Tag Archives: Private Aviation News

The Future For Charter – XOJET, Part 3

By Alasdair Whyte, June 16, 2017, Corporate Jet Investor

Part 1 – An overview and brief history of XOJet touching on its strategic goals and fleet
Part 2 – The Six Principals of Owned Charter

Part 3

The future for charter

With XOJET, his consultancy background and a place on the JetSmarter board, CEO Brad Stewart has a wide view of the US business aviation market. He also spends a lot of time thinking about it.

“There are three key themes at the moment,” says Stewart. “Private airlines like Surf Air or JetSuiteX offering fixed schedules; digital brokerage like JetSmarter, Victor and others; and plane sharing.”

He is not convinced all of them will necessarily succeed. “As a former consultant to United I know how tough the airline market is. Airlines have trouble making money when they cannot fill aircraft. It is much harder with five or six passengers and smaller aircraft,” says Stewart. “But we are not in this market so I don’t know how big it can become.”

Stewart is also unsure if selling individual seats on other routes will work.

“Plane sharing is still unknown.”

“Plane sharing is still unknown. It seems to work on some fixed routes but I am not sure how big this,” says Stewart. “But we are seeing JetSmarter and Wheels Up try it.”

Although he is watching new business models closely he does not see any direct competitors. “We operate in a very different market. Our customers are prepared to pay more for a whole aircraft and have customers with very different requirements,” says Stewart.

XOJet and its 41-aircraft fleet are included in both the Aircraft Search and the Floating Fleets sections of FlightList PRO‘s multi-search platform along with all 232 floating fleet aircraft and 14 operators.  Free 30-day trials available here.

But he is convinced that digital brokers will shape the industry.  “Digital brokerage is the idea that customers can push a button and get a jet. This is happening. This is a real thing. You have to have an app and online offering.”

JetSmarter announced what it called a strategic partnership with XOJET in 2016. JetSmarter favours XOJET aircraft when its customers charter mid-size aircraft and JetSmarter is developing an app for XOJET customers. Significant XOJET customers – ones spending more than $200,000 a year – also get free membership of JetSmarter.

Stewart is a member of JetSmarter’s board and believes that tech company is not understood by many in the market. “JetSmarter is first and foremost a digital story and secondly a plane story,’ he says. “JetSmarter is the undisputed leader in business aviation.

Private equity typically does not hold on for 10 years but Stewart says that XOJET’s investors  and co-owners TPG and Mubadala are prepared to wait.  “TPG is a wonderful investor,” he says. “We are responsible for getting a great return but there is no pressure for us to sell.” He is an adviser to TPG on aviation and points to its investment in TMC as its support for the sector.

“I am not the sort of person who is jealous of someone with a washboard stomach.

He laughs when asked if he is  jealous of JetSmarter’s valuation. “I am not the sort of person who is jealous of someone with a washboard stomach. My parents taught me to be happy with what I have and I am very proud of XOJET.”

He adds: “It is fantastic being responsible for a whole enterprise. I wake up in the morning and go to run a $500 million business with thousands of clients who are interesting people. It is also satisfying seeing how the business has changed,” says Stewart, “and we have not reached our full potential yet.”

By Alasdair Whyte, Corporate Jet Investor

Part 3 of 3

Source:  Alasdair Whyte, Corporate Jet Investor, 6/16/17

All 41 XOJet charter aircraft 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; 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.

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The Six Principals of Owned Charter – XOJET, Part 2

By Alasdair Whyte, June 16, 2017, Corporate Jet Investor

Part 1 was an overview and brief history of XOJet touching on its strategic goals and fleet.

Part 2

The six principles of owned charter

The majority of aircraft that are used for charter in the US are owned by individuals or companies that make them available when they do not need them. This means that most charter companies do not worry about ownership costs. XOJET is one of a relatively small number of charter operators that own aircraft.

Despite ownership costs, XOJET CEO Brad Stewart believes that there are benefits from an owned fleet.  As a former management consultant, he has identified six principles that an owner-operator needs to be profitable. These are: a closed loop network; a floating fleet; high utilization; direct distribution to customers; dynamic pricing; and scale advantages. Although he highlights that these principles may not work for new aircraft.

XOJET meets all of these tests.

