Press

It isn’t every day that you come across a Black entrepreneur and pilot who is making waves in the aviation industry. As a matter of fact, only 3% of commercial pilots are African American*, so we can only imagine the lack of representation when it comes to Black-owned businesses in the charter industry. New Jersey-native and first-generation pilot, Bernie Burns, set out to defy the odds and make a mark in the white/male dominated industry with the launch of his private aviation company, B2 Aviation.

Something always drew me to hospitality, but I didn’t know what to do with it yet. I met Bernie Burns, CEO and founder of B2 Aviation, through a mutual friend. He was looking for someone to help him create a customizable inflight beverage service to enhance the customer experience. I jumped on board and guided the development and marketing of the product. Since then, I have become the Creative Director for B2 Aviation. In addition to private aircraft charter, now we utilize our access to hangars, jets, and helicopters to create unique events and brand activations.

For frequent private-jet travelers, the best strategy may be finding and sticking with a trustworthy broker, according to Bernie Burns of B2Aviation. Giving all your business to one broker can help them negotiate even lower rates with charter operators and fixed-base operators (the ground support and crew).

Explaining B2 Aviation’s approach, Burns said, “I’ve always been a proponent of taking some of the elements of private aviation and merging them into the traditional airline startup.”

“In general, the helicopter market is underdeveloped with the exception of a few locales and very specific industries,” Bernie Burns, co-founder and president of B2 Aviation told Benzinga Thursday.

Benzinga reached out to Bernie Burns, founder and president of aircraft management and charter company, B2 Aviation for his take on the new aircraft from Gulfstream.

Burns said his contacts at Gulfstream were "not forthcoming at all" with information about the P42. He said this level of secrecy was unusual based on his many years of experience in aviation.

Founder & President of B2 Aviation, Bernie Burns is all about the Pilatus Pc-24 which he describes as “truly out of the box.”