— Celebrating 5 Years of Excellence and 30 Years of Unmatched Industry Partnerships
(August 2025)
FPI just celebrated a 5-year anniversary in July, but their roots began over 30 years ago as the elite trip management team known as Air Routing International (ARI).
Today’s aviation veterans may well remember the specialized, white-glove services ARI introduced to the global VIP flight operations market in the ‘90s, merging under Rockwell Collins in the early ‘00s, and eventually re-coalescing independently as a seasoned, well-oiled, group of professionals in the year 2020 as FPI.
Their infrastructure names may have changed over time, but the team’s spirit of excellence has never skipped a beat.
Merging aviation industry veterans and quite a few U.S. Veterans under one roof, FPI’s spirited, passionate, and experienced team has collected an overwhelming number of customer satisfaction feedback reports, thanks in part to their longstanding relationships with quality service partners in a near-limitless array of global markets…. most of whom are also 30+-year aviation industry veterans themselves.
FPI will be exhibiting in Booth #2020 in October’s NBAA-BACE 2025 (Las Vegas, NV), where you can reacquaint with old friendships, meet your trip partners, celebrate FPI’s 5-year achievements, and reminisce over stories from the last 30 years.
However, FPI is reachable anytime/anywhere thanks to the 24/7/365 team in FPI’s Houston, TX, headquarters. Below, meet several decades-strong, beloved team members and click through each section for more details:
FPI’s Accounting Team: Tamara Dasgupta (Sr. Finance Manager), Carol Forbes (Executive Director of Finance & Accounting), Lakisha Henderson (Sr. Billing Analyst) , Donna Reed (Sr. Billing Analyst) , Amanda Rogers (Sr. Accounting Manager) — Not shown: Lynnette Ford (Accounts Payable Specialist) and Chelsea Sheppard (Billing Analyst)
FPI’s Fuel Team: Shannon Washington (Sr. Fuel Operations Specialist), Cristina Turpin (Manager of Fuel Operations)
FPI’s Travel Team: Mei Ng (Sr. Travel Coordinator), Joel Juarez (Sr. Manager of Travel)
FPI’s Meteorology/Flight Planning Teams: Brad Asselin (Director of Weather & Flight Planning), Kenneth “Kenny” Pouncy (Manager, Trip Coordination Services)— with additional information about meteorology HERE, and links to FPI’s meteorology outlooks 3X/week HERE
FPI’s Compliance/Regulatory Team: Rick Snider (Director of Contracts & Compliance), Jeffrey Basham (Sr. Manager of Compliance)
Operations, Trip Coordination, and Global Vendor Relations Teams: Tim Bartholomew (Executive Director of Operations), Joel Logan (Director of Trip Coordination Services), Mike Stevens (Director of Vendor Management) — with more about FPI’s “COR” team HERE.
FPI’s Global Offices:
France: Lionel Cojan, Sebastien Ledoux
United Kingdom: Ashley Punter, Alan Owen, Laura Buckmaster, Lukas Kendera
Germany: Charly Czechan, Thomas Dammer, Thomas Vettel, Gérard (Gerry) Eckhardt, Shari Bert
FPI’s Global Sales, Trip Support, IT (L-R): Michael Hardy (Trip Coordinator), Susan Logan (Sr. Web Developer), Greg Garner (Manager Weather & Flight Planning Services), Dianne Tarantino (Sr. Sales Manager), Jim Davis (Sr. Sales Manager), Matt Pahl (President & COO), Tiki Mameli (Sr. Sales Manager), Roberto Cormack (Executive VP & CIO), Trung Freed (Sr. Manager Client Relations & Quality Assurance), Mike Stevens (Director of Vendor Management) — With the latest information on FPI’s IT creation,FlightProConnect.com HERE
FPI’s Founder and ARI’s Co-Founder: Mr. Tom Balousek
A monumental tribute is owed to FPI’s founder, Mr. Tom Balousek, whose vision and leadership propelled FPI to its 5-year success. In the early 1990s, Balousek, along with ARI’s co-founders, transformed a bold idea of elite concierge trip management into the global gold standard of excellence that private aviation operators have come to expect “as the norm”.
