Issue 2 2021

Acquisition International - Issue 2 2021 9 Flying High: Innovation in Aircraft Appraisal President of Aircraft Value Reference, Appraisal & Litigation Consulting Services, Jason Zilberbrand, gives us an insight into the inner workings of ‘aviation’s most trusted valuation guide’. viation is an ever-expanding field. With more makes and models clocking in more air miles per day than ever before, keeping track of that field is only growing more critical; VREF provides an invaluable part of this ecosystem. Founded in 1994, it has since become the largest aviation specific appraisal firm in its home country and garnered a large and prestigious client list worldwide. A few of these include the Bank of America, Google, and the F.A.A. It provides a variety of appraisal and litigative services including USPAP compliant desktop appraisals, full on-site appraisals, aircraft inventory or equipment collateral audits, and much more. Alongside these services, the data it collects allows it to advise the greatest decision makers in aviation – presently, it is the partner and official valuation guide for AOPA (Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association). All of its operations carry the through line of providing ethical, transparent, and unbiased aviation data to a global client list. Alongside the previously mentioned big names, VREF also serves leasing companies, manufacturers, potential buyers of aircraft, aircraft operators, law firms, leasing companies and suppliers. Above all, it takes pride in the fact that ‘we can provide data that no other firm can’. Its historical database of aircraft is the most extensive of its kind, and yet VREF maintains its status as the lowest-cost software subscription in the industry, allowing it to offer its clients unique data at affordable rates. It is also very singular in that it is full time and fully comprehensive. VREF’s core database is undergoing constant updates as new data becomes available: the more aircraft that the company appraises, the more exhaustive the database becomes. The minds behind VREF are just as impressive as their data and services, too. Each team member is an USPAP compliant and trained Accredited Senior Appraiser with the ASA, ISA, and CAA. Furthermore, VREF’s employees are diverse enough to cover every aspect of aviation – and the President and CEO sit on numerous boards – making it the only true ‘one stop firm’ for the industry. During the past year, VREF found that its business was not severely impacted by Covid-19 due to its watertight mitigation strategies put in place before the true onset of the outbreak. Responding to the implementation of lockdowns and social distancing, it ensured each of its team members had a home office from which to work remotely, and that they had a safe work environment to work in when appraising. VREF even found itself in a position to complete work for its competitors during lockdowns when such companies found themselves unable to visit the aircrafts in person. VREF are looking forward to showcasing significant developments to its services as it moves forward into 2021. It will soon be releasing even more data in the upcoming months and will be working to allow its users access to a real-time marketplace of data. Using this software, their clients will be able to view market trends, absorption rates for each make and model, and direct operating costs. It will also be releasing its newest software development in the upcoming A Company: VREF Aircraft Value Reference, Appraisal & Litigation Consulting Services Contact: Jason Zilberbrand, ASA Website: VREF.com year, the Vault – ‘Your Digital Filing Cabinet’. The Vault is a first in the world of aviation and will be the only ‘blockchain encrypted’ CRM, logbook, and aircraft record database on the market. In premise, it seeks to replace physical logbooks and logbooks kept in less secure storage solutions using Ethereum, ‘the world’s leading decentralised blockchain’ built on encrypted private infrastructure. Dedicated to forever updating the solutions that they can offer to their clients, VREF is also looking to roll out an aircraft documentation and recovery service. This will allow them to ensure their clients’ crafts a quick and safe recovery that works in accordance with local and state laws. Dec20391 VREF’s employees are diverse enough to cover every aspect of aviation – and the President and CEO sit on numerous boards – making it the only true ‘one stop firm’ for the industry.