Category Archives: Private Aviation Industry News

Jet Cards: Compare Program Terms, Availability, More – Part 4 of Research & Analysis by Forbes.com

Editor’s note:  Forbes.com contributor Doug Gollan has undertaken an analysis of jet card companies for his new business providing a paid analysis of jet card programs.

The first installment compared 18 jet card companies and programs.
The second installment compared private jet cards to charter.
The third installment is a who’s who in private jet card & prepaid charter.

The fourth installment compares private jet card guaranteed availability, charges, peak days and more:


Forbes.com logo

If you’ve been following along in my series of postings about jet cards and prepaid private aviation charter programs, you’ll know that the results of my research cover over 80 programs. If I ever want to get a masters degree, you can guess what subject my dissertation will be about. In the meantime, it’s the source for most of the information I am providing in these articles.

That said, there are no rules and regulations of what delineates a jet card from pre-paid block charter. While a number of providers say guaranteed availability at your contracted price is required to have a “true” jet card, the fact is some companies market jet card-like products (They give you a nice plastic card with your name and their logo on it) without it having the guarantee on price and availability together. There are also sellers of prepaid private jet travel I’ve found (VistaJet, as an example) that don’t call their product a jet card, yet do guarantee availability at a contracted price.

over 80 jet card and charter programs included in jet card comparison pricing research

Over 80 jet card and charter programs are included in Doug Gollan’s jet card comparison and jet charter research for Forbes.com. (Image by FlightList PRO)

It’s an important consideration because one reason to fly privately is the convenience of traveling when you want. During holiday periods or just busy days of the week such as Monday mornings or Friday afternoons, guaranteed availability does just that. It also means that the provider may have to go outside its own fleet if it has one, or pay the operator more than you are paying on an hourly basis to secure a plane for you. In other words, it might lose money on that trip, or in other cases, it has already laid out money with an operator to have access to planes when it thinks you will want to travel.

Of the research I did, Air Partner, Airstream Jets, Delta Private Jets, Flexjet, Jet Linx, JetSet Group, Magellan Jets, NetJets’ Marquis Jet card, Nicholas Air, Prive Jets, Sentient Jet, Star Jets International, VistaJet, Wheels Up, Wholesale Jet Club and XOJET each provide guaranteed availability, although there are exceptions during peak periods, which is discussed a bit further on in this column.

“Those Who Know Use FlightList PRO.”
80% of those using FlightList PRO have arranged charters for more than 10 years, and a full 1/4 – for more than 20 years.  Just $90/month for up to 3 users, 30-day free trials are currently available. 

Of course, that doesn’t mean there is anything wrong with companies that don’t have guaranteed access. They may have other attributes that are important to you, such as lower prices, or in the case of JetSuite, the lowest Daily Minimum I found in terms of flight hours, which they charge for just 48 minutes per day. Other providers have minimums of between 1-2.8 hours of flight time per day. It means if you take a single 45-minute flight on a specific day, with JetSuite you will be charged for 48 minutes of your hourly rate while on another provider it could be 60, 90 or even 168 minutes even though your flight was 45 minutes. If you do a lot of short hops where you don’t have a second flight in the same day, you definitely want to ask about the Daily Minimum.

Making it a bit more complicated, Daily Minimums also vary by size of aircraft, with larger planes typically having higher daily minimums. This means if your short haul flying is with a group of 10 people, you are going to need to look at programs that offer larger jets (for example, JetSuite’s Citation CJ3 only seats 7).

Another place you will find extra charges is taxi time, so the more flights you make, the more taxi time you will pay. The standard seems to be six minutes for departures and six minutes for arrival, meaning for each flight you take you will be paying for 12 minutes of taxi time. If your hourly rate is $6,000, you will pay $720 for each flight in taxi time. Yet again, this isn’t standard: Airstream Jets, Clay Lacy, JetSet Group and Wholesale Jet Club each say they don’t charge for taxi time. Several companies I contacted wouldn’t provide data about taxi time charges and Jet Linx only charges six minutes per segment, so if you had an hourly rate of $6,000 with Jet Linx, you would only pay $360 per flight in taxi time.

Lead time in making reservations is another area to consider and again there are considerable variances. For example, Clay Lacy, JetSuite and PrivateFly don’t have a lead time requirement, but then again, none guarantee availability.

Lead time for reservations with other providers varies from six hours with JetSet Group and Wholesale Jet Club (6 hours); Magellan Jets and Prive Jets (8 hours); Delta Private Jets, NetJets’ Marquis Jet Card, Nicholas Air, Private Jet Services (PJS) Group and Sentient (10 hours); and XOJET (12 hours) as the companies I found that offer guaranteed reservations less than 24 hours before you want to fly. During peak periods expect to make your reservations anywhere from 24 hours to 7 days before you want to travel.

What is a peak period or peak day? Well, think holidays, however, for those companies that offer guaranteed availability it ranges from eight to 58 days out of the year. Hourly rates for flying on peak days are subject to increases, from no increase to as high as 40%. So again, if you plan to fly at specific busy times, you will want to study what each provider lists as peak days, which sometimes vary by program within a provider. In other words, it is a really good idea that on a piece of paper you write out the trips you expect to be taking during the next 12 to 24 months.

I was really surprised when I read a survey by Business Jet Traveler that only 3% of jet card buyers use a consultant. One consultant, I talked to says he charges $3,000 to help with jet card purchases and $5,000 to assist with fractional buyers. If I was a serious buyer, to me, it seems like a good investment. Unless you have an in-house counsel, you’re probably going to have your $600 per hour lawyer spend several hours reviewing contracts anyway.

By the way, the typical way people select a jet card is a recommendation of a friend, a previous experience with the company or doing some Google research, which turns up mainly paid ads. I was speaking with one executive of a jet card provider, and his theory is that there is so much to compare and so many differences, it’s overwhelming. The rich person who is plunking down $250,000 more or less assumes or hopes that the company will be accommodating since they want to retain their business with renewals. It’s also a risk, and a provider that works well for a friend or colleague, might not be the best for you.

From Forbes.com article by Doug Gollan


The FlightList PRO multi-search platform which includes all 16,631 charter aircraft and 3,419 charter operators worldwide.  FlightList PRO is used by the most successful and experienced brokers and travel professionals in the industry; 80% of those using FlightList PRO have been arranging charters more than 10 years, and a full 1/4 – more than 20 years.  Currently 30-day free trials are available.

Air Charter Alerts by FlightList PRO, are the latest announcements in the private air charter industry about operators, brokers and charter aircraft, and geared towards active participants in the industry.

Private Jet Charter Operator In Unlikely Location has Success, Lofty Plans

ATI Jet Charter Service Aims High

By David Crowder, El Paso Inc.

El Paso has one high-flying charter service. Using Lear jets that take off from El Paso International Airport, ATI Jet hauls Hollywood stars, doctors and business executives around the U.S., Canada and Latin America.

A renowned pilot himself, ATI Jet owner Lyle Byrum has lofty ambitions to turn the company into a national force with a fleet of 100 planes by 2023.

He’s got a ways to go.

Today, ATI Jet has eight, sleek Lears in service, 22 pilots, more than 400 regular customers and a lot more occasional passengers, according to Byrum. That makes the company one of the larger charter services in the Southwest.

ATI Jet private fleet of charter Learjets.

ATI Jet private fleet of charter Learjets. Photo. Photo by Jorge Salgado

“The Lear 60 is the world’s fastest, highest-flying midsize jet,” he said.

It’s an expensive way to get around. Booking one of the eight-seat speedsters for the 3½-hour, 2,000-mile flight to Washington, D.C., and back will cost about $30,000, Byrum said.

ATI Jet’s full fleet of 8 charter Learjets, with aircraft and operator details, is available in FlightList PRO.

When former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher needed to come to El Paso in 1990 to address the Republican Party, he picked her up in Dallas and says she insisted that he accompany her on the trip back.

“What’s driven our charter business has been security; you don’t have to worry about security,” Byrum said. “No. 2, you can get here five minutes before you want to leave or an hour later. You’re not tied to schedules.”

ATI’s more recent big-name passengers include the queen of Jordan, Tommy Lee Jones, Dennis and Randy Quaid and Julia Roberts, according to Byrum.

ATI Jet’s repeat customers come from just about everywhere – except El Paso.

“We only have 24 customers here in El Paso,” he said. “A few years ago there was a study done and we were No. 3 in the country doing charters to Mexico. A lot of people like to use us because we know our way around.

