Magellan Jets is more than a private aviation company; it is an organization founded on both passion and experience. Joshua Hebert, founder and CEO, established Magellan Jets in 2008 from a strong background in marketing, sales, and finance. Hebert’s career began on Wall Street and eventually led him to the advertising and aviation industries. This is the Magellan Jets story.
The Magellan Jets Story
Soon after creating Magellan Jets, Hebert was joined by co-founders Anthony Tivnan, President, and Gregory Belezerian, Vice President, to push the company to new heights together.
“One of the things we did differently is that for the first year and a half, we didn’t take on any customers,” Hebert shares. “We built the foundation: we built out the marketing department, the accounting department, the flight support department, and then we built sales. During that time, we actually said no to quite a bit of business. After we built the foundation, we started to grow.”
Magellan Jets was named by Robert Friedman of I. Friedman & Son Jewelers, a personal friend of Hebert. “We wanted a name that had to do with navigating the world, because that’s what we do for our customers: help them reach new heights and uncharted territory in their careers and personal lives,” explains Hebert. “Naming the company after the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan, who completed the first circumnavigation of the Earth, just made sense.”
Magellan Jets has experienced rapid growth over the last 10 years. “We’ve probably grown about 30% per year,” shares Hebert. “In 2015, we had a 110% growth year. We said to ourselves, ‘How do we grow 110% again next year?’ But then we stopped to ask, ‘Do we actually want to grow 110% next year?'”
Instead, Hebert and his partners chose to turn their attention to the company’s member retention rate. “We don’t want to just bring in customers and have them go out the back door. We made a decision to really concentrate on retention rates and spend a lot of time to focus on retaining customers.”
After spending multiple years focused on member retention, the percentage of members sustaining their involvement with Magellan Jets year over year had increased from around 55% to a whopping 92%, and the company has turned again to focus on growth.
“We are currently at record numbers for this year, stronger than anything we’ve ever done over the ten prior years,” shares Hebert.
Today, Magellan Jets is a thriving company that prides itself not only on providing top-tier service to customers, but also serving as a great place to work for all employees, with effective communication strategies in place and a flourishing company culture.
“We have a beautiful office, a beautiful place for people to come when they’re not with their loved ones,” explains Hebert. “We consider everyone that works here part of our family.”