“Today, aviation companies, operators, clients, vendors, and individuals around the globe consider Tom to be a beloved staple of the industry, and a friend to all who’ve met him,” states Matt Pahl, FPI President and COO. “On behalf of FPI and ARI’s prior network, we thank Tom for laying the foundation not just for the companies, but of a family united by a purpose.”
No matter how you connect with FPI, you’ll be warmly welcomed into this entrepreneurial family reunion and will discover how, within a short five years, FPI’s growth has included:
- Office expansion into France, UK, and Germany
- Personnel growth by over 250%, with over 60% being client-facing support roles
- Regulatory involvement with over 100 countries
- Development of an industry-leading, flight management software technology
- Involvement with scores of U.S.-based Business Aviation Associations nationwide
“Nothing makes us feel happier than knowing our mission has been accomplished,” Tom states, “which is when Pilots, Schedulers, Flight Crew, Ground Crew, and Operators have trusted us with their trip management and we’ve helped them to succeed in the eyes of their clients.”
Below, FPI details four of their top developments that promote client ease and convenience when planning global trips of all sizes:
1) State-Of-The-Art Trip Management Technology:
FlightProConnect.com (“FPC”) is FPI’s elite, custom app complete with the trip planner feature, in-app messaging, offline operations capabilities, and real-time feedback features, and has direct system links with a variety of global programs (i.e. Europe’s eu-LISA Entry/Exit System).
Thoughtfully designed for pilots, trip schedulers, and dispatchers, FPC streamlines the details and activities of all FPI’s Operations departments into a single cyber-secure platform that uses MFA (Multi-Factor Authentication) and is rigorously put through an annual “Pen Test” (penetration test) to ensure all client data is fortified and secure.
FPC is free for all FPI clients. Fully mobile-ready, FPC is available for download on Google Play® and the App Store®.
2) Fully Integrated Operations for Global Trip Support:
Literally operating 24/7/365 under one roof from their Houston, Texas headquarters, FPI’s integrated ops infrastructure is built so that each specialty is cross-trained and empowered to integrate, overlap, and ensure no detail is overlooked as they respond rapidly to client needs, including regarding: Meteorology/Flight Planning, Regulatory/Compliance, Trip Coordination, Global Vendor Relations, along with Fuel, Travel, and Accounting services.
3) Regulatory/Compliance Services:
With a vast knowledge of ever-changing global compliance nuances, FPI’s Compliance and Regulatory Team manages a variety of complex services, saves a significant amount of time for clients, and keeps compliance easy through FPI’s many regulatory certifications, programs, and system connections, including:
- EU-LISA’s EES (Entry/Exit System
- ETIAS (EU Travel Information and Authorization System)
- U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s RSP (Reimbursable Services Program)
- UK’s GAR (General Aviation Report) program
- U.S. CDC programs
- Various ETS programs (Emissions Trading Schemes)
- and much more.
4) Special Services Network (SSN):
Considered to be the foundation of the organization, FPI’s SSN teams are comprised of a global network of preferred, in-country partners who provide dedicated supervision and expertise on all trip and vendor service types, including ground handling, fuel services, customs, and much more.
”At the inception of FPI and FlightProConnect.com‘s development, our goal has always been to remain customer-centric as the core driver behind our programs and to provide our clients with the latest technologies built with their needs in mind,” says Roberto Cormack, FPI Executive VP and CIO.
“Whether traveling popular routes or unusual destinations, we aim to alleviate the pain points our clients experienced before bringing FPI on as a dedicated extension of their flight departments,” states Matt Pahl.
“Together with the entire Flight Pro International team, our goal is to continue to be ‘Your Premier Trip Support Solution’ across multiple categories and keep you covered from ground to skies for many years to come.”
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To learn more about FPI, FPC, or regarding the Compliance, Operations, Regulatory, and other Special Services Network (SSN) teams, please contact our Operations staff here at Flight Pro International.
Our success is your success! Partner with us today.