ATI Jet's Lyle Byrum in the Learjet 60

ATI Jet’s Lyle Byrum in the Learjet 60. Photo by Jorge Salgado

Byrum talks a big game, but as one close acquaintance said, “He’s the real deal.”

He’s an Ysleta High School graduate whose family owned the second largest crane company in the Southwest in the 1960s and 1970s, Byrum Crane and Rigging. He became its general manager before his parents sold the company.

“I personally erected half of Cielo Vista Mall,” Byrum remembers.

Out of a job, he headed off to college, learned how to fly, became an instructor and took over a flying school and Cessna dealer in Midland. He’s been in aviation since, doing everything from helping the FAA write regulations to performing crazy stunts for movies.

His business ventures also included Quicksilver Enterprises, a publicly held company that became the world’s largest manufacturer of ultralight aircraft from 1980 to 1996, selling more than 12,000 aircraft worldwide.

Byrum made big money doing movies and TV as a Hollywood stunt pilot, stunt man and actor. He has the movie-set publicity photos with stars on the walls at ATI Jet’s headquarters to prove it.

“I think I have been in more movies than any native-born El Pasoan other than Debbie Reynolds, and maybe her,” he said.

Those movies and TV shows include “Arizona Dream” with Fay Dunaway and Johnny Depp, “Jackknife” with Robert De Niro, “CHIPS,” “Fantasy Island,” “A-Team” and “Remington Steel.”

Then, there was “Howard the Duck,” the George Lucas-backed movie that bombed. In that movie, Byrum says he flew a plane through the open doors of a moving boxcar, tearing off the wings.

The rise of computer graphics starting in the 1990s put a big dent in the demand for real air stunts, and after a series of business and personal setbacks, including the loss of his 12-year-old son to cancer, Byrum came back to El Paso.

“I decided I wanted to come home,” he said. “I don’t know why; I can’t tell you. I didn’t do anything for two years.

“Then, I went to work for this company, and then I bought it from Doc. Nelson and the Lowenfields.”

Things were moving along for Byrum and ATI Jet’s small fleet of Lears when he made the mistake of going into business with Bob Jones, the CEO of the nonprofit National Center for the Employment of the Disabled, or NCED, in 2003.

“Those Who Know Use FlightList PRO.”
80% of those using FlightList PRO have arranged charters for more than 10 years, and a full 1/4 – more than 20 years.  Just $90/month, 30-day free trials are currently available. 

Jones, a prominent El Pasoan who would later be convicted in the biggest corruption scandal and fraud against the federal government in El Paso history, put up $1 million to gain an interest in the company.

It was supposed to be Jones’ money, but it wasn’t. It belonged to NCED, and the arrangement implicated Byrum and his company when the FBI learned about Jones’ fraudulent investments in 2005.

But the greater fraud occurred at NCED during the 12 years Jones controlled the nonprofit, which existed to provide jobs for the severely disabled under set-aside contracts to manufacture boxes, military uniforms and chemical protective ware.

Under Jones, NCED had grown to 4,000 employees with contracts in excess of $200 million a year when it was reported that the vast majority of its employees weren’t actually disabled.

They were displaced clothing workers, many from Mexico.

In all, the total of misspent federal dollars paid to NCED approached $2 billion, and Jones had amassed a fortune estimated at $50 million. He was convicted in 2011 and is still serving a 10-year sentence in federal prison.

Byrum sued Jones, who had actually gained control of ATI Jet, for stock fraud, provided evidence to the FBI and was cleared of all wrongdoing.

NCED agreed to pay for the bills Jones had run up using ATI Jet to shuttle Army generals and others back and forth from Washington and around the country.

“For three years, he wasn’t paying me for what he was doing,” Byrum said. “The bill just got bigger and bigger. I barely survived.

“After it was all over, I think I was the only guy that got paid back, and I got paid every penny.”

Byrum said ATI Jet has bounced back, allowing him to buy two newer Lear 60 jets recently and to expand by using what he calls the Southwest Airlines model – using one type of aircraft requiring the same parts and training for pilots and mechanics.

ATI Jet's Learjet 60 cabin

ATI Jet’s Learjet 60 cabin.  Photo by Jorge Salgado

He’s also kept up his interest in very fast cars and drag racing, which he still does at the age of 69.

He owns El Paso Motorplex with a dirt track and drag-strip near Socorro where he was planning to add a 2-mile, $2 million paved road course for Formula 1 racing until last year.

“I decided to keep expanding ATI Jet instead, so we put the project on hold,” Byrum said.

Asked if he intends to go public with ATI-Jet to buy 90 more jets and become a national charter service, he said, “I’m planning to, yes – at the right time.”

Article in El Paso Inc.


The FlightList PRO multi-search platform which includes all 16,631 charter aircraft and 3,419 charter operators worldwide.  FlightList PRO is used by the most successful and experienced brokers and travel professionals in the industry; 80% of those using FlightList PRO have been arranging charters more than 10 years, and a full 1/4 – more than 20 years.  Currently 30-day free trials are available.

Air Charter Alerts by FlightList PRO, are the latest announcements in the private air charter industry about operators, brokers and charter aircraft, and geared towards active participants in the industry.

Compare Private Jet Card & Prepaid Charter, Part 3 of Research & Analysis by Forbes.com

Editor’s note:  Forbes.com contributor Doug Gollan has undertaken an analysis of jet card companies for his new business providing a paid analysis of jet card programs.

The first installment compared 18 jet card companies and programs.
The second installment compared private jet cards to charter.

The third installment is a Who’s Who in private jet cards, prepaid jet charter and private jet memberships:


Forbes.com logoWhen you are buying a private jet card and with most prepaid programs, you are wiring the money from your bank account to theirs. With transactions often ranging from $100,000 to $500,000, it makes sense to know whom you are dealing with.

From my research, I originally found 18 different companies that offer jet cards or prepaid programs, but since publishing the first article in this series, have identified six more, including Singapore-based Zetta Jet, New York-based JetSet Group and Wholesale JetClub, Boca Raton, Florida-based Airstream Jets, GrandView Aviation from Maryland and Colorado-based StraightLine Private Air, started by a founder of Exclusive Resorts. (Note: After publishing this article, I heard from a seventh company, Silverhawk Aviation which recently introduced a Jet Card for customers living within 175 miles of Lincoln, which includes Omaha, Kansas City, Des Moines, Sioux City, Sioux Falls.). In Part 2, I took a look at whether or not it even makes sense to buy jet cards and prepaid block charter programs versus just buying as you go via on-demand charter with some interesting perspectives.

“Those Who Know Use FlightList PRO.”
80% of those using FlightList PRO have arranged charters for more than 10 years, and a full 1/4 – more than 20 years.  Just $90/month, 30-day free trials are currently available. 

In terms of the companies that you will be doing business with if you buy a jet card or prepaid program, they are about as diverse as you can imagine, and when you included related entities, span from under 10 employees to over 300,000.

Air Partner, a U.K.-based company with its U.S. headquarters in Ft. Lauderdale is the oldest, with its roots in aviation dating back to 1961. The famous pilot and aviation entrepreneur Clay Lacy (he flew a DC-8 with “The Human Fly” standing on its roof) started his namesake group in 1968. Among the most recent entrants are Marquis Jet Partners founder Kenny Dichter, who after selling it to NetJets then launched WheelsUp in 2013, Singapore-based Zetta Jet which started flying in August 2015 and Blue Star Jets (famous for taking its name from the movie Wall Street) co-founder Ricky Sitomer, who started Star Jets International last year.

Some companies are publicly owned, or divisions of publicly traded companies, including Air Partner which is directly traded in the UK, Delta Private Jets (a subsidiary of Delta Air Lines), and NetJets (which owns and sells the Marquis Jet card and is a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway). Directional Aviation, which traces its history to 1981, owns two jet card players, Flexjet and Sentient. Its chairman Kenn Ricci started a small aircraft management company and has turned Directional into a multibillion-dollar enterprise which made news in 2015 when it placed an order for what potentially could be the next supersonic passenger jet. Earlier this year he won the Lifetime Aviation Entrepreneur Award. Previous winners included the founders of FedEx (Fred Smith), Southwest Airlines (Herb Kelleher) and Virgin Atlantic Airways (Sir Richard Branson).

