United Services - News & Media

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Carlos Nelson tends to capture the attention of writers. He's a larger-than-life figure whose pronouncements are nearly legendary, even in the aircraft-service industry, where folks who speak their minds are the norm. But there's a lot more to Carlos than local color from Anchorage, Alaska. He and his partner, Roy Ardern, built their dream-servicing aircraft at one of the world's highest-volume cargo transit stations-into Pegasus Aircraft Maintenance. Each man left other careers behind and liquefied their assets to found Pegasus in 2000.

With revenues doubling annually since 2004, the dream is paying off. And earlier this year, Nelson and Ardern were co-recipients of the U.S. Small Business Administration's (SBA's) Alaska Small Business Person of the Year award. (George Monks is now also a partner in the firm.)

Derrick Saul, West region manager for United Services' Line Maintenance Customer Support, had an excellent notion of his own. Saul oversaw vendors doing line maintenance on United planes where United Services had no presence. To do that better, Saul suggested the creation of United Services Line Maintenance Network. United's business-development team then researched Saul's proposal and successfully made the recommendation for it to United management.

Pegasus, providing a wide range of emergency, routine and non-routine maintenance in that far-flung cargo hub, was a natural fit for the new network, and in 2005 became one of the four founding members.

"It has benefited Pegasus through exposure," says Nelson. "We are in an international marketplace in Anchorage, but United Services is a huge name, and it gets our name out to the international community. And there's great networking among my peers, people I would once have considered competitors."

Nelson says Pegasus' place in the network benefits United Services by being "resources for United Services on the ground level. Pegasus supported one of its customers by referring them to the United Global Emergency Maintenance network (GEM)."

United Services helps support initiatives with other airlines. Pegasus, for example, now contracts with Cathay Pacific--Saul notes that Nelson got the lead that led to the Cathay contract--for which Pegasus does maintenance that includes transit checks and aircraft-on-ground (AOG) work. Pegasus troubleshoots Cathay's AOG planes and can do some of the work needed to get an aircraft back in service, such as replacing a hydraulic pump. Pegasus also has engine-change capability. And it offers de-icing and anti-icing services.

Pegasus, which services United Airlines passenger aircraft in addition to its work for several cargo carriers, is the only wholly Alaskan-owned maintenance and repair firm servicing the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport. Ardern saw the original opportunity and, after a period of persuasion, so did his friend and long-time coworker Nelson.

As for their SBA recognition, says Nelson, "We won that award from tenacity. We represent, in my opinion, the American dream. We show the world, we show Americans, there's opportunity in Alaska. People have such a stereotype of Alaska--igloos and Santa Claus."

Nelson is quick to credit his entire team for the firm's success. And he notes that General Manager Joe Zerck and Kyle Weber, assistant general manager, have given Pegasus vital structure.

"Pegasus is highly qualified and exemplifies the capabilities of the Line Maintenance Network," says Saul.

All network partners are EASA- and FAA-approved 145 Repair Station certificate holders. Specific partners have other approvals and capabilities at their respective service sites. Besides United Services itself and Pegasus, the other network partners are JET Aircraft Maintenance; Executive Air Maintenance Inc.; Jett Care; Mexicana MRO Services; China Aircraft Services Limited; and Airline Tech Reps.

Jett Care is the largest FAA 145 line maintenance organization in the United States and received six consecutive FAA Diamond Awards. Last year Entrepreneur Magazine in conjunction with PricewaterhouseCoopers named JET Group, of which JET Aircraft Maintenance is a component, 88 th on its Hot 100 list of the fastest-growing new businesses in America.