Private aviation company Priester Aviation is expanding its footprint and service area by combining with Atlanta based Hill Private Aviation. The two companies offer aircraft management, charter and jet cards.
Founded by George Priester in 1945, Priester Aviation has expanded to include a large fleet of aircraft and a team of aviation experts, providing an ever-growing list of services to enhance and manage the flight experience. Family led Hill Aircraft was founded in 1955, and has been providing a similar service to its Atlanta-based customers. The two companies have announced that Hill’s charter and management services will be joining the Priester Aviation family of companies as Hill Private Aviation.
Just last year, Priester combined with another family owned business, Englewood, Colorado based Mayo Aviation. The three combined companies manage multiple aircraft and of these, they have 25 planes available for charter, ranging from King Air and Pilatus turboprops, to Phenom and Citation light jets, Challenger super-mids and Gulfstream and Global large cabin jets.
By joining the Priester family, Hill Private Aviation’s aircraft charter and management services will have larger infrastructure and resources. The bigger fleet can mean efficiency and savings on operating items such as fuel, insurance, maintenance, and crew training and scheduling. And in terms of geographic coverage, Hill Private Aviation’s charter and management expertise in Atlanta complements Priester’s in the Midwest and fellow Mayo Aviation, in the Rocky Mountain West.
“We recognize how important 65 years of relationships are,” Priester Aviation Chairman and CEO Andy Priester said. “Now Hill, along with Priester and Mayo, can grow with added infrastructure and support, while still honoring and respecting what has already been built over the last 6 decades. Hill’s culture and people have been central to its success. We’re excited to engage Guy and his team as part of the larger Priester family as we thrive together.”
Bringing Hill Private Aviation into Priester’s larger group of businesses continues Priester’s strategy of alignment with customer-focused, family-led companies, that started with the 2022 acquisition of Mayo Aviation. Priester asserts that independent, family-run aviation companies keep their focus on empowering aircraft owners and charter customers, rather than shareholders or impersonal conglomerates.
“This is a culture of trust and loyalty that makes sense for us and for our customers,” Andy Priester said. “Just like our clients know that I’m ultimately the person they can talk to and answer any concerns, Guy Hill has led the way in Atlanta and he’ll still be doing that. When you’re able to connect directly with the person whose name is on the door, that’s significant.”
“In growing, we looked for a company and family that shared the Hill values and understood our corporate culture,” said Guy Hill Jr., Hill Aircraft Chairman and CEO. “Priester respects that and offers new ways to realize opportunities. It’s the best of all situations.”
The Hill owned fixed-base operation (FBO) at Atlanta’s Fulton County Executive Airport (KFTY) location, will continue to operate independently under the legacy Hill Aircraft company.