Other bosses of note include Thomas Flohr, the founder of VistaJet who had the foresight to see the market from a global point of view, and Private Jets Services (PJS) Group founder and CEO Greg Raiff, who started the company with a focus on charters for sports team, live entertainment and political campaign charters before getting into the jet card segment. In addition to Lacy, David Sneed (Delta Private Jets) is a current commercial airline pilot for Delta. In his case, he was furloughed leading him to find a place in management although he now active again. PrivateFly founder and CEO Adam Twidell is a former Royal Air Force pilot and still flies private jets. He is married to his CMO, an ex Conde Nast executive, making them the only husband-and-wife team I came across. Nicholas Air founder Nicholas Correnti accumulated over 1,000 flight hours by the time he turned 16. JetSuite founder and CEO Alex Wilcox was a career commercial aviation executive working under two legends of that segment, Branson at Virgin Atlantic Airways and David Neeleman, who founded JetBlue and is an investor and on the board of JetSuite.

The size of the companies varies dramatically. Delta Air Lines employs 80,000 people, with Delta Private Jets making up 450. NetJets has about 6,000 employees (parent Berkshire Hathaway has 367,000), Flexjet 1,300 and VistaJet 800. At least a half dozen of the companies surveyed employ under 100 people, however, part of the variance in size is that some companies operate the planes you fly on while others use a charter broker model and go into the market to source planes for your flight. In other words, they don’t need the infrastructure to operate planes.

One of the main drivers in choosing the right company and card for you is where you want to fly. Clay Lacy, Delta Private Jets, Flexjet, JetSet Group, JetSuite, Nicholas Air, PriveJets, Sentient Jet, Solairus, Wheels Up, Wholesale Jet Club and XOJET will fly you to over 5,000 airports, but you will be mainly restricted to the continental U.S. and Canada, in some cases including the Caribbean and Mexico as part of their service footprints. Air Partner and NetJets also offer you service in Europe. Jet Linx, Magellan Jets, PJS Private Jet Service Group, Star Jets and VistaJet have global programs. Of course, some programs can arrange charter pricing for you when you go outside their service area, although you will end up paying different rates and may be subject to one-way surcharges and other extra fees.

In total, I found over 60 different variances in private jet card and prepaid private jet programs from they ways you get charged for taxi time to WiFi access, policies on flying your pets or unaccompanied children and perks such as luxury partnerships and access to big sporting events such as the Super Bowl or Kentucky Derby.

I’ll be detailing the differences in subsequent articles, however, if you want to jump ahead you can find all the information from over 80 programs in spreadsheet format at PrivateJetCardComparisons.com.

From Forbes.com article by Doug Gollan


The FlightList PRO multi-search platform which includes all 16,631 charter aircraft and 3,419 charter operators worldwide.  FlightList PRO is used by the most successful and experienced brokers and travel professionals in the industry; 80% of those using FlightList PRO have been arranging charters more than 10 years, and a full 1/4 – more than 20 years.  Currently 30-day free trials are available.

Air Charter Alerts by FlightList PRO, are the latest announcements in the private air charter industry about operators, brokers and charter aircraft, and geared towards active participants in the industry.

Private Jet Cards vs. Charter, Part 2 of Jet Charter Research & Analysis by Forbes.com

Editor’s note:  Forbes.com contributor Doug Gollan has undertaken an analysis of jet card companies for his new business providing a paid analysis of jet card programs.

The first installment  was a comparison of 18 jet card companies and programs.

The second installment takes a look at private jet cards, vs. charter, and includes comments and feedback sent in from charter and card jet card company executives: 


Forbes.com logoThere are quite a few aspects of buying private jet travel that makes it a very personal decision. In terms of buying private jet cards, there are variances in pricing, fees, daily minimums, the amount of insurance provided, how much you have to pay upfront, policies on taking your pets or sending your kids unaccompanied. There are differences in what type of catering is provided without charge, how many hours in advance you have to make your reservation as well as cancel and much more. Some programs guarantee WiFi. Others don’t. Some require the bulk of your money in advance. Others have an initiation fee and you pay as you go.

I know many of you are time poor and want to get things like choosing a private aviation provider done with so you can move on to more pressing matters. In fact, it is so complicated as I was gathering information for this series, there was so much I put it all together in a website PrivateJetCardComparisons.com which I created and own.

Air Charter Alerts by FlightList PRO, are the latest announcements in the private air charter industry about operators, brokers and charter aircraft, and geared towards active participants in the industry. More information here-  FlightList PRO and About Us.

A few days ago, I published Part 1 of the series on buying prepaid private jet travel titled, “Before You Buy A Private Jet Card Read This.” This series is based on my research, and the fact that there are so many variances between programs (I found over 60 in the 75 programs I analyzed), it got so unwieldy I put them into spreadsheets and eventually the above-mentioned website, because truth be told, even covering the various differences in this series of articles isn’t as easy as looking at spreadsheets.

After Part 1, I got a letter from a Forbes.com reader, which is below in its entirety.

“One thing I do not see addressed (although possibly you had planned on doing so in future installments) is the fact that most Jet Card programs have an hourly cost far, far higher than the hourly rates a local charter operator would charge for the same class of aircraft.”

“In addition, I would never tie up $100,000 to $150,000 or more in ‘prepaid’ travel; there’s an opportunity cost involved. I could be making more money actively investing those funds, rather than letting the Jet Card company make money off my prepaid funds. In my humble opinion, Jet Cards are a ripoff for the uninformed.”

Having done considerable research on the subject and also having written about the on-demand market, I see them as chalk and cheese. On-demand is probably the right solution for the person who charters planes infrequently, maybe a couple times a year, and does same day trips starting and ending in the same place (where you don’t have to pay for repositioning flights).  It also works better if you have a broker you trust to source the type of planes you are comfortable flying on. You can get a better rate chartering a 30-year old plane than a three-year-old aircraft for sure.  There are a number of other issues too, so I thought I would go back to several executives at companies that sell jet cards and in some cases also offer on-demand charter and put the above question to them. Answers have been edited for length and clarity.

Michael Farley, the CMO at Private Jet Services Group (PJS) wrote back to me with his answer below:

“Local operators can present savings from time to time. However, the reader better have efficient flying, meaning not one-way travel (or he will have to pay for the return flight to the base), not for a prolonged period of time (there are overnight fees or the customer pays to position the aircraft twice if trips are longer than a day or two), and of course, this is all based on the local operator having availability.  They might have one or two aircraft (but) everyone wants to fly on President’s Weekend. Actually, everyone likes to fly on most weekends! 

“If the client has flexibility in their schedule and can wait for availability, perhaps the limited fleet will not be an issue.  Ninety-nine percent of my clients do not have that type of flexibility.  I should also touch on mechanicals. A local operator is much more likely to leave you out of luck when experiencing mechanicals.  PJS provides equal or better with guaranteed recovery. Our national average (for recovery) is 1.5 hours. 

“I always recommend my clients blend their aviation solutions. I provide cost analysis often for our clients.  After analyzing much of their flying, they often realize the cost comes out equal. They just haven’t been flying with any guarantees of a national program.”

Another executive from a jet card provider who didn’t want to be named responded this way:

“Our jet card comes with $100 million in liability insurance, a certified network that is pre-screened with serious data sharing, a series of guarantees with the product, positioning costs baked in, 100% transparent rates, 24/7 Command Center, Chief Safety Officer, Peak Day availability, guaranteed interchange between sizes, customized client treatment programs, and then a series of ancillary benefits. And that’s just off the top of my head.”

Jamie Walker, CEO of Jet Linx, which only sells jet cards as a consumer product to access its fleet responded this way:

“Your reader is correct with his perspective of the cost for roundtrip flights, but not one-way flights. A local charter operator can provide a lower hourly rate, in most cases, for a roundtrip, but not for one-way flights. That said, the local charter operator is not guaranteeing the consumer availability of an aircraft at those lower hourly rates. The local charter operator is also not guaranteeing a standard of safety by an outside third party. So if the consumer does not require one-way rates or guaranteed availability and safety, the local charter operator may be a good option for them. As for the deposit, we agree, we’d rather them keep their money and invest it elsewhere too, which is why we don’t collect a deposit upfront, our clients pay as they go for the guaranteed jet card services we provide.”

