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News Fred Powell - Portside Team as VP of Product

Welcoming Fred Powell to the Portside Team as VP of Product

We have recently extended our leadership team appointing Fred Powell, an aviation industry technology veteran, as VP of Product. Fred’s arrival will help drive our continued growth as we look to expand our product suite to address critical pain points facing business and government aircraft operators. Alek Vernitsky, CEO of Portside, says, “Fred has over 20 years of experience in this industry and has contributed significantly to the innovation in business aviation. We look forward to working with Fred and leveraging his experience as we continue to better serve our global customer base.”

Portside has experienced triple digit growth since it was founded in 2017, and today, our platform serves hundreds of customers in over 30 countries with a secure suite of cloud-based products such as the Owner Portal, ExpensePulse, Optimizer and others. Some notable operators on the Portside platform include Jet Aviation, Airshare, Wing Aviation, Albinati, and Metrojet. Excited about this next chapter at Portside, Fred commented: “The Portside team is impressive and forward-thinking. I am excited to be working with a company whose customers are enthusiastic about what we have built and look forward to helping Portside further support its customer needs.” 

Fred's success in aviation technology was inspired by his father, Fred Powell Sr, who founded aviation software company Computing Technologies for Aviation (CTA) in 1981, and became the architect of Flight Operation System (FOS). After graduating from college, Fred joined the family business and rebuilt the DOS-based FOS system for Windows. At the time, flight schedules were written on whiteboards and airline operators were skeptical that a software program could be as customizable as a wipeable marker. 

The legendary Neil Armstrong served as Chairman and CEO for CTA, actively supporting the family business for over 15 years. Under Fred’s leadership, FOS became the dominant solution for corporate, charter, and OEM-operations serving over 500 customers and capturing 80% market share for charter operators. FOS evolved to enable industry-leading end-to-end paperless processes for customers, including native mobile technology for flight departments to enter log book information, duty times, and expenses.

CTA / FOS was sold to Rockwell Collins (now Collins Aerospace) in 2011 and Fred worked on integrating FOS with other Collins acquisitions, including Air Routing and ARINC. Joining Stellar Labs in 2015 as VP of Customer and Product, Fred managed products that enabled customers to generate an automated quote, a long sought-after goal in the charter industry.

If you would like to reach out to congratulate Fred or learn more about what he is doing at Portside, you can reach him at fpowell@portside.co

About Portside

At Portside, we are developing a modern, cloud-based operating system for business and government aviation: a set of integrated solutions addressing major industry pain points. Our platform supports over 150 operators of business jets, helicopters, medical evacuation and government fleets, as well as fractional jet ownership programs in over 30 countries. We are headquartered in San Francisco with team members across the US, Europe and Asia. Learn more about Portside at www.portside.aero

Connect with Portside

sales@portside.co

May 11, 2022

Latest news

News Portside's Avianis and Staffing Marketplace
Jun 24, 2025

Portside’s Avianis Simplifies Business Aviation Staffing with New Integration

SAN FRANCISCO, June 24, 2025 – Avianis, a leading flight management system by Portside, today announced its integration with Jet Aviation Staffing Marketplace to streamline staffing for business aviation operators. The integration gives Avianis users direct access to Jet Aviation Staffing Marketplace’s comprehensive database of business aviation professionals.

Avianis users can now connect to Jet Aviation Staffing Marketplace to create job postings directly from their Avianis profile. The integration offers direct access to Jet Aviation Staffing Marketplace’s centralized recruitment platform enabling users to manage hiring needs without leaving their Avianis profile.

“This partnership with Jet Aviation Staffing reflects our mission to revolutionize business aviation by driving simplicity,” said Alek Vernitsky, CEO of Portside. “Jet Aviation Staffing Marketplace gives operators a smarter, simpler way to source talent and stay mission-ready. It’s a meaningful step toward digitizing the industry, reducing silos, and putting operators back in control of their workforce.”

Almost every aspect of the recruitment process, including candidate search, application review, and tracking, is integrated into a single digital system for more informed decision-making while minimizing administrative load, eliminating manual data entry and toggling between systems, and streamlining crew management end-to-end. As trip or staffing updates occur, data syncs automatically across both systems.

By removing silos and automating critical workflows, Avianis and Jet Aviation Staffing Marketplace help operators stay agile, elevate service delivery, and adapt to the growing complexity of business aviation.

To request a demo or learn more about Avianis or Jet Aviation Staffing Marketplace, contact sales@portside.co or visit www.portside.co.

About Portside, Inc. Portside is a leading provider of cutting-edge software solutions for the global aviation industry, serving over 1,500 customers operating 14,000+ aircraft across 40+ countries. The modular platform supports business aviation, regional airlines, and aircraft leasing companies with tools for operations, compliance, crew management, finance, and more. Headquartered in San Francisco, California, Portside is dedicated to driving innovation and operational efficiency in aviation. To learn more, visit www.portside.co.

