JSSI Chairman Neil Book Makes Case for Independent Maintenance Support in Business Jet Traveler

In the October 2026 issue of Business Jet Traveler, Neil Book, Chairman, President and CEO of Jet Support Services, Inc. (JSSI), makes the case for independence in business aviation maintenance support. JSSI was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in Chicago. The company describes itself as the largest independent provider of maintenance support and financial tools to the business aviation industry.

JSSI says it supports more than 6,500 aircraft globally, which it describes as over 30 percent of the world's business jets. It says it answers to no manufacturer or maintenance facility and can draw on more than 500 maintenance facilities worldwide, ranging from manufacturer-owned shops to independent MROs and in-house teams. Funds paid into its programs are held in an independent trust earmarked for the owner's aircraft.

According to the company, each of its engine technical specialists sees 40 to 60 off-wing events a year, compared with perhaps five in a career for a director of maintenance, and it stations nearly 100 technical advisors around the world. JSSI also says roughly one in five new midsize and larger business jets now enrolls in its 100% coverage program at delivery, and as many as one in three on certain models.

Over the past 10 years, JSSI has expanded into four additional areas: Conklin (cost and performance benchmarking data), JSSI Aviation Capital (asset-based financing), Traxxall (maintenance tracking software) and JSSI Parts & Engines (parts and rental engines). The company is backed by institutional investors GTCR, Genstar Capital and Blackstone.

JSSI's stated position is that for most business aircraft, maintenance coverage comes down to two options: the manufacturer's program or JSSI. If that framing holds, the segment works as a duopoly in which each side disciplines the other, and the company argues that having both available keeps service standards high and pricing competitive. That is JSSI's own claim, made by a party with a commercial stake in it.

The argument rests on three structural features the company points to: breadth of facility access across manufacturer-owned shops, independent MROs and in-house teams; the volume of engine events its specialists handle compared with a single operator's maintenance department; and funds held in a trust tied to each aircraft. Owners comparing programs are in effect weighing those features against the integration a manufacturer program offers.

The expansion into benchmarking data, financing, tracking software and parts and rental engines shows how a coverage provider can widen its role across the ownership lifecycle. The enrollment figures JSSI cites, one in five new midsize and larger jets and as many as one in three on certain models, are the numbers to track in future disclosures; they would show whether independent coverage keeps its share at delivery.