JetSuite founder and CEO Alex Wilcox also responded to my email with the reader’s comments:

“Comparing quoted hourly rates with jet card rates is often apples and oranges. A local operator with a charter plane may have a low rate of say $3,000 per hour, but not disclosed is the three-hour minimum, the requirement to get the plane back to the base, and the cost plus a mark-up for services like deicing.  So the Orange County to Mammoth flight, the local operator rate is $3,000 per hour but with a three-hour minimum, so really $9,000.  The comparable jet card might charge $5,000 per hour, but that’s it. If you have to de-ice, the local FBO adds that on to your bill, maybe another $800, plus their markup. Now you used local but paid twice as much, despite the $3,000 rate.

“If it’s a same-day trip or overnight round trip, then the local charter operator may be cheaper. It would be $9,000 with the charter operator versus $10,000 with the card. Then the hygienic questions come into play: Who owns the plane? How much is the insurance coverage? Do the pilots really abide by duty time rules? Who maintains the plane? Who trained and employs the pilots?

“Jet cards come with a level of diligence and hygiene absent in many mom and pops. It’s not like Uber where we all can recognize an unsafe car or driver and get out. When you take off in a 1979 Lear 25 with an 80-year old captain and a First Officer not type rated in the jet, ‘You pays your money and you takes your chances.’”

A former boss of mine was an owner with NetJets, and certainly, if you want to compare prices, NetJets is not the cheapest. On the other hand, if you visit their Columbus operations center it’s very impressive. I always remember the salesperson telling my chairman, “You’re flying on the same planes that Warren Buffett flies on.” The comment was not about potentially sitting in the same seat as the Oracle of Omaha, but that when you flew with NetJets you could be assured they took safety seriously.

My guess is this is an emotional topic, so I certainly welcome responses. Forbes.com makes it very easy for your to comment at the end of the article, and I will definitely respond!

Author’s Note – After I posted this story, Ronald Silverman, president of VistaJet USA sent me his response, which I am adding below:

“While VistaJet is not considered a jet card (they do sell prepaid block hour programs), in our business model, the higher hourly cost versus charter is associated with the fact that VistaJet provides guaranteed availability of a consistent product.  Further, VistaJet owns the asset and thus the end user does not risk having their scheduled aircraft pulled from them at the last minute because the aircraft owner (typically an aircraft owned by a private UHNW or a corporation) requires the use of the aircraft for themselves, a scenario which I have personally been involved with on numerous occasions.”

Author’s Note – David Sneed, COO of Delta Private Jets also followed up with his take on the question. He also noted that his card members get perks from Delta Air Likes, like Diamond Medallion status, complimentary SkyClub access and discounts when flying on certain fares from its parent airline:

“Analyzing ad hoc charter pricing versus jet card pricing results in an apples to oranges comparison. This is because guaranteed availability and other benefits provided by a jet card are not available in the charter market. Delta Private Jets offers a jet card with guaranteed availability with as little as 10 hours notice and simple, all-in pricing locked in for up to two years, including landing fees, crew overnight expenses, fuel surcharges, deicing costs, and other fees common in the charter market.”

From Forbes.com article by Doug Gollan


The FlightList PRO multi-search platform which includes all 16,631 charter aircraft and 3,419 charter operators worldwide.  FlightList PRO is used by the most successful and experienced brokers and travel professionals in the industry; 80% of those using FlightList PRO have been arranging charters more than 10 years.

Air Charter Alerts by FlightList PRO, are the latest announcements in the private air charter industry about operators, brokers and charter aircraft, and geared towards active participants in the industry.

Comparison of 18 Jet Card Companies, Programs – Part of Major Jet Charter Research & Analysis

Editor’s note:  Forbes.com contributor Doug Gollan has undertaken an analysis of jet card companies for his new business providing a paid analysis of jet card programs.

The first installment takes a look at private jet cards, their companies and programs: 


Forbes.com logo

There are many ways to fly privately. Two years ago I took an in-depth look at the on-demand charter market, which at the time was being pelted by new entrants making claims that hiring a private jet would be similar to ordering an Uber. My goal was to clarify how the process actually works and hopefully leave readers feeling a bit more educated about what is a pretty complex process. It was frustrating to read so many stories where the writer was basically just going off the press release enamored by tech jargon and missing what actually goes on, the considerable human element of business aviation professionals that makes the process actually work.

If you don’t fly enough to own your own plane (typically at least 400 hours or more per year), and don’t even need to fly regularly by private aviation, the on-demand charter market generally makes sense. However, if you fly privately more than 25 hours per year, but still not enough to own your own jet or you don’t want to, the other two options are fractional ownership and private jet cards, which I will group together with prepaid private air charter programs, sometimes also called block charter.

Fractional ownership is perhaps synonymous with NetJets, which is synonymous with Warren Buffett. With fractional ownership, you are actually buying a share of a plane and typically make a three to five-year commitment. Jet cards are more flexible, a bit like filling a debit card for future private air travel. Typically you are choosing either a dollar amount or a fixed number of hours, for example, $150,000 or 25 hours.

According to Business Jet Traveler, a trade publication for jet owners and their pilots, jet cards are popular even with private jet owners who need additional lift or perhaps a plane that can fit a different mission, maybe a longer range jet, a bigger jet with more capacity or even a smaller plane that can get into out of the way airports or is more cost-effective for flights under two hours. Maybe you are using your jet during the week for business, but need to fly your spouse into your weekend house. Buy him or her a jet card. For all of the above reasons, jet cards and prepaid private air programs have become extremely popular, with estimated annual sales of about $2 billion in the U.S.

There are some very good reasons to buy a jet card or a prepaid program over just chartering. Firstly, you lock in a specific hourly price instead of having to negotiate a deal each time. Secondly, like fractional programs or owning your own plane, most (but not all) programs guarantee you access with varying parameters for advance reservations and peak periods, typically ranging from four to 24 hours. Some of the programs have put together value-added benefits for their customers ranging from VIP access at sporting events to free nights at luxury hotels and even significant credits at high-end jewelers and fashion houses.

I began to research what I thought would be a straightforward, thorough overview for Forbes.com on jet cards about nine months ago, similar to the piece I wrote about how on-demand private jet charter works. As I got started, I realized there were a lot more vagaries than I thought. As I discussed the story with various providers, it became clear for the similarities there were an array of differences.

First of all, I found 18 companies that offer either the traditional jet card or some type of pre-paid private jet charter program, including Air Partner, Inc.; Clay Lacy Aviation; Delta Private Jets, Inc.; Flexjet; Jet Linx Aviation; JetSuite; Magellan Jets; NetJets; Nicholas Air; Private Jet Services Group (PJS Group); PrivateFly; Prive Jets; Sentient Jet; Solairus Aviation; Star Jets International LLC; VistaJet; Wheels Up; and XOJET. All together, they offered 75 core programs with even more opportunities for customization.

Then as I spoke to executives at the companies and kept adding to a list of variances in the programs, any one of which could be important to you, I all of a sudden had a spreadsheet with over 60 different columns, including who owns the company, how large they are, when they were founded, the service area where you can fly, policies for flying your pets, pricing, surcharges, how much time you are charged for taxing, what type of catering is included, how they source their pilots, what type of experience the pilots need to have, what are their policies for service recovery, will you have WiFi, what type of toilet is onboard, what’s the minimum age for children traveling alone and so on.

Needless to say, it is too much to cover in one column, but to make it a bit easier to digest, I will be covering the various aspects of buying a jet card in a series of articles. If you want to jump ahead, you can visit the site I put together PrivateJetCardComparisons.com where there are nifty spreadsheets so you can quickly compare any of the 62 points of differentiation across the 18 companies and their 75 different programs.

Next I will cover who the players are and some basic background. Since the typical purchase price for a jet card starts at $100,000 (although you can get jet cards for $25,000 or less), customers like you often spend into the hundreds of thousands and millions of dollars on prepaid private jet programs, so I hope this and the subsequent installments will be helpful.

From Forbes.com article by Doug Gollan


The FlightList PRO multi-search platform which includes all 16,631 charter aircraft and 3,419 charter operators worldwide.  FlightList PRO is used by the most successful and experienced brokers and travel professionals in the industry; 80% of users have arranged charters more than 10 years, 25% more than 20 years.

Air Charter Alerts by FlightList PRO, are the latest announcements in the private air charter industry about operators, brokers and charter aircraft, and geared towards active participants in the industry.

GrandView Aviation Adds Three Jets; Only Operator at DCA Regan National

Charter operator GrandView Aviation, based in the Baltimore region, will add jet charters and expand to Ronald Reagan National Airport in Arlington, Va., making it the only charter operator at the airport, the company said Monday.

