A conversation with William Heinecke, CEO of the Minor Group

Ever since he was a teenager William Heinecke has always followed his passion. Not a bad idea, considering he parlayed that determination into a business empire that included a pizza business, a major hotel chain and a jet charter service. He has yet to slow down.

You may not know of William E. Heinecke but you certainly know his brands. As the founder, chairman and CEO of Minor International (MINT), one of Asia Pacific’s largest hospitality and leisure companies, Heinecke oversees more than 150 hotels and resorts, 2,000 restaurants and 300 retail outlets across 32 countries from South America to the Middle East.

MINT traces its roots back to the 1960s when Heinecke, then an enterprising teenager, began selling advertising space in a local Bangkok newspaper. Since then, he has successfully built brands, some from scratch, ranging from the five-star Anantara hotel chain found in exquisite locales such as the Maldives to The Pizza Company, to lifestyle brands like Gap, Esprit and Pedro.

In order to rapidly build his business empire across many cities and countries, Heinecke has flown several times per week for decades – often piloting the aircraft himself. Add aviation to the list of this man’s passions. Unsurprisingly, his passion for aviation evolved into yet another business – MJets.

Jetgala had the opportunity to catch up with Heinecke to learn more about his passion for aviation and the role it continues to play in helping him build what has become a highly successful, international business empire.

Jetgala: It is said that you attained your pilot’s license because you love challenges but was there a business practicality to it as well?

WH: In the 1970s, MINT’s first ever resort was located in Pattaya. At the same time, we were developing our second resort in Hua Hin. To travel between the two resorts by car took seven hours for what was really a 60-mile trip. By piloting my own plane, a Grumman Lynx, I was able to make the trip in just 30 minutes. I typically flew to Hua Hin on Saturday and returned on Sunday. I wasn’t instrument-rated at that time but fortunately weather wasn’t typically an issue since the flights were so short.

How did you go about earning your pilot’s license and acquiring your Lynx?

My parents were living in Santa Barbara, California so I decided to take a month to visit them and earn my U.S. private pilot, single-engine land license. Once back in Thailand I converted my U.S. license to a Thai license.

At that time in Thailand, individuals were prohibited from owning an aircraft due to security concerns. However, the Thai Flying Club in Pattaya owned the Lynx so I purchased the aircraft from them and then donated it back to the club. Needless to say, it was available for me anytime that I needed to borrow it from them.

Over the years did you fly larger, higher-performance aircraft?

My next aircraft was a Mooney 201, also purchased secondhand from the Thai Flying Club and donated back to them. However, as the Thai ownership rules changed I was able to purchase a new Bonanza A36, which I ferried from Biggin Hill (outside of London) to Thailand. I then graduated to a Piper Malibu, which I purchased new from Piper’s Vero Beach, Florida headquarters. The Malibu was pressurised so it was much easier to ferry home. With the assistance of a ferry pilot we stopped along the way at Goose Bay, Greenland, Iceland then into Biggin Hill, Frankfurt, Malta, Luxor, Oman, Bombay and Bangkok.

That said, I sold the Malibu five or six years ago as MJets became the local agent for Cessna.

Is that when MJets, your jet charter service, began?

What is today known as MJets actually began in 2007 as Minor Aviation. Our first aircraft was a Cessna CJ3. From there we added a Citation X followed by a (Gulfstream) GV. Today, we have five aircraft owned by MJets and manage other aircraft.

MJets was the first fixed base operator (FBO) in Thailand. The company has since grown to 200 employees with operations in Cambodia, India, and Myanmar. It’s much easier to fly these days because of the (relaxed) ownership laws. In Thailand, MJets has an AOC (air operator’s certificate) – one of the few private jet companies with an international AOC. Others (can) only fly locally.

How many hours of PIC (pilot in command) do you have and are you still an active pilot today?

I have about 2,000 hours of PIC with ratings for single engine, multi-engine, instrument, and helicopter. But, these days you will find me in the back of the plane. Sometimes I fly a helicopter as I find helicopters more challenging than fixed wing.

How often do you travel by air?

I fly weekly – totaling about 300 hours of private travel per year.

Which MJets aircraft do you typically fly?

I frequently fly the CJ3 down to Phuket for weekends where I have a house and a yacht. For work trips, usually there are several of us MINT executives traveling together. We’ll take the CX to the Middle East and the GV if going to Europe, South America, or Australia. Different aircraft for different missions.

Sometimes, I fly commercial first class if I am travelling alone long distance, such as to London then I’ll opt for Emirates or Thai Airways.

With all of the travel you do, could you achieve it without flying by private jet?

When we do a business trip to Australia we will visit many cities in one trip like Perth, Brisbane, Sydney, Adelaide, etc. With so many different legs, (flying) private is the only practical way.

It’s been shown that the fastest growing companies use private jets. In our case, when we were developing our resort in the Maldives, there was no direct flight from Bangkok. We would have had to fly three hours to Singapore plus the airport transit time. Nowadays, many of our remote properties rely on our private aircraft to ferry guests. We own twin engine (de Havilland) Otters; our African properties have (Cessna) Caravans; we even utilise a helicopter in Mozambique.

Some private jet travellers consider their jet an extension of their office while others consider it a break from the office – a haven for relaxation. How do you see your jet?

As I said earlier, on business trips, I usually travel with several executives. The jet gives me time to confer with them for what I call “real quality time.” No one is on the phone; there’s no WiFi – intentionally. Quality executive time. Occasionally on long distance trips we will set up the jet to sleep. On those trips, we work during the day and fly at night.

In your autobiography, TheEntrepreneur, you share your philosophy that to be as efficient as possible, try to do all the business one can during the day and return home the same night.

Yes, private jets make that possible. It’s nice to sleep in one’s own bed.

Are MJets personalised inside or out? If yes, how so?

The MJets Citation X and Gulfstream GV have some Thai touches that one would expect, specifically Jim Thompson silks and Thai cottons. With Minor International having over 2,000 restaurants, we typically use our own restaurants or our Anantara Hotels to cater our jets as well as privately owned jets that use our FBOs.

When it comes to catering, do most people prefer champagne and caviar or…

People do like a nice bottle of Champagne or wine but many people prefer comfort food. When we are travelling, we often cater from Minor International restaurants like pizza from The Pizza Company; sandwiches from The Coffee Club, Burger King, etc. My team usually caters a box of Krispy Kreme doughnuts even though they are not a Minor International franchise!

Who is a typical MJets customer?

MJets is a company outside of Minor International – it’s on my personal balance sheet. As such, Minor International is actually a customer of MJets. We have many customers who need to charter jets for business or personal travel. MJets also has many customers who own their own jets but who use MJets’ FBO services. MJets also offers air ambulance, maintenance, and management services.

What are some of your favorite “get away” destinations?

The Maldives and Phuket are my top two but I also love Sri Lanka and in northern Thailand, Chiang Mai. Minor International has resorts in each of these places plus Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Oman, and many more. As noted earlier, I often visit the Anantara Layan Phuket Resort on weekends, flying the MJets Cessna CJ3 down from Bangkok.

Last question: As in the James Bond film, TheManwiththe

GoldenGun have you ever flown an amphibious plane to the Phuket island now famously known as James Bond Island?

I have a nice yacht in Phuket which has more creature comforts than an amphibious plane. So, while I haven’t flown to James Bond Island, I have travelled there by yacht. Speaking of the movie, in Phuket I have the golden gun that was used in the movie, which I bought at auction. I like to collect Thai-related items. In Bangkok, I have a collection of Yul Brynner costumes from the musical The King and I.