Airmail by AVIAN
- staff writers
- Sep 25
- 4 min read
Updated: Oct 2
The "Southern Cross" was the first aircraft to perform a trans-Pacific flight from the USA to Australia in 1928 (a Fokker trimotor monoplane,) with a total flight time of almost 84 hours. 100 years later that flight time is only 20 hours, but the distance is still palpable. But launching an expansion on the other side of the world somehow seemed reasonable in our current age of Teams, texts and travel-made-easy, so we did! Get to know the new team below, and please read through Courtney Miller's great piece on regional jet value retention which does smart work of analyzing the sector.
– Ian Gurekian, CEO & Founder
AVIAN Enters Australasian Market with Alliance Airlines Agreement and New Distribution Hub
AVIAN Inventory Management has formally entered the Australasian market through a foundational transaction with Alliance Airlines (ASX: AQZ) and the establishment of the company’s second distribution center in Brisbane, Australia. This agreement marks a pivotal moment in AVIAN’s growth strategy and represents its first direct engagement with an airline.
AVIAN has acquired Alliance Airlines’ Embraer E190-related inventory and will manage, distribute and sell this inventory from the Brisbane facility. The investment is designed to support Alliance’s evolving fleet strategy, which involves transitioning its current 79-aircraft portfolio—currently a mix of Fokker and Embraer E190 models—to an all-Embraer fleet in the coming years.
Ian Gurekian, CEO and Founder of AVIAN Inventory Management, commented:“AVIAN is extremely proud to have been selected by Alliance to supply their aircraft parts and component needs. This airline-specific solution demonstrates the versatility of our platform in unlocking trapped capital, optimizing distribution, and supporting long-term growth across the aviation ecosystem—whether with airlines, OEMs, suppliers, or MROs. We are pleased to serve Alliance and look forward to expanding our footprint throughout the APAC region.”
AVIAN’s Brisbane hub began managing the component receiving and distribution to support Alliance Airlines in July 2025. Beyond Alliance, the distribution center will also cater to other Embraer operators across Australia and nearby regions, positioning AVIAN as a central supplier in a strategically important and expanding geographical area for the Embraer Ejet family. We’d like to introduce Maiko Helder (Director of Operations) Leo Mello de Souza (Warehouse Supervisor) and Rik Davies (Warehouse Manager) all of whom have significant aerospace and/ or logistics expertise.
AVIAN’s strategic investment not only enhances its global distribution network but signals its commitment to supporting regional growth and fleet modernization in the Asia-Pacific aviation market.
Embraer Forecasts $680B Market for Sub-150 Seat Aircraft Over 20 Years
Embraer’s recently released 2025 Market Outlook highlights a significant growth opportunity in the sub-150 seat aircraft category, projecting demand for approximately 10,500 new jets and turboprops between 2025 and 2044.
This segment—often overlooked in favor of larger narrowbodies—is expected to generate an estimated market value of $680 billion.
Key forecasts from the outlook:
Sub-150 seat aircraft demand: Driven by the need for regional connectivity and route optimization, demand for aircraft in this segment is expected to rise sharply.
Global passenger traffic: Projected to increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.9%, reaching 19 trillion revenue passenger kilometers (RPKs) by 2044. China is anticipated to lead with a 5.7% annual growth rate.
Fleet strategy evolution: Airlines are increasingly moving toward mixed-fleet models that integrate both smaller and larger narrowbodies for greater flexibility and resilience.
Replacement demand: 52% of new deliveries are expected to replace aging aircraft, accelerating the modernization of regional fleets.
Regional segmentation: North America is forecast to lead in jet deliveries, with China showing the fastest growth across all metrics.
Emerging cargo market: There is growing interest in passenger-to-freighter conversions, particularly for older E-Jet platforms, underscoring the versatility of the segment.
This marketplace outlook points to a structural shift in airline’s fleet strategies, where right-sizing capacity to match market demand is paramount. Aircraft in the sub-150 seat category will play a critical and growing role in linking secondary and underserved markets, as well as thinner routes and off-peak schedules, providing profitable capacity where larger aircraft are more economically challenged.
Surprise, Surprise! Regional Jets Outperform Narrowbodies in Long-Term Value Retention
A new analysis by Visual Approach Analytics, in collaboration with aircraft lessor Falko, presents a contrarian but data-backed conclusion: larger regional jets have maintained their asset value better over the past 20 years than many mainline narrowbody aircraft.
While market focus has shifted to larger mainline narrowbodies, this research underscores the value and marketplace durability of aircraft in the 70 to 100 seat category—particularly those configured with 70 to 76 seats. These aircraft have benefited from a combination of limited production, strong utility for network airlines, and constrained capacity introduced by U.S. pilot scope clauses.
Some key insights from the research:
Stable value retention: Despite being often grouped under a broad “regional jet” category, large regional jets have outperformed narrowbodies in terms of long-term value retention.
Strategic application: While narrowbodies dominate the low-cost carrier segment, large regional jets are essential tools for major network carriers seeking cost-effective solutions to serve thinner routes.
Fleet limitations: The regulated cap on 76-seat aircraft has created a constrained yet persistent demand for these models, preventing oversupply and supporting asset values.
As the industry reassesses aircraft utility in this post-pandemic recovery environment, the research argues the investment case for large regional jets—not as a growth-at-all-costs platform, but as a resilient, strategic asset class.
For investors in aircraft leasing, aviation finance, and fleet planning, these findings point to the importance of nuanced fleet composition and the risk-mitigated potential of regional aircraft.
The link to the full research article follows here:
About the AVIAN Inventory Management Orlando, FL Distribution Hub:
93,000 PNs/ 219,000+ line items/more than 14M parts received
Opened in October, 2021; facility designed to spec
AS9120 / ISO 9001 Certified
Meets FAA AC-00-56B requirements
Operates to FAA standards
72,000 sq.ft. Class A facility with a 12,000 sq.ft. climate-controlled storage room
AvSight integrated IMS
Use of on-site Sales Channel Partners (“SCPs”) to speed parts to global customers
About AVIAN Inventory Management
Designed to promote accessibility and speed to market, AVIAN’s focused distribution center in Orlando, Florida delivers unparalleled product availability to all aircraft operators, and maintenance and repair stations around the world, providing a one-stop, same-day, go-to access point through its multiple Sales Channel Partners.