GrandView Jets will offer charter flights aboard three Phenom 300 jets, light business jets made by Embraer, said Jessica Bowling, GrandView’s director of sales & marketing. These jets can carry eight passengers and fly about 2,000 miles.

Phenom 300 jet for charter operated by Grandview Aviation

2016 Phenom 300 jet for charter operated by Grandview Aviation

“We found that the demand for charter jet and helicopter services is increasing throughout the region, particularly in the Washington, D.C. area,” Bowling said in a statement. “Opening an office at Reagan National Aiport was a natural choice for expansion as we are one of the few operators with permission to operate in and out of [Reagan].”

The new jets double GrandView’s overall fleet, which previously consisted of three Bell 430 and Bell 407 helicopters, flying from Martin State Airport and the company’s Pier 7 Heliport in Baltimore, Bowling said.

The charter operator will have two of the three jets ready this week, and the third will come in the next month or so, Bowling said.


Source:  Colin Campbell of the The Baltimore Sun, and Grandview Aviation

Other Air Charter Alert about Grandview Aviation

Membership Service Wheels Up, Charter Operator Talon Air Combine for NY-FL Shuttle

Source:  AIN Online

Charter membership firm Wheels Up is partnering with Talon Air to launch scheduled per-seat shuttle service in Talon’s super-midsize Hawker 4000s from Westchester County Airport (HPN) in White Plains, New York, to Florida’s Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport (FXE). The service, which is exclusively for Wheels Up members, begins tomorrow and costs $2,100 per seat one-way, including taxes, according to company founding partner Justin Firestone.

Membership costs:
Wheels Up membership for individuals is $17,500 annually and corporations $29,500 annually according to Corporate Jet Investor.  Annual dues (starting second year) are then $8,500 for individuals and $14,500 for corporations.  Membership then allows private flights with a fleet of King Air 350i and Citation Excel/XLS aircraft, at fixed hourly rates – the cost per hour of getting on the King Air is $3,950 per hour and the Citation Excel/XLS is $6,950 per hour according to a report from the private aviation industry resource.  Wheels Up memberships are also available from Costco; Wheels Up membership cost

Flights will leave HPN at 4 p.m. on Fridays and return at 6 p.m. on Sundays, with the exception of this holiday weekend, when the flight will return on Monday at 6 p.m. Firestone said that the shuttle service will run through March 5, but could be extended past this date depending on usage.

“This is currently the only shuttle we are running with Talon Air,” he told AIN. However, it already runs several shuttle flights in the Northeast and central California using its fleet of Beechcraft King Air 350is and Cessna Citation Excel/XLSs that are operated by Gama Aviation. In fact, Firestone said, it will be adding King Air shuttles from New York and Boston to Nantucket and Hyannis this summer, as well as other to-be-announced destinations.

A Hawker 4000 operated by Talon Air for Wheels Up shuttle service between New York and Florida.

A Hawker 4000 operated by Talon Air for Wheels Up shuttle service between New York and Florida. Photo: Talon Air

Prior Charter Alerts for Wheels Up
Wheels Up Gets $115 Million Investment From T.Rowe Price, Others
Citation Emergency, Door Opens in Flight – Live ATC recording
Wheels Up Takes Delivery of “Pink Plane In Time for October

AIN Article here; Wheels Up Partners with Talon Air on NY-Florida Shuttle

Announcing New Charter Operator Trident Aircraft, Two Phenom 100 Light Jets

Aircraft management and flight training company since 2006, Trident Aircraft, has acquired two 2013 Embraer Phenom 100 light jets, and is now operating charters in the continental U.S.

The operator and aircraft are based at KESN, Easton, MD, across the Chesapeake Bay from both Washington DC and Baltimore, MD.

From the Maryland/Washington DC area, the entire Eastern U.S. is within charter range for the Phenom 100’s, including Miami, Chicago and Minneapolis.

Trident Aircraft is safety auditor-Wyvern Registered.

Phenom 100 light jets for charter operated by Trident Aircraft, based KESN Easton, MD.

Phenom 100 light jet for charter operated by Trident Aircraft, based KESN Easton, MD.

News Source:  FlightList PRO

All Trident Aircraft charter aircraft and operator details are available in the FlightList PRO multi-search platform which includes all 16,631 charter aircraft and 3,419 charter operators worldwide.  FlightList PRO is used by the most successful and experienced brokers and travel professionals in the industry; 79% of users have arranged charters more than 10 years, 25% more than 20 years.

Air Charter Alerts by FlightList PRO, are the latest announcements in the private air charter industry about operators, brokers and charter aircraft, and geared towards active participants in the industry.

Jet Linx Reports Big 2016 Increases in Fleet, Card Holders, Miles Flown

Jet Linx Private Jet Company News, Charter NewsJet Linx Aviation, a personalized private jet operator headquartered in Omaha with 14 Base locations nationwide , finishes 2016 reporting steady growth in its client roster, total aircraft and overall operations.

This year, 32 aircraft were added to the fleet, bringing the total count to 82, ranging from light, mid, super mid and heavy jets. In addition, Jet Linx saw more than a 20 percent increase in Jet Card holders, bringing the total number to 1,200 members.

“Our growth demonstrates the need that we have filled in the private aviation industry for a more localized customer service experience with all of the advantages of a national provider,” said Jamie Walker, President and CEO of Jet Linx.

The Jet Linx full charter fleet of 72 aircraft is ONLY in the FlightList PRO  platform.

New Base Locations

Jet Linx Aviation added two new Base locations this year, expanding their presence to Nashville, Tenn. (BNA) and Fort Worth, Texas (FTW) with a local service team, planes, pilots and a private terminal (in Fort Worth). The addition of these new bases also contributed to overall team growth, with Jet Linx adding 178 team members (including pilots and day-to-day operations staff), bringing the total number of employees nationwide to over 400.

Miles Up In The Air

Jet Linx, which manages the third largest part 135 fleet, concludes 2016 with more than a 20 percent increase in miles flown since last year, totaling 58 million miles since inception. Peak travel times including the Thanksgiving season, aided in breaking previous company records, with 140 legs flown on Tuesday, Nov. 22 and 174 on Sunday, Nov. 27. On the international front, Jet Linx achieved authorization to operate in Cuba, granting Jet Card holders and aircraft owners the ability to travel to Havana and 11 other airports in Cuba upon securing the required visas.

Achieving Highest Safety Standards

Jet Linx is among the four percent of aircraft operators with an ARGUS Platinum Safety Rating, the highest safety rating by the third party auditing service which Jet Linx has maintained every year since 2005. In addition, Jet Linx attained The International Standard for Business Aircraft Operations (IS-BAO) Stage 3 certification in 2016 (the highest IS-BAO rating), which has become a globally accepted “gold seal” for business aviation operations attesting to the highest standards in safety and efficiency, placing Jet Linx in the top one percent of all operators for safety.

Source:  company press release

All Jet Linx charter aircraft and operator details are available in the FlightList PRO multi-search platform which includes all 16,631 charter aircraft and 3,419 charter operators worldwide.

First Two HondaJets Available for Charter in US

Much anticipated, HondaJets are rolling off the Honda Aircraft production line in Greensboro NC, and for the first time are now available for charter.  Two new 2016 HondaJets are now available for charter in the US.

Compared to it’s Very Light Jet (VLJ) category competition, the Citation Mustang and the Phenom 100, the HondaJet betters the field in important ways.  The faster, lighter and more fuel efficient 4-passenger jet has a cabin 20% larger cabin than its competitors, more baggage space, a faster airspeed at 420 kts, and higher cruise altitude at 43,000 feet.  In many ways, the HondaJet is a better fit up in the light jet category.

Cutter Flight Management is first to operate the 4-seat VLJ under US Part-135 charter regulations.  Two are currently available, based in the southwestern US at KPHX Phoenix, AZ and KSDL Scottsdale AZ.  Cutter is a Wyvern Registered operator, and maintains fleet, crew, and insurance information as well as verified regulatory documentation within the Wyvern’s system.  Cutter Flight Management is the aircraft management and charter arm of Cutter Aviation, provider of aviation related services and FBO operations in the Southwestern US and Colorado.

HondaJet private jet for charter

HondaJet available for charter, operated by Cutter Flight Management.

Leading the way again, FlightList PRO is the only charter sourcing platform with the HondaJet and also the full Cutter Flight Management fleet of 9 charter aircraft which includes turboprops, light, midsize and heavy jets.

