Richard Zaher, Founder & CEO of Paramount Enterprise Jets on 20 Years of Personal Aviation Excellence

To mark the twentieth anniversary of Paramount Enterprise Jets in 2025, LUXUO sat down with founder and CEO Richard Zaher to replicate on twenty years of transformative management in non-public aviation. A former pilot and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical College alumnus, Zaher launched the corporate in 2005 from his New York Metropolis condominium with a mission to convey transparency, accountability and excellence to the non-public jet constitution brokerage sector — an trade phase lengthy outlined by opacity and inconsistency. Right here’s what he shared.

Congratulations on 20 years! Trying again, what have been the important thing milestones that formed your organization into the chief it’s right this moment?

In 2008, we made a pivotal resolution to construct our proprietary CRM system — a transfer that proved invaluable when the pandemic struck. Whereas opponents scrambled, we operated seamlessly, sustaining full enterprise continuity.

In 2013, we have been ranked No. 409 on the Inc. 5000 record with 1,093 p.c three-year progress. We had been so centered on execution that we didn’t notice the size of our success till that recognition.

The true take a look at got here in March 2020. Each flight was canceled – hundreds of thousands in income vanished in a single day. But, inside a month, we doubled our bookings. Our power emerged in flexibility and resourcefulness: we delivered docs, COVID take a look at kits, and medical tools to distant islands; we repatriated households and rescued groups utilizing plane in operational areas whereas conventional routes have been grounded. These crises didn’t simply maintain us – they made us stronger, smarter, and extra resilient.

Personal aviation has advanced dramatically over the previous twenty years. How has your organization stayed forward of the curve in innovation, security, and buyer expertise?

Paramount Enterprise Jets has developed the trade’s most refined constitution reserving platform, enabling our world workforce to ship precision, 24/7 VIP service with unmatched effectivity. To start the constitution reserving course of shoppers are invited to our non-public jet constitution service web page to submit their itinerary and obtain instantaneous constitution flight price estimates.

On security, we exceed FAA minimums by a large margin. Each plane comes from our pre-approved world fleet – the highest 10 p.c of most secure constitution operators. Earlier than every flight, the crew, plane, and operator bear real-time third-party audits by ARGUS and/or Wyvern. If a report returns something lower than inexperienced, we mandate speedy alternative with an asset assembly or exceeding ARGUS Gold requirements.

This fusion of elite human expertise — advisors with a long time of expertise — and cutting-edge know-how creates the right steadiness. Our constant 5-star shopper rankings throughout platforms affirm we’re not simply assembly expectations — we’re redefining them. For full transparency on pricing and worth, shoppers typically check with our non-public jet rental price information, which breaks down each issue of renting a personal jet in addition to influencing constitution charges.

Are you able to inform us a few time when your workforce went above and past to ship underneath sudden circumstances?

Our workforce turns stress into efficiency. Listed here are three latest examples:

Final-Minute Lifeline: A shopper landed on a industrial flight and wanted to succeed in a distant location instantly. Advisor Andrew R. booked a jet whereas the shopper was nonetheless in transit, organized an Uber to the FBO, and had a pilot ready on the door. A automotive was pre-positioned on the vacation spot. The shopper departed inside minutes of arrival – no delays, no stress.

Airport Slot Disaster: A mission-critical flight confronted a blocked slot at the popular airport. Advisor Joella pivoted immediately to an equally handy FBO at no further price, personally checking in earlier than departure, upon arrival, and post-flight. The shopper referred to as it “flawless execution underneath hearth.”

Dream Relocation with Canine: A household relocating to Costa Rica with three big breed canine confronted logistical nightmares. Andrew R. orchestrated each detail- door-to-door transport, customs paperwork, a lightweight jet with champagne, and leases ready on each ends. The shopper wrote: “You made the value price each penny. You handled us like royalty on a modest finances.”

These aren’t exceptions – they’re the Paramount commonplace.

Your clientele spans entrepreneurs, celebrities, and world executives. How does your workforce put together for the vastly totally different wants and journey patterns of such various flyers?

We rent solely essentially the most skilled and moral aviation advisors – some with over 15 years at Paramount. Weekly coaching retains them on the forefront of trade data. Each flight generates detailed shopper suggestions on plane, crew, and repair, which we combine into our real-time database to refine future suggestions.

Our workforce has a long time of VVIP experience – serving A-list actors, recording artists, skilled athletes, Fortune 500 CEOs, heads of state, and legacy households. Whether or not it’s a tech founder needing back-to-back transcontinental conferences, a performer requiring whole privateness, or a multinational government demanding biometric customs and circadian lighting, we anticipate, adapt, and ship — flawlessly, each time.

Sustainability is a rising dialog in non-public aviation. What concrete steps has your organization taken in the direction of extra eco-responsible flying?

In 2019, we launched the trade’s first instantaneous carbon offset calculator – decreasing a multi-day course of to simply two minutes. We then made it open-source, freely out there for any operator or dealer to put in on their web site. This single act has empowered your complete trade — together with opponents — to make sustainability accessible and speedy.

Shoppers now see offset choices embedded in each quote, with clear pricing and direct donations to verified carbon-reduction tasks. It’s not advertising and marketing – it’s measurable affect. Be taught extra at paramountbusinessjets.com.

Past journey, how do you combine way of life companies — like concierge help, in-flight eating, or unique occasion entry — into the shopper expertise?

We ship true door-to-door luxurious. Government floor transportation is tailor-made to passenger rely and luxury preferences — sedans, SUVs, or VIP vans — with dwell monitoring till the shopper reaches their last vacation spot.

En route, shoppers can order from any native restaurant; we acquire and board their meal precisely to their desire. By means of strategic partnerships with ultra-luxury yacht constitution operators and VIP resorts worldwide, we safe unique lodging, precedence entry, and preferential charges – remodeling a flight into the gateway of a seamless, elevated journey.

What’s essentially the most stunning or misunderstood facet of operating a personal jet firm that outsiders hardly ever grasp?

The glamour is a fantasy. We spend 99 p.c of our time in entrance of screens and on telephones – coordinating, auditing, negotiating, and problem-solving in actual time. We hardly ever fly privately ourselves. The true work occurs within the operations middle, not the cabin.

What recommendation would you give to a youthful model of your self – or a startup within the luxurious aviation area – primarily based on what you’ve realized from 20 years on the helm?

Dangle in there. Constructing a trusted model on this trade is an ultra-marathon, not a dash. Keep moral when it’s inconvenient. Spend money on methods early. Encompass your self with individuals smarter than you. And by no means confuse income with fame – one compromises the opposite.

What rising applied sciences or developments are you most enthusiastic about within the subsequent 5 – 10 years of personal aviation?

Vertical takeoff and touchdown (eVTOL) plane will revolutionise city mobility – quiet, electrical, zero-emission hops between metropolis facilities in minutes. Mixed with AI-driven predictive routing, biometric safety, and sustainable aviation gasoline (SAF) at scale, we’re coming into an period the place non-public aviation turns into quicker, greener, and extra built-in into every day life.

As you look to the longer term, what legacy do you hope your organization will go away within the non-public aviation area?

{That a} latest faculty graduate with a imaginative and prescient proved you can rework an trade’s fame – constructing a worthwhile, fast-growing firm that by no means compromised on ethics, security, or shopper worth. I need Paramount to be remembered because the benchmark: the place transparency, innovation, and integrity grew to become the usual, not the exception.

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