When you think about private travel, what comes to mind?  

We picture a Fortune 500 CEO or an elite athlete eating buttered lobster and drinking champagne. Either that or Austin Powers’ tie-dyed jumbo jet. “When you see this jet a-rockin,’ don’t come a-knockin’ baby, yeah!”

Our experience in the last few months, however, has completely changed our perception of the industry. We now see another side to private travel oriented toward safety and service, a more familial side focused on culture and giving.

And we owe that shift in perspective to our newest partner, Sheltair, its caring staff, and its president, Lisa Holland. 

What is Sheltair? 

Sheltair is the largest privately-owned aviation network in the country. With 19 fixed-base operator locations and more than 4.5 million square feet of plane-servicing real estate, it would make sense if Sheltair had  a corporate feel, something gaudy or arms-length. But it doesn't. 

Since Jerry Holland founded Sheltair in 1963, it has beamed with hospitality. Jerry created an atmosphere not only of quality and integrity, but genuine care—words that are not often associated with private jets. Many Sheltair locations are consistently rated among the country’s best in safety, efficiency and quality of service. After sitting down with Lisa Holland, Jerry’s daughter, it’s obvious to us that the 60 year-old company has a bright future.

Lisa Holland, the new face of Sheltair

Some leaders prefer to ease into taking over a company with more than 500 employees, but that option was not available to Lisa, who took over as president in late January of 2020, just six weeks before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“It was hard,” Lisa said. “The most important thing to us is safety of our facilities, planes, employees, and customers, and that was obviously challenged.” 

Holland was up to the challenge. Perhaps owing to her decade-long background running her previous companies. These include a Fit4Mom franchise, an outdoor exercise class for moms and their babies, and Team Holland, a company she founded to help nonprofits host fundraising events.

Holland absorbed the pandemic crisis and righted the Sheltair ship. In fact, not only did she calm things down, she ignited growth. The Sheltair location at Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport outside of Denver, CO might be the best example of this trend.

Given her origin story, you may think of Lisa as sort of a badass. We’re on board with that assessment, impressed by her resolve and grit, and more so her qualities as a caring leader. 

Unlike the prototypical brash, order-giving CEO, Lisa displays qualities that create a sense of reserve, calmness and confidence. Sitting across from her, we were continually impressed by how humble and down to earth Lisa is. There is a calmness to her that made us instantly comfortable. This is a woman we would love to work for. 

One of Lisa’s first objectives was to refresh the company culture. 

“It’s important to me to have a culture of accountability, service, and teamwork,” Lisa said. She said she knew that creating such a culture and garnering respect throughout the company must be earned. From day one, she set out to do just that. 

“In the beginning, I knew I was the new person here,” she said. “So I took the first six months to meet and work beside every single employee and aspect of this company."

Holland visited all 19 of Sheltair’s locations multiple times, talking to employees and trying to understand their jobs, from crew on the tarmac to people in the accounting department. “I had a lot to learn,” she said. “And, after two years of an education, I feel I’ve got a good hold on it.” 

Holland’s next objective: move Sheltair forward. She wants to take the great core her father built and infuse it with her own values, specifically wellness, team culture, and giving back. 

The new Sheltair

The initiatives Lisa has already put in place are impressive, like the new Denver facility and a potential sale of five New York locations to Modern Aviation. What stands out even more is the impact on Sheltair’s culture. 

Drawing from her experience running her own events company, Lisa has already involved the company in several 5K races benefiting the Make A Wish Foundation and similar organizations, teamed up with AvFuel to contribute thousands of scholarship funds for people pursuing careers in aviation, and encouraged a two-year pledge to “Adopt A Shore” cleaning Florida’s coastlines. “Giving back is very important to me, and the company has really taken to it,” she said.

Another of Lisa’s  values is corporate wellness. One thing she has done to move that program forward is striking up a new partnership with a certain budding, healthy snack company you might be familiar with. 😉 

airfare at Sheltair

Over the past four weeks, we’ve gotten the opportunity to host pop-up shops in Sheltair locations. It’s been a phenomenally fun experience, and the feedback from staff and customers has been overwhelmingly positive.  

Lisa isn’t just giving lip service to the importance of health—she lives it. She has run several marathons and recently finished an international distance triathlon. She might be the most fit CEO in aviation. 

For our part, we are happy to be able to partner with such a great company. Our experience with Lisa and the entire warm, professional Sheltair team has been wonderful. 

We’ll be at Sheltair Fort Lauderdale bringing our healthy snacks to flight crew, passengers, and aviation businesses over the next few weeks, so swing by and grab a healthy snack.

One thing is for sure—we couldn’t be more excited about this partnership. 

-Geremy, Justin and the airfare team