The HondaJet being uniquely Honda, instead of using engines from other manufacurers, the company began developing its own engine in partnership with GE Aviation ultimately creating the GE-Honda HF20 turbofan engine.  The HA-420 HondaJet is powered by two over-wing mounted HF120 turbofans, each producing 1,997 pounds of thrust.  The engine mounts atop the wings are constructed of metal.  The natural laminar flow wings terminate in sizable winglets. The HondaJet’s fuselage is made of carbon fiber, and its flight deck is built around Garmin’s touchscreen-capable G3000 suite.

The HondaJet cabin and baggage capabilities:

The cabin area is a 12.1-foot-long space that provides plenty of room for passengers. The club seating arrangement gives ample legroom and is spacious for a VLJ, with opposing passenger knees completely out of range.  The hum of the  HF120s can be heard with the lavatory doors open, but with them closed, it is significantly quieter than almost any other light jet.

The lav is also far superior to that of many light jets, some of which section the toilet area off with a simple curtain.  While the HondaJet’s lavatory is not huge by any stretch, it provides complete privacy, a nice sink with a faucet activated by a motion sensor, and two skylights providing natural light and a unique perspective of the skies above.

One benefit of having the engines mounted on the wings is that the HondaJet has an exceptionally large luggage compartment for an airplane in the light-jet category.  The rear compartment is 57 cubic feet and holds up to 400 pounds, which is more than many light jets and some midsize jets.  There is plenty of space to load large suitcases without trouble.

The aircraft also has a 9-cubic-foot cargo area in the nose, capable of carrying up to 100 pounds. Neither of the cargo spaces is pressurized, however, so toothpaste and any liquid materials may want to stay inside the cabin.

Charter a HondaJet light jet

HondaJet operated by Cutter Flight Management, one of the first available for charter worldwide.

There is no question HondaJet’s very light jet  competes directly with the Cessna’s Citation Mustang, Embraer’s Phenom 100 in the charter market, and even some Citation and Learjet light jets.

There are now 25 aircraft on the production line at Honda Aircraft’s facility at the Piedmont Triangle International Airport in Greensboro, NC, which now employs 1,700. Honda expects to have delivered between 40 and 50 aircraft by the end of 2016, ultimately ramping up to 75 aircraft in 2017.

All HondaJets for charter as well as the full Cutter Flight Management charter fleet are available in the FlightList PRO platform which includes all 16,631 charter aircraft and 3,419 charter operators worldwide.

Sources:  Cutter Flight Management, Flying, Forbes online

JetSmarter Becomes First Business Aviation Unicorn

From Corporate Jet Investor, 12/16/16:

JetSmarter this week raised $105 million in funding, at what it says is a $1.5 billion pre-money valuation. This makes it the first business aviation unicorn (a private company with a valuation of $1 billion).

The company said the Series C funds came from new investors  including an Abu Dhabi  growth equity fund, operator JetEdge, London venture capital firm KZ Capital, and a Qatar private equity fund. Some existing investors also participated, although possibly at a different valuation.

The $1.5 billion valuation is astonishing.

An online charter market, Avinode, estimates the total value of the global business aviation charter market at between $10 billion and $12 billion a year – although this does not include flight sharing, something that JetSmarter is pioneering.

Uber – which claims to have raised funds at more than a $62 billion valuation – is the most valuable and best known of more than 170 Unicorns (although many analysts disagree with many of the valuations of companies on this list). Although JetSmarter is often referred to as being like Uber for business jets, it has a very different model. JetSmarter sells first year memberships at $15,000 and says it has more than 6,700 members.

Members can book normal private charter, fly for free on regular shuttle services, charter shared flights and fly for free on empty legs. It does not own aircraft, instead chartering them from operators like XOJET, JetEdge and others.

The company says that it will use the new cash to launch new scheduled shuttles as well as launch in Asia and South America.

This is arguably the biggest business aviation story of 2016. JetSmarter was launched in 2012 and is now apparently valued at $1.5 billion. In comparison, Textron – the parent of Cessna which builds aircraft used by JetSmarter and was founded in 1927 – has a market cap of $13.6 billion.

Source:  Alasdair Whyte, Corporate Jet Investor, 12/16/16

New to Charter 19-Seat Gulfstream G-V, One of Only Five Such Capacity Executive Jets in U.S.

ExcelAire charter operatorNew to the U.S., a Gulfstream V seating 19 passengers is now available for charter based in New York and operated by ExcelAire, LLC.

The addition is one of only two 19-passenger executive jets available for charter from the Northeast U.S., and one of only five 19-passenger executive jets available across the U.S., according to FlightList PRO’s search-by-country function.

ExcelAire’s new Gulfstream V offers passengers premium comfort, with a unique design that can seat 19 passengers and three crew. The ExcelAire Gulfstream V is equipped with the newest Gogo Wi-Fi system that is enabled to provide Gogo Biz 4G, when that service rolls out in 2017. The new service will feature Gogo Vision, providing the latest movies, TV, flight tracker and weather reports along with reliable web browsing.

ExcelAire‘s full fleet of 10 aircraft is available only in FlightList PRO.

“With the addition of this new Gulfstream V, we are now providing our clients with one of the only 19-passenger GV jets available for charter,” said Robert Molsbergen, President of ExcelAire. “In addition to the GV, we plan to add two more jets to our fleet this year, providing our clients with the ultimate private jet charter experience, and the best-in-class team of private jet travel professionals.”

The new G-V brings ExcelAire’s charter fleet to ten heavy and ultra long range jets; eight based in New York, plus one in Columbus, OH and one in Oakland, CA.

19-passenger Gulfstream G-V for charter, operated by ExcelAire, LLC.19-passenger Gulfstream G-V for charter, operated by ExcelAire, LLC.

Source: company press release

Jet Linx/ProJet Alliance Expands Jet Linx Operations, Aircraft to D.C. Area

Jet Linx Aviation announced it has formed a strategic alliance with ProJet Aviation, to assume ProJet’s managed fleet of aircraft to grow its presence in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area.

As a result, Jet Linx has expanded its service operations to include three area airports including the Jet Linx private terminal at Dulles International Airport (IAD), Manassas Regional Airport (HEF) and now Leesburg Executive Airport (KJYO) where ProJet provides FBO/flight support services including over 75,000 sq. ft. of hangar and office space. In addition, Jet Linx has recruited 15 of ProJet’s team members, including pilots, maintenance, and client service agents.

jet-linx“The addition of ProJet’s fleet to our already growing fleet of aircraft in the D.C. metropolitan area reinforces our commitment to provide the best local service to our clients,” said Jamie Walker, President & CEO of Jet Linx. “Strategically, Leesburg is the closest General Aviation Jetport to Dulles and Virginia’s horse and wine country, making ProJet an ideal partner for us and for our Jet Card clients and aircraft owners in the area.”

Jet Linx full fleet of 72 aircraft is ONLY available in FlightList PRO.

ProJet will continue its FBO services at Leesburg Executive Airport and the Jet Linx D.C. team will operate out of a private terminal facility that is part of the ProJet FBO campus.

Members of the ProJet staff have already joined the Jet Linx team, including its current COO, Josh Rosenblatt, who will serve as Executive Vice President of the Jet Linx D.C. operations, reporting to Base President, Greg Kinsella.

“Through our strategic alliance with Jet Linx, ProJet can focus on the expansion and improvement of our award-winning FBO/Flight Support business,” said Shye Gilad, President & CEO of ProJet Aviation. “The presence and quality of the Jet Linx fleet strengthens Leesburg’s reputation as the private aviation destination of choice for the DC Metro region.”

Jet Linx has flown 50 million miles since its inception and today manages the third largest part 135 fleet with 78 total aircraft ranging from light, mid, super mid and heavy jet aircraft across the nation. The local fleet in Jet Linx D.C. includes a Hawker 900XP and a Lear 60 at their private terminal in Dulles, a Falcon 900 at Manassas Regional Airport, and a Challenger 604, and Hawker 800XP at Leesburg Executive Airport.

Jet Linx Aviation boasts local, private terminals in 14 cities spanning from East to West, guaranteeing service “from” and “to” anywhere in the United States, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean, including Cuba. Jet Linx also provides international service to Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and South America.

