(Groton, CT, July 15, 2020)   As much of our industry repositions itself in the wake of COVID-19, Columbia Aviation Companies took time to celebrate an important milestone in April of 2020, our 40^th anniversary.  While the pandemic may have shelved our celebratory plans, it fails to diminish the sense of pride and accomplishment that comes from knowing our company has served the general aviation community for over four decades. Our incredible record of excellence and success can be attributed to our dedicated, passionate owners and to every one of our employees throughout our locations.

Established in 1980, the Columbia brand was born in an old, white Quonset hangar at the Groton-New London Airport in Groton, CT and provided aircraft maintenance and a variety of other aviation services.  Today, Columbia Aviation Companies represent a network of full-service FBO’s that offer comprehensive aircraft support to the general and corporate aviation communities. We are proud to be an Authorized Daher Distributer, providing Daher factory authorized sales and service for the eastern seaboard from Maine to Virginia and Eastern Canada.

Columbia Aviation Companies has had a long-standing reputation as an industry leader committed to delivering unparalleled service.  We’ve established that stellar reputation with the hard work of our more than 100 devoted employees, several of whom have been with us since our humblest beginnings. In fact, the majority of our people have been with us over twelve years.  The years of service for our maintenance technicians represents over 100 years of combined aircraft maintenance experience alone.  Our aircraft sales division is comprised of a group of seasoned professionals who have been part of the Columbia team for over two decades.  We are tremendously proud to boast such powerful, collective experience. It is our people and their knowledge, skills and dedication that has directly contributed to our success throughout the last 40 years.

Columbia has no plans to rest on its laurels, however. We look forward to the future with a renewed passion for what we do.  The owners, Arthur Maurice and Barbara Silver, have encouraged us to be an organization that prides itself on innovation and adapting to challenges. Over the last several years we established initiatives to assure longevity and continuity in our shop through active recruitment and retention strategies. Through active partnerships with local trade schools, Service Manager Adam Stino has been influential in seeking out talented recruits to join our team where they benefit from the mentorship from our experienced veterans.  One of our first promising young recruits, Lucas Revoir, joined us over five years ago.  This year Lucas stepped up to become Chief Inspector after John Tentoni retired after 30 years of service in that same post.  We are very proud of Lucas and he is a wonderful inspiration to the next generation of technicians.

Over the years, Columbia has repeatedly leaned into new technologies to increase our productivity and improve the customer services experience.  Our avionics department has reduced overall down time and streamlined the installation process by use of a computer aided router to cut panels in-house.  This past year, we had our own state-of-the-art paint booth installed in our sales/avionics hangar, eliminating the need to send components outside for touchups and paint work. We have replaced old technologies on the shop floor, equipping our technicians with laptops and tablets and moving to a fully digital tech library.

We remain committed to focusing on quality improvements across all our FBO’s, including the use of Flight Bridge in all those locations. Our staff at KBHB, KRUT and Mystic Jet Center have established a universal approach to customer service, assuring our clients are treated with the same level of professionalism no matter their destination.

Columbia is most proud of our continued partnership with Daher.  We look forward to representing Daher’s incredible TBM 940 and are delighted to celebrate their industry achievement of delivering HomeSafe™ Autoland technology for all 2020 TBM 940’s.  Future plans for Columbia Aircraft Sales, Inc.  include a brick and mortar expansion into Canada, designed to provide unparalleled service to our Canadian prospects and owners.  This year, Ken Dono, Daher Program Manager, and the sales team are launching our Columbia Select Pre-owned program, a unique rating system developed to assure that the used aircraft we represent reflect the level of high pedigree and quality our customers have come to expect.

We are excited to share these developments and more with our amazing staff, our wonderful customers and industry partners all over the world. Columbia Aviation Companies is incredibly grateful for the last 40 years and we look forward to the next 40!

Visit us to learn more:

http://www.columbiaairservices.com