Universal Weather and Aviation
 | |
| Company type | Privately held company |
|---|---|
| Industrie | Business aviation |
| Gegründet | 1959 |
| Gründer | Tom Evans |
| Hauptsitz | , |
| Services | Flight planning, aviation weather, Jet A fuel, aircraft ground handling, and aviation security |
| Owner | Greg Evans |
| Website | universalweather.com |
Universal Weather and Aviation, Inc. (commonly called Universal or Universal Weather) is a privately-held company headquartered in Houston, Texas that provides products and services for the general aviation industry. Its customers include owners and operators of business jets for corporate and personal air travel.[1][2] The company offers products and services including international flight planning and scheduling, weather briefings, fueling programs, aircraft ground handling, and aviation security.[1][3] It is the oldest company in the corporate flight planning industry.[4]
Universal Weather was founded in 1959 by Tom Evans.[5] Greg Evans, his son, is Universal Weather's chairman and owner.[3] Ralph Vasami serves as the company's chief executive officer.[2] The company operated in 47 locations in 20 countries as of 2014.[3]
History
Universal Weather was founded in Dallas, Texas in 1959 by Tom Evans, a former United States Air Force officer and meteorologist.[6][7] Univeral Weather was originally based out of Dallas Love Field in Dallas, Texas[6] and was the first company to provide customized weather forecasting for business aviation.[7] The company moved to Houston, Texas a year later.[6] For its first ten years Universal Weather was only involved in weather forecasting.[8] New services were added gradually as the business aviation industry grew.[7][8]
Greg Evans, son of founder Tom Evans, became company president and chief executive officer in 2001.[9] He had worked at the company for the previous 22 years and was responsible for the company's prior expansion into Europe and Asia.[9] Ralph Vasami became president of the company in 2004.[10] Vasami had worked at Universal Weather since he had interned at the company's New York weather office and had most recently served as its chief operating officer.[10][11] He would later become chief executive officer of the company.[11]
In 2007, Universal Weather donated flight planning and weather to Barrington Irving's then-world record solo flight around the world.[12][13] Universal Weather acquired Air Chef Holdings, an American in-flight catering and concierge firm, in 2011.[14]
Memberships and affiliations
- National Business Aviation Association, Inc. (NBAA)[15]
- European Business Aviation Association (EBAA)[16]
- Middle East Business Aviation Association (MEBAA)[17]
- Asian Business Aviation Association (AsBAA)[18]
References
- ^ a b "Universal Weather & Aviation, Inc". LexisNexis Corporate Affiliations.
- ^ a b Deon Daugherty (17 August 2012). "Universal Weather moving HQ, 700 employees to Clear Lake". Houston Business Journal. Retrieved 23 May 2014.
- ^ a b c "Universal Weather and Aviation, Inc". Hoover's Company Records - In-depth Records.
- ^ Mal Gormley (1 January 2003). "Flight Service Providers: Taking the Bumps Out of Business Flying In a changing world, commercial flight-planning/handling services are more varied than ever. But operators need to be proactive to get the service they want". Business & Commercial Aviation.
- ^ "Private jet traffic to India soars as business booms". Web India. February 2, 2007. Retrieved 23 May 2014.
- ^ a b c Grant McLaren (March 2008). "Universal Weather & Aviation corporate flight ops". Professional Pilot.
- ^ a b c "Schedulers & Dispatchers 2014". Bart International. Retrieved 23 May 2014.
- ^ a b Erik Cassano (24 November 2006). "Ralph Vasami". Smart Business. Retrieved 23 May 2014.
- ^ a b "Universal Weather's New President". Business & Commercial Aviation. 1 May 2001.
- ^ a b "UNIVERSAL WEATHER NAMES NEW PRESIDENT". The Weekly of Business Aviation. 20 September 2004.
- ^ a b Dave Marcus (27 October 2010). "A Potential Vaccination for 'Senioritis'". The New York Times. Retrieved 23 May 2014.
- ^ Thurber, Matt (August 1, 2007). "Universal Weather Keeps Irving Aloft". AIN Online. Retrieved March 18, 2014.
- ^ "Inspirational Irving sets round the world marks". Flight Global. 24 September 2007. Retrieved 23 May 2014.
- ^ "Universal Weather and Aviation Acquires Air Chef Holdings". Travel Business Review. 12 May 2011.
- ^ "Member Directory". National Business Aviation Association. Retrieved March 18, 2014.Template:Login required
- ^ "List of Members". European Business Aviation Association. Retrieved March 18, 2014.
- ^ "Members (U)". Middle East Business Aviation Association. Retrieved March 18, 2014.
- ^ "Platinum Members". Asian Business Aviation Association. Retrieved March 18, 2014.