Media Contact

Lynn Moore
843-342-3921
media@portside.co

News Portside Launches Horizon
Feb 24, 2025

Portside Launches Horizon: The Ultimate Cloud-Based Solution for Business Aviation Management

Portside Inc., a leading provider of cloud-based solutions for business aviation, is proud to announce the launch of Horizon, a groundbreaking software designed to meet the needs of larger, more complex flight departments, fractional ownership programs, and jet card operators. Built with flexibility and scalability in mind, Horizon is a fully cloud-based, modular platform that empowers operators with advanced reporting, seamless third-party integrations, and powerful API capabilities.

Horizon streamlines aviation management by offering a highly configurable system that eliminates the need to navigate multiple platforms, providing a unified interface where critical operational, financial, and compliance data are easily accessible. The software is backed by industry experts and features Microsoft Power BI reporting, real-time wind data, and built-in crew training tracking with automated compliance alerts. Optimized for remote workforces, Horizon ensures seamless access to critical information anytime, anywhere, while incorporating advanced security and compliance standards to safeguard sensitive data.

As part of the Portside Platform, Horizon integrates effortlessly with existing aviation solutions, allowing operators to enhance their workflow without disruption. Having been deployed by one of the largest operators in the United States, Horizon is a proven, enterprise-grade solution that sets a new standard for efficiency, visibility, and control in business aviation.

“Horizon is a direct response to the growing need for a more flexible, powerful, and user-friendly software solution in the business aviation space,” said Alek Verntisky, CEO at Portside Inc. “We designed this platform to address the challenges faced by complex flight departments and operators who require scalability, automation, and real-time insights to optimize their operations.”

Horizon is now available to operators worldwide. To learn more about how Horizon can transform your aviation operations, visit www.Portside.co.

About Portside: Portside is a leading provider of cutting-edge software solutions for the global aviation industry, serving business aviation, regional commercial airlines, and aircraft leasing & finance. With a team of 300 professionals across 20 countries, Portside supports over 1,000 enterprise customers, including 70 regional passenger and cargo airlines, worldwide. Headquartered in San Francisco, California, Portside is dedicated to driving innovation and operational efficiency in aviation.

News Portside Acquires Takeflite
Jul 24, 2024

Portside Acquires Takeflite To Bring a Comprehensive Operational Platform to Both Commercial and Business Airlines

SAN FRANCISCO, CA, UNITED STATES, July 24, 2024 -- Portside, a leading innovator in software solutions for business and government aviation, has acquired Takeflite, a leading provider of cloud-based solutions for commercial and cargo airlines. This strategic addition strengthens Portside’s comprehensive suite of aviation software solutions.

Takeflite offers a full set of solutions for scheduled, cargo, charter, corporate and humanitarian operators to allow airlines to manage their complex and highly dynamic operations across all areas of the organization. The platform provides all necessary functions from pricing, internet bookings, charter quotes, and cargo, through to operations, dispatch, crew and aircraft management, along with financial management and comprehensive reporting and data analysis.

“When airlines and other aviation operators are seeking to streamline operations, it is essential for them to have a single system of record that provides visibility into their customers, operations and profitability,” said Alek Vernitsky, Portside CEO. “Takeflite is a leading provider of technology solutions to cargo and commercial airlines, and we are excited to have them in the Portside family.”

Jason Hopkins, founder and CEO of Takeflite commented, “We have been providing enterprise grade aviation solutions since 2005. We’re proud of our long track record of helping our customers with a wide variety of airline operations. We are enormously excited to bring our skills and expertise to create value for not only Portside and Takeflite customers, but also to extend our unified platform to the broader aviation market.”

Takeflite was advised by Traction Advising. “Takeflite's mission critical software is a fantastic business built by great people. The combination with Portside’s platform makes great strategic sense and is good for their customers, employees and investors." Lowell Ricklefs, Founder Traction Advising

About Takeflite: Founded in 2005, over 60 aviation companies around the world depend on Takeflite for planning, pricing, distribution, reservations, departure control, operations, crew scheduling, safety, cargo, and maintenance management. Headquartered in Auckland, NZ and with team members in the U.S., U.K., and Kenya, we are a passionate team of engineers and aviation experts constantly scanning the digital world for insights and solutions that can be applied to aviation to increase your revenue and efficiency. For more information, visit www.tflite.com.

About Portside: Portside, Inc. is a premier provider of modern software solutions for the aviation industry. Portside’s cloud-based suite of products is designed to support all aspects of flight operations, including scheduling and record keeping (Avianis, BART and PFM product lines), safety management (Baldwin), fleet and crew optimization (Portside Optimizer), data sharing, reporting and analytics (Portside Owner Portal / Budget & Planning Dashboard), crew recruiting (Staffing Marketplace), and trip planning (Portside Trip Assist). Portside supports over 1,000 customers in 40+ countries, including commercial and cargo airlines, operators of business aircraft and helicopters, medevac, industrial and government fleets, as well as fractional ownership programs. For more information, visit www.portside.aero.