ownership experience, Wing Aviation turned to Portside to implement a unified digital ecosystem featuring the Owner Portal and Avianis.
The challenge
Scaling a high-touch model on legacy tech.
Before adopting Portside, Wing Aviation faced a critical disconnect between their operational goals and their technical reality. They were using disparate legacy systems that created inefficiencies and data silos.
Accounting Bottlenecks: Creating monthly owner statements was a manual, time-consuming process. As the fleet scaled, maintaining accuracy and timeliness became increasingly difficult.
Operational Friction: The team relied on a legacy desktop application that required cumbersome remote logins, limiting the team’s ability to work efficiently while mobile.
Communication Gaps: Interaction with aircraft owners was limited to emails and texts, lacking a centralized, transparent view of an asset’s performance.
We identified a bunch of holes… things that could be done a lot better and more efficiently when it comes to scheduling and regulatory compliance… It was time to make a change.
— Jeremy Gee, CEO, Wing Aviation
The solution
A cohesive platform for modern asset management.
Wing Aviation partnered with Portside to replace their segmented tech stack with a cohesive platform designed for modern asset management.
Avianis: Selected to replace the legacy system, providing a web-based flight operations platform that integrates seamlessly with the Owner Portal.
Portside Owner Portal: Deployed to automate the creation of accurate, concise monthly invoices and provide owners with real-time visibility into schedules and maintenance via a mobile app.
A “Game Changer” for Sales: Wing Aviation utilizes the Owner Portal as a competitive advantage. The ability to offer owners transparency on their mobile devices is a “huge selling feature” that helps seal deals with prospective clients.
I can specifically remember sitting in front of one client and showing him it, and he just looked up and said, ‘I love this.’ And that says it all right there.
— Jeremy Gee, CEO, Wing Aviation
Automated Compliance: A critical factor for choosing Avianis was the “feasibility checker,” which validates legality leg-by-leg and minute-by-minute. This allows the team to handle last-minute changes with total confidence in their compliance.
Mobile Agility: Unlike their previous system, Avianis allows the operations team to access data from any device, anywhere, eliminating the need for complex desktop logins.
Transitioning from a long-standing legacy system requires buy-in across the organization. Portside’s modern UI facilitated a smooth change management process. Accelerated onboarding reduced the learning curve for new hires, lowering training time and costs, while Wing Aviation, as an early adopter, worked closely with Portside to shape the Owner Portal’s features around the real-world needs of aircraft owners.
Throughout, Wing Aviation relied on Portside’s support team, from the initial accounting project through full flight operations implementation, to solve problems quickly.
The result
Measurable efficiency and stronger decisions.
Measurable Efficiency: The automated invoicing and reconciliation workflows within the Owner Portal have significantly reduced the time required to close month-end financials.
Error Reduction: Integrated processes automatically cross-check data across systems, leading to a noticeable decrease in manual errors.
Enhanced Decision Making: Consolidating data into the Portside ecosystem provided leadership with metrics they “didn’t know they didn’t have,” enabling smarter, faster business decisions.
Portside has helped us consolidate what was a very segmented technical operation into one single place… We see the power the Portside platform provides to us as data, time, and efficiency.
— Jeremy Gee, CEO, Wing Aviation
30+
Aircraft supported on one unified platform
2+
Days saved each month on owner invoicing
Wing Aviation continues to grow alongside Portside, viewing the relationship as a long-term strategic partnership that drives innovation within their operation.
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