More than 80% of passengers on XOJET aircraft come from its own sales team, including its programs. The company says that it sold more than 950 programs in 2016. This program includes Preferred Access (for a refundable $100,000 deposit); Elite Access (guaranteeing availability at 12 hour notice for $200,000 deposit and $8,500 hourly fee including fees and surcharges); and an Enterprise Access for corporates.

In the last few years, XOJET has also added sales offices in New York and Los Angeles to boost its direct sales. It is also about to open a new office in Palm Beach, Florida. This is on top of its headquarters in San Francisco and an operations centre in Sacramento.

XOJet and its 41-aircraft fleet are included in the Floating Fleets section of FlightList PRO‘s multi-search platform along with all 232 floating fleet aircraft and 14 operators.  Free 30-day trials available here.

Most of the 20% of passengers that it does not sell directly come from charter bookings made from broker Sentient Jet (part of Directional Capital) and JetSmarter – both XOJET preferred partners.

XOJET boosts its utilization by not basing aircraft at one airport and having just two types (this also saves on crew and maintenance costs).

He believes any owner-operator needs a minimum of 15 aircraft. XOJET now has a fleet of 41 super midsize aircraft (GMJ has another six). In January 2017 TPG also acquired TMC, which had been XOJET’s preferred travel provider for a number of years. TMC has another 55 aircraft. He does not plan to order any more aircraft for XOJET soon.

He has no plans to launch XOJET outside the US but he is keen to add aircraft management – something the company stopped focusing on in 2006.

“We have clients who are flying a lot and we can help advise them on the pros and cons of owning an aircraft versus program,” says Stewart. “We have a fantastic platform and can offer owners great service. And it fits into our advisory strength.”

He says that the company can launch management itself but is also interested in acquiring significant management companies.

By Alasdair Whyte, Corporate Jet Investor

Part 2 of 3

Source:  Alasdair Whyte, Corporate Jet Investor, 6/16/17

All 41 XOJet charter aircraft 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; 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.

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Brad Stewart’s Next Plan for XOJET, Part 1 – Overview

By Alasdair Whyte, June 16, 2017, Corporate Jet Investor

Brad Stewart, CEO and Chairman of XOJet.

Photo: Corporate Jet Investor

Brad Stewart’s business card simply says CEO and chairman, XOJET.

But he actually runs three different companies. There is XOJET, the fleet operator; the company’s Aviation Advisors, XOJET Private Client Services – the charter brokerage; and GMJ Shuttle, which operates corporate shuttles for Fortune 100 companies. He is now looking at adding aircraft management.

“These are all very different businesses but they are connected and stronger together,” says Stewart. “At one level the brokerage and XOJET’s fleet operations are both about advising and serving customers. There is a real synergy there. XOJET and GMJ – no one ever focuses on GMJ – are also the best operators of aircraft in the world – with the highest return on capital in the industry. They do not have to be under the same brand to benefit from synergies.

Stewart says that the three companies also benefit from scale including sharing a management team.

XOJet and its 41-aircraft fleet are included in the Floating Fleets section of FlightList PRO‘s multi-search platform along with all 232 floating fleet aircraft and 14 operators.  Get your free 30-day trial here.

He says that he wants XOJET to be seen as a trusted adviser for individuals and companies looking to fly. This can include using XOJET aircraft or a fleet of 1,087 aircraft that have been vetted by his team. In 2016 much of the charter brokerage was focused on smaller or larger aircraft than XOJET operates. The company says that light jet and heavy jet charter was up 22%.

The three different businesses also give the company diversity. GMJ Shuttle runs corporate flights for large Fortune 100 businesses – a stable, profitable but slow growing division. Charter broking is profitable, relatively low-risk but low margin. XOJET – which owns its aircraft – is a riskier business with potentially higher rewards.

The company was founded in 2002 as PCMT by tech entrepreneur Paul Touw (now launching charter market Stellar). In 2006 it was renamed XOJET and ordered 12 new Cessna Citation X aircraft. In 2007 it raised finance from TPG – one of the greatest aviation investors ever – and Abu Dhabi fund Tasameem. It used this cash to placed orders for new aircraft including one for 20 Bombardier Challenger 300 jets worth $450 million. By 2012 it planned to be operating a fleet of 127 aircraft worth $3.1 billion. In April 2008 XOJET announced its international plans.

But then the global financial crisis hit. Demand for business jet charter fell sharply. The company was forced to change its business plan. Touw left (he has since launched Stellar a business jet charter marketplace). Stewart came in as adviser in 2010 and was promoted to president in 2013. “XOJET was effectively bankrupt in 2009 and 2010,” says Stewart. “The business model was not capable of surviving a terrible market so the company restructured in 2011 and 2012. It is much stronger now.”