Jet Linx is among the four percent who have earned an ARGUS Platinum Safety Rating, the highest safety rating awarded to an operator which has been presented to Jet Linx every year since 2005. In addition, Jet Linx attained the International Standard for Business Aircraft Operations (IS-BAO) Stage 3 certification this year (the highest IS-BAO rating), which has become a globally accepted “gold seal” for business aviation operations attesting to the highest standards in safety and efficiency, placing Jet Linx in the top one percent of all operators for safety.

Source:  Jet Linx press release

Largest VLJ Air Taxi Operator Is Created With Wijet Acquisition of Blink

Air-taxi firm Wijet is acquiring very light jet (VLJ) charter operator Blink, forming “the world’s largest” VLJ air-taxi provider, the european companies announced. The transaction will result in a new company, Wijet Group, with a combined fleet of 15 Cessna Citation Mustangs. Blink will join Wijet on the real-time european booking platform OpenJet.

The Wijet and Blink fleets and operator info is available in FlightList PRO.

Wijet Group, the holding company for Blink UK and Wijet France, will have joint CEOs: Corentin Denoeud and Cameron Ogden. Combined, it will have €18 million in revenues this year, and this is forecast to rise to €28 million, with 11,000 flights and 16,000 passengers, next year.

Blink and Wijet have operations in London, Paris and northern Italy. “By combining the two companies, the joint customer base will provide strong demand across western Europe,” the companies said. In addition, Blink’s established maintenance and operations capability will remain in the UK and Italy, while Wijet will continue to service its client base from Paris, along with key head office functions.

Initially, the aircraft will continue to operate under the Blink and Wijet colors before “gradually merging” into a new combined brand.

Source:  Aviation International News

Phenom 100 Scheduled Service Launched by JetSuiteX

New public charter service JetSuiteX is introducing service between Carlsbad and San Jose, CA, starting October 17th. JetSuiteX is offering “private jet travel” but is sold by the seat at commercial rates. Seat fares for the new San Diego County – Bay Area route will begin at $499 each way, according to a press release by the company.

Image: JetSuite

JetSuite Phenom 100 aircraft.  Image: JetSuite

JetSuiteX will connect McClellan–Palomar Airport with Mineta San José International Airport with four roundtrip flights per week – a 7:45am departure from Carlsbad and a 5:00pm return flight from San Jose – on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, on a four-seat Phenom 100 aircraft. The public charter operator launched service in April, and currently offers regular flights on 30-seat E135 aircraft in major west coast markets, including Las Vegas, Burbank and Concord in the East Bay.

Flight frequency along JetSuiteX’s other San Jose “Tech Charter” route to Burbank will also increase starting on October 17th, with two round-trip flights daily and fares starting from $129 each way.

“We are thrilled to introduce service between San Diego County and the Bay Area, adding yet another JetSuiteX destination,” said JetSuite CEO Alex Wilcox. “Our new route is the first publicly available non-stop service to the Bay Area in at least 20 years. This service, in combination with our BurbankSan Jose service and seasonal San JoseBozeman, MT route will make San Jose a cornerstone of JetSuiteX offerings.”

JetSuiteX provides many of the comforts usually associated with private jet travel but for the price of a traditional airline seat, offering:

  • Private jet terminals (FBOs) so the experience is faster and more comfortable, with no airport terminal delays, security lines, waiting for gates or long walks through terminals;
  • 4, 6, and 30 seat jets, each with legroom comparable to domestic airlines’ business class service;
  • Individual power outlets;
  • Free WiFi and inflight entertainment onboard streamed to passengers’ personal devices, and;
  • A spacious, extra soundproofed cabin interior covered in soft leather.

Unlike alternative offerings, JetSuiteX clients don’t need to pay a monthly subscription, or travel in small propeller airplanes.

Source:  Company press release

Forbes.com article: Air Charter, Brokers, Operators, Marketing; the digitalization and democratization of private jet travel

The digitalization and democratization of private jet travel; brokers, operators, marketing, apps, PR.

Is XOJET Finally Solving The X’s And O’s Of Private Jet E-Commerce And Democratization?

By Doug Gollan, Sept 22, 2016, Forbes.com

Forbes.com logoThis column will cover the digitalization and democratization of private jet travel, two of the hottest topics in private aviation, but one where the PR spin often operates at a much higher altitude than reality. It’s a somewhat complicated story that doesn’t fit neatly into a tidy box, so let’s start with a bit of background.

Lot’s of private jet brokers have invoked Uber in launching their booking apps. And true, like Uber, these brokers neither own nor operate the aircraft they are selling flights on. However, the process of securing a private jet is not nearly as streamlined as you tapping on your smartphone, having a driver four blocks away press accept, and show up seven minutes later.

The process of chartering a private jet involves lots of people, expensive and highly sensitive assets, and lots of moving pieces. There is you, the person who wants to charter the plane. Your assistant is probably involved as well, getting quotes, and dealing with logistics such as catering, names and IDs for the manifest, coordinating ground transport, and coordinating the FBOs (private jet terminals) you are using. There are also the people traveling with you, who need to know where to be and at what time.

xojet1

If you are traveling with lots of luggage, somebody needs to check how many golf bags the plane will take? Range of planes varies based on load. Weather and altitude of the airport you are flying in and out of impacts jet performance. The heavier the plane with passengers, baggage, and fuel, the more fuel burned, thus the shorter distance it can fly. Prevailing winds might require the aircraft type you favor to need a fuel stop in certain months of the year. Do you care what type of lavatory your plane has? Some have only a pull around the curtain, others are closeted off. Some, even at that are fairly small. Do you have any extra tall travelers? Private aircraft are tubes, some of which might be uncomfortable for very tall travelers. Larger jets have more headroom. If you have pets or kids, again, that can be an issue.

All 7,598 charter aircraft and 1,633 operators are available ONLY in FlightList PRO.

Most of the 7,000 private aircraft in the U.S. licensed for charter are owned by individuals or companies that then hire aircraft management companies to operate the planes on their behalf, including working with thousands of third party brokers to charter the plane when the owner isn’t using it. In other words, the broker is dealing with a management company, not the actual owner in many cases. Each owner has his or her own set of contractual rules when it comes to chartering their planes. Some don’t want pets or kids. Others only want to charter their jets for longer flights. Expensive maintenance is driven by the number of landings and takeoffs, so an owner might not want to charter her new $50 million Gulfstream for short hops between Boston and New York, but would be OK if you want to go to London or Los Angeles.

What’s more, in securing a specific plane for a charter, availability can be impacted by unscheduled maintenance issues that come up between when you book your charter and when you fly, as well as weather issues, crew availability and so forth. Sometimes the owner decides he wants to use his jet on short notice. Unlike commercial airlines with sophisticated fleet management systems and large pools of similar planes and crew they can shuffle around, owners often configure their jets slightly differently, to their own needs and tastes, of course. Cockpits are not always configured the same and differ by age of the jet, so if one jet goes tech, and your broker finds a replacement, the operator needs to find crew qualified to operate it and get it positioned to where you are being picked up.

All of the above makes the idea of a simple click-and-buy “Uber” for private jets app an oft-used, but empty analogy as management companies generally need owner approvals or need to see if they will make exceptions, a manual process.  It’s also just a very complicated process, where as a consumer, there are some true benefits of dealing with an expert broker who is familiar with the various charter fleets, where they are based, and which planes are generally available.

That said, there are exceptions to the above. Some owners give management companies carte blanche, and then there are several fleet operators that own the planes they fly and make them available for on-demand charter without any upfront fees. Two of the largest operators that own their jets are XOJET and TMC, which together have over 100 jets, 41 and 65 respectively. As of June, they now have common ownership via TPG Capital, although they continue to operate independently. Other big players in the on-demand charter market that own the jets they operate are VistaJet and JetSuite. WheelsUp is similar, with the difference is you have to pay a membership fee and its focus is turboprops.

The second issue is “democratization” of private jet travel. Another term used liberally in private aviation company press releases, it underscores that such descriptors are relative when democracy comes at a price of $4,000 per hour. Compared to shelling out tens of millions to buy a jet, millions of dollars for fractional ownership, or hundreds of thousands for a jet card, yes there has been progress.

xojetBradley Stewart, the President, and CEO of XOJET, describes the traditional market for private jet travel as “the top 10 percent of the one percent,” so folks with a net worth of $30 million and annual incomes in the multiple millions of dollars.

