News
Project Phoenix bolsters sales team

April 27, 2009,London, UK – Project Phoenix, the Dubai-based Bombardier CRJ-200 executive VIP conversion specialist, is bolstering its sales team with two significant appointments.
 
Mike Creed, a well known figure in the business aviation industry, joins Project Phoenix as Vice President Sales after working with Action Aviation for just over three years.  Mike’s 40 years’ experience will be invaluable at a time when Project Phoenix prepares to enter new territories later this year with new ventures that will complement its now established Phoenix CRJ line.
 
Mike started out as operations manager at Fairoaks Airport in Surrey in 1969, where he learned to fly. He joined the Alan Mann Group (fixed wing operations) as sales and marketing manager, before becoming an independent aircraft broker in 1981.  He was sales director at Sloane Helicopters, prior to serving as managing director of Patriot Aviation.  He joined Harrods Aviation as aircraft sales director before leaving to become managing director of Action Aviation in November 2005.
 
“Having believed wholeheartedly in the Project Phoenix offering and actually helped draw up the business plan with Mike Cappuccitti three years ago I am delighted to be inhouse working with such a professional team,” he said.  “Despite the economic gloom, we are seeing a lot of interest in the Phoenix CRJ, especially in the Middle East where the market is becoming increasingly cost conscious.”
 
In addition, David Barker joins Project Phoenix as Sales Director, based out of Tucson, Arizona covering the western USA.   David brings 13 years of diverse business aviation sales experience having worked at an FBO (in Chicago), an OEM and for a number of block charter, fractional and charter sales/management organisations.  David worked with Bombardier’s Flexjet between 1997 and 2003 in a number of sales positions culminating in Sales Director – West Coast.   Since 2004 he has worked independently, sourcing aircraft, brokering, jet card sales, completion center sales, and negotiating fractional ownership acquisitions for several Fortune 500 companies. Among these was Honda Aircraft Company, for whom he helped secure a number of fleet sales for the distinctive looking HondaJet light jet throughout west coast USA and into Mexico.
 
“With the appointment of Mike Creed and David Barker we have strengthened our already experienced management and sales team in order to build on our early achievements,” said Mike Cappuccitti. 
 
The Phoenix CRJ programme was conceived, with the assistance and support of several former senior Bombardier executives who make up the Project Phoenix team, to offer buyers of large executive aircraft a viable and cost-effective alternative to new business aircraft models in the 2,200 – 3,000nm range – for which new customers are having to wait for up to five years for a delivery slot.   
 
Jet Asia of Macau is the first operator to fly the Project Phoenix VIP-configured Bombardier CRJ-200 on behalf of owner Ritz Pacific Ltd, accepting its aircraft in May.