Aldrew Crowe is the founder and 100% owner of BPE Air, LLC, an aviation company he established in 2020 in the Atlanta area. A graduate of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, where he studied Aviation Business Administration, Crowe built his career around an industry that combines business opportunity with a strong responsibility to people. Under his leadership, BPE Air has grown across aircraft sales and acquisitions, private charter, leasing, management, maintenance coordination, and aviation training initiatives. The company generated approximately $90 million in revenue in 2025.
Crowe approaches growth from the perspective of an owner. He is directly involved in important decisions but believes that a company becomes stronger when experienced people are trusted to contribute their expertise. He evaluates opportunities carefully, believes in reinvesting in the business, and sees value in creating complementary services that serve aviation customers over the long term. He is just as willing to walk away from a transaction that does not make sense as he is to pursue the right opportunity.
For Crowe, though, the larger purpose is what that growth can make possible. He wants BPE Air to help open aviation career paths for women, young people, and individuals from backgrounds where opportunity has been limited. His long-term vision includes mentorship, exposure to the industry, education, and pathways that help more people see themselves becoming pilots and aviation professionals.
Crowe believes business success creates an obligation to reach back. He often returns to a simple principle: when you help other people reach their goals, you move closer to reaching your own. That belief connects his work as an aviation entrepreneur with his ambition to build a company that creates opportunity for others long after any single transaction is complete.
What is your typical day, and how do you make it productive?
Most mornings I look at what needs a decision from me and what my team can move ahead without me. Some days that means an aircraft transaction or a customer issue; other days it is a bigger question about where BPE Air is going next. I try not to confuse staying busy with making progress. If we solve a real problem for a customer, strengthen the company, or help one of our people take a step forward, that is a productive day.
How do you bring ideas to life?
I start by asking who the idea will help and whether we can actually deliver on it. Then I look at the numbers, the people, and the steps it will take. I have learned that an idea cannot live in a conversation forever. At some point, somebody has to take responsibility and start building it. The ideas I care most about create value for the business and opportunity for somebody else.
What’s one trend that excites you?
I am excited about the way aviation training and technology can open doors that used to feel closed. We are exploring how simulators, education, and real exposure to the aviation business can help people find their place in this industry. I especially want more women and young people from under-resourced communities to see becoming a pilot as something possible for them, not something meant for somebody else.
What is one habit that helps you be productive?
I ask direct questions, and I listen closely to people who know more about a subject than I do. I do not have to be the expert in every part of BPE Air. My responsibility is to get the right people involved, understand the facts, and make a decision. Good communication keeps small problems from becoming big ones.
What advice would you give your younger self?
Be patient enough to learn, but do not lose your courage to start. Listen to people who have already walked the road you want to travel. And never forget where you came from. If success only changes your own circumstances, you have missed a chance to do something bigger.
Tell us something you believe almost nobody agrees with you on?
I do not believe every opportunity should turn into a deal. People sometimes see walking away as losing. I see it as protecting what you are building. The wrong acquisition can take resources away from employees, customers, and the opportunities you really want to create. Saying no at the right time is part of being responsible.
What is the one thing you repeatedly do and recommend everyone else do?
Ask one more question. If a deal looks good, ask what could go wrong. If a plan sounds simple, ask who is going to do the work. And if someone tells you they cannot reach a goal, ask what support might change that. A second question often reveals the part of the story that matters most.
When you feel overwhelmed or unfocused, what do you do?
I get back to what I can control. I speak with the people who have the best information, separate what is urgent from what is just loud, and make the next good decision. I also remind myself why I am doing the work. BPE Air is a business, but the people depending on it and the people we hope to help give that work meaning.
What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business or advance in your career?
We have tried to build connected aviation services rather than treating every transaction as a one-time event. A customer buying an aircraft may also need management, leasing, or maintenance coordination. Growing those capabilities has helped BPE Air serve people more fully. It is also how I think about opportunity: the stronger we make the business, the more room we can create for careers, training, and future talent.
What is one failure in your career, how did you overcome it, and what lessons did you take away from it?
I have spent time on opportunities that looked promising and still had to walk away when the terms did not make sense. That can be disappointing when you have invested energy in getting a deal to the table. But I learned not to let pride make the decision. You take the lesson, protect the company, and keep going. Not every deal is meant to close.
What is one business idea you’re willing to give away to our readers?
Build a community aviation access program that brings working pilots, aircraft owners, maintenance professionals, and business leaders together with students who have never had a real introduction to the industry. Start small: a visit, a mentor, a classroom conversation, or simulator exposure. A young person cannot chase a dream they have never been shown. I would love to see more businesses make that first introduction possible.
What is one piece of software that helps you be productive? How do you use it?
ChatGPT has become a useful tool for organizing ideas, researching questions, and thinking through different sides of a business decision. I work across a lot of areas of aviation, so being able to collect my thoughts and prepare better questions helps. But technology is only part of the process. I still rely on experienced people and real conversations. The goal is to spend less time sorting through noise and more time building something that helps people.
What is the best $100 you recently spent? What and why?
The hundred dollars that means the most to me is money that can help somebody take a step forward. That might be books, transportation, or a small cost standing between a young person and an opportunity. I would rather see $100 make somebody believe they can reach a goal than spend it on something I will forget next week. That is the kind of return I value.
Do you have a favorite book or podcast you’ve gotten a ton of value from and why?
The Bible has had a strong influence on the values I bring to my work. My faith reminds me that success comes with responsibility: how you treat people, what you do with your opportunities, and whether you make things better for somebody else. Those principles matter to me just as much as any business lesson.
What’s a movie or series you recently enjoyed and why?
Hidden Figures is the kind of story that stays with me. It shows what talented people can accomplish when somebody finally sees their ability instead of the barriers around them. That is the same reason I want BPE Air to help more women and young people from difficult backgrounds discover aviation. Sometimes what changes a life is simply being given a real chance.
Key learnings
- Building a lasting business requires asking hard questions, trusting specialists, and knowing when to walk away.
- Connected aviation services can create both stronger customer relationships and new career possibilities.
- Access matters: early exposure and mentorship can help more women and young people imagine aviation careers.
- Helping others reach their goals is central to Crowe’s definition of lasting success.