At the same time, SurfAir and JetSuiteX, a JetSuite offshoot, have been expanding the market with hybrid models. Each fly what are essentially scheduled services using FBOs, thus enabling customers to show up 15 minutes before their flight and jump aboard, leaving behind airport hassles, a key benefit of private travel. In the case of the former, it’s a membership model where you pay $1,950 per month, then fly as much as you want on its network, principally within California. With the latter, you simply buy a seat at prevailing fares on its website, similar to booking a commercial flight. Fares run as low as $129. Its routes right now are mainly in the West, and by next year at this time expects to have 10 Embraer 135s with 30 seats buzzing around. Travel blogger The Points Guy wrote of his JSX flight “not dealing with TSA was a huge plus.”

In both cases, you are buying a seat or the opportunity to reserve a seat. There are other passengers on the flight. Seating is closer to commercial airline economy class than Donald Trump’s Boeing 757, and there is a set departure time you need to be there for, or you miss the flight…

Full Forbes.com Article Here

The author Doug Gollan is Founder and Editor-in-Chief of DG Amazing Experiences, an e-newsletter for private jet owners.

Charter Operator Solairus Aviation Named One Of Best Places To Work

Charter operator and aircraft management firm Solairus Aviation was named as one of the Best Places to Work by the North Bay Business Journal.

Solairus is one of ten Best Places to Work award-winners who appeared for the first time in the 2016 survey.

Solairus Aviation jet charterSolairus Aviation (2009, 84 employees) specializes in aviation asset management and optimization solutions, and offers private jet charter flight services at 40 U.S. locations.


Excerpt from NORTH BAY BUSINESS JOURNAL, Sept 19, 2016;

bestplacestoworkSOLAIRUS AVIATION

FIRST-TIME WINNER

PETALUMA — Focused on delivering exceptional private jet charter flight services and outstanding asset optimization solutions that go above and beyond standard offerings, Solairus Aviation is an aviation services company with 40 base locations in the U.S. whose core business is assisting owners with the safe, reliable, and economical operation of their aircraft.

“My company recognizes the contribution of the individual as well as the contributions of our team of 84 employees with equal fervor. There is a philosophy in place of doing what is necessary to improve the company by improving the individuals within.“

Co-owner John King says, “It’s the most entrepreneurial environment with a group of employees who rally around a shared vision with the enthusiasm of providing quality to our clients. The Solairus’ culture fosters teamwork and individuality with a wellness philosophy to support the growth and development of each employee.”

Management has grown the company be a world-class operation with a human touch. “Our CEO Daniel Drohan personally researches and sends out an email, every holiday, acknowledging those who are working the holiday and thanks them for their support — How cool is that!”

Solairus has a realistic and thorough training praised by the staff. “I’ve never felt rushed or overwhelmed during my training. The company has allowed me to develop and flourish in my position at a sustainable speed.”

“From the clients to the crew, everyone wants to do right by the people who make up this company.”

Source: North Bay Business Journal, Gary Quackenbush / Brad Bollinger

Charter Operators Clay Lacy Aviation and Key Air Merge

Van Nuys, California-based aircraft charter, management, FBO and maintenance firm Clay Lacy Aviation is merging with Key Air, an aircraft management and charter company in Oxford, Connecticut. The Keystone Aviation FBO, a sister company of Key Air, is not part of the transaction.

The entire fleets of both Clay Lacy Aviation and Key Air are ONLY available in FlightList PRO.

After a transition period, the combined company will move forward as Clay Lacy Aviation, representing more than 75 aircraft in 15 U.S. locations, along with FBOs and maintenance centers in Van Nuys and Seattle and standalone maintenance centers in Carlsbad, California, and Oxford. A Clay Lacy spokesman told AIN that integration of the two companies is under way at the U.S. FAA level and should be completed by year-end.

“Our clients asked us for a larger presence in New York, and this is the first of several strategic steps to expand our East Coast services,” said Clay Lacy Aviation president Brian Kirkdoffer. “We now have a team of aviation experts on both coasts, focused on providing safety, service and value in the business aviation industry.”

From:  AIN Aviation International News

Twelve Jets Join Clay Lacy Aviation Fleet

Clay-LacyClay Lacy Aviation, one of the world’s largest charter operators and aircraft managers, announced it has added twelve business jets to its expanding fleet since the start of 2016. The new additions include seven long-range, large-cabin aircraft, two super-midsize jets, and three light jets from Bombardier, Dassault Falcon, Embraer and Gulfstream. Nine of these aircraft will be available for private jet charter.

The entire Clay Lacy fleet and operator details are available ONLY in FlightList PRO.

Joining the Clay Lacy jet charter fleet in Los Angeles are a Bombardier Global Express, Gulfstream GV, Falcon 900EX EASy, Falcon 2000, Challenger 300Gulfstream G200 and a Learjet 45. Also for private jet charter are an Embraer Legacy 600 in Las Vegas and a Learjet 45XR in Portland, Oregon.

Source:  Clay Lacy Aviation Press Release

A State-By-State Guide To Private Jet Travel

by Doug Gollan, Forbes.com 8/26/16

Florida, followed by Texas and California had the most private jet departures over the past six months, according to a report released earlier this week by ARGUS International, a company that tracks private aviation activity. Of course, the report needs a bit of context. New York is only ranked seventh, but many Manhattanites use Teterboro Airport in New Jersey for their private jet flying. New Jersey was ranked fourth. Vermont had the lowest activity, with only 2,007 departures during the period.

Articulated another way, the 135,338 departures in the period from Florida equate to 722 flights per day. American Airlines, which operates the largest hub in the state, at Miami International Airport, has 352 daily departures.

A growing number of private jets sit parked at Scottsdale Airport back in February. With the Phoenix Open PGA golf tournament in town the private jet traffic into the Phoenix-area airports was expected to increase. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Overall, during the six months, ARGUS tracked 1,293,348 U.S. private aviation departures over the six month period. American Airlines, operating about 6,700 flights per day, would have operated about 1,250,000 flights worldwide during the same period. United Airlines puts its daily departures at 4,550, so 850,000 departures every six months. Southwest says it operates 3,900 flights per day, or 729,300 flights every six months. So one point you can take away, is that while private aviation is a fragmented industry, its combined flying based on departures, would rank it alongside the largest U.S. airlines.

The report tracks aircraft operated under Part 91, which includes corporate flight departments and fractional operators, and Part 135, which covers the companies that offer private aircraft charter.

Among some of the other interesting data points, Thursday is the most popular day for flying privately, followed by Wednesday and Friday. Also, nine of the 10 busiest days were Thursdays, the exception being Friday before President’s Day.

Overall, private aviation activity increased five out of six months with flights rising by 3.1 percent, and flight hours up by 2.7 percent, meaning shorter flights, a possible reflection that the biggest times savings of flying privately are on shorter flights where when flying commercially a disproportionate amount of time is wasted getting in and out of the airport.

ARGUS is also bullish for the next three months, projecting a 3.4 percent increase in flights for the August to October period.

Departures January to June 2016:

State Departures
1 Florida 135,338
2 Texas 129,458
3 California 129,220
4 New Jersey 48,124
5 Georgia 47,644
6 Colorado 42,472
7 New York 40,523
8 Illinois 38,955
9 North Carolina 35,943
10 Ohio 32,478
11 Arizona 31,466
12 Tennessee 30,449
13 Virginia/DC 28,723
14 Pennsylvania 27,685
15 Michigan 26,012
16 Missouri 23,660
17 Nevada 23,560
18 Louisiana 21,723
19 Minnesota 21,720
20 Massachusetts 21,371
21 South Carolina 21,297
22 Indiana 20,886
23 Kansas 20,406
24 Alabama 20,353
25 Wisconsin 19,575
26 Washington 18,340
27 Arkansas 16,447
28 Oklahoma 16,310
29 Oregon 15,063
30 Maryland 14,316
31 Nebraska 13,761
32 Utah 13,527
33 Kentucky 13,382
34 New Mexico 13,090
35 Iowa 12,458
36 Mississippi 12,209
37 Montana 11,198
38 Alaska 10,882
39 South Dakota 10,649
40 Idaho 9,895
41 Wyoming 9,183
42 North Dakota 8,591
43 Connecticut 7,580
44 Hawaii 6,082
45 New Hampshire 4,865
46 West Virginia 4,740
47 Maine 4,258
48 Delaware 3,226
49 Rhode Island 2,248
50 Vermont 2,007

See the article at Forbes.com
by Doug Gollan, contributor