Founded

2000

Headquarters

Boca Raton, Florida

Key People

Nick Schneider, founder and president/CEO

Number of Employees

11

Phone Number

(561) 391-3919

Website

Global Wings

Global Wings

South Florida–based Global Wings provides brokerage services for aircraft charter, sales, and acquisitions, plus aircraft management and maintenance oversight.

Founder Nick Schneider began his aviation career in 1989 as a sales representative at Beech Aircraft Corporation, then a subsidiary of Raytheon. After progressing through various positions, including vice president of international sales, Schneider accepted an opportunity to establish a Beechcraft/Raytheon dealership in Boca Raton, Florida. He left Beech in 2000 to start Global Wings, which became an International Aircraft Dealers Association (IADA) accredited dealer in 2002. The company has renewed its IADA accreditation every three years since, joining the approximately 7 percent of aircraft dealers worldwide that earn IADA membership and account for more than 40 percent of preowned sales globally.

Global Wings remained a Beechcraft dealer through the manufacturer’s tumultuous times after Raytheon divested itself of its aircraft subsidiary in 2006 and the newly formed Hawker Beechcraft Corporation filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2012. Two years later, though, Textron purchased the assets of the Beechcraft Corporation (which had dropped the Hawker moniker after emerging from bankruptcy) and dissolved its dealership network. The conglomerate—which already had decades of aircraft sales experience through its Bell Helicopter and Cessna Aircraft divisions—opted to instead rely on its own sales personnel.

By that time, Global Wings had acquired a strong base of customers and expanded its services to include sales and acquisitions of preowned aircraft as well as maintenance oversight. After its dealership status was removed, the company also began offering aircraft management services and then charter brokering. In 2020, Global Wings became a Wyvern certified charter broker.

As of 2021, aircraft sales accounted for 60 percent of the company’s revenue, with airplane management and charter brokerage each representing about half of the remaining 40 percent.

Global Wings supports several nonprofit organizations in the Boca Raton area with donations to the Boys and Girls Club of Broward County, George Snow Scholarship Fund, Junior League of Boca Raton, and Chris Evert Charities. The company also provides in-kind support, such as jet transportation for participants in charity fundraising golf tournaments.