The company had sales of more than $300 million in 2016 and Stewart says that it has been profitable for three years.

Part 1 of 3

By Alasdair Whyte, Corporate Jet Investor

Source:  Alasdair Whyte, Corporate Jet Investor, 6/16/17

All 41 XOJet charter aircraft 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; 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.

Post a comment!

Jackson Hole Airport to get Second FBO, Fuel and Services Compeition

By Mike Koshmrl, from Jackson Hole News&Guide, 6/7/17

Private aircraft owners will soon have more options for buying jet fuel and renting hangar space at Jackson Hole Airport.

An application submitted by Wyoming Jet Center has spurred the airport’s board to find a second fixed-base operation to vie with Jackson Hole Aviation, a business that hasn’t had a competitor in decades. The decision to go with two FBOs was made at the airport’s May board meeting. Because of Federal Aviation Administration rules, there was not much choice in the matter, Director Jim Elwood said.

“We’re being forced down this road by FAA regulations,” Elwood said. “The FAA, as we understand it, is very clear in saying that competition needs to be accommodated and should be accommodated.”

Wyoming Jet Center will not receive the business opportunity outright.

Instead, in the weeks ahead airport staff will develop a request for proposals that will allow companies from around the country to bid for the chance to do business in Jackson Hole.

“Given the number of additional inquiries on top of the one we received from Wyoming Jet Center, we thought it would be prudent to go out for bid,” Elwood said. “We’re trying to determine the exact level of interest.”

Jackson Hole Aviation FBO at Jackson Hole Airport

A second FBO (fixed-based operator) will soon be doing business at Jackson Hole Airport to provide competition for private aircraft fueling and services. Photo: New Flight Charters Jackson Hole

Jackson Hole Aviation fought the prospect of facing competition, delivering a short presentation to the airport’s board. General Manager Matt Wright said in an interview that having two fixed-based operations was a “failed experiment of the past.”

“I understand where the airport’s coming from, but obviously we’d like to protect our business,” Wright said. “We think that adding a second FBO creates serious safety issues. Maybe more importantly, there’s the increases in aircraft movement and the corresponding noise that it would create.”

Elwood disagreed.

“We’re not anticipating this impacting the volume or numbers of aircraft coming and going from the airport,” he said. “The quantity of aircraft that have interest in coming into Jackson is finite. … They’re not going to turn it into a fuel stop.”

Wyoming Jet Center’s Greg Herrick, a seasonal West Bank resident, was pleased with the board’s decision, though he would have preferred that his application be processed without facing competing bids.

“Competition is a good thing,” Herrick said. “It improves capacity at the airport for handling general aviation traffic, which will enhance safety, we believe. There’s also the economics that competition brings to the table.

“The fuel prices are among the highest in the Rocky Mountains right now,” he said, “and we think a little competition is going to bring those prices down.”

An economic analysis Herrick presented to the airport’s board contended that the jet fuel prices have suffered because of a monopoly. The price per gallon of Jet-A fuel, $6.66 recently, was $1.56 more than Driggs, Idaho, and $2.41 more than Alpine, according to Wyoming Jet Center.

“From our analysis in 2016, there were 1.8 million gallons, roughly, of Jet-A pumped for general aviation aircraft,” Herrick said. “We projected the gross profit margin on that to be well over $8 million. The airport received $219,220 of that, and the national park that leased the land received $3,218.

“$3,200 versus $8 million,” he said.

Jackson Hole Aviation’s Wright said its prices are comparable to those at other resort airports.

But “egregious” is the word the president of an advocacy group for small plane owners used to describe the current price of Jackson Hole Airport’s jet fuel.

“If you had two or three FBOs servicing the airport, you’d probably see fuel prices in the $3 to $4 range,” Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association President Mark Baker said. “I applaud the Jackson Hole Airport board for taking the initiative and understanding what it means to bring more people to your town and experience the great outdoors there by making it fair.”

Baker said he fields many complaints about Jackson Hole Aviation’s fuel prices and fees from his membership.

“Jackson Hole is one of the top-20 complaint areas,” he said.

Herrick’s pitch included a commitment to giving 15 percent of revenue from aircraft parking fees back to the airport. Revenue sharing, he said, should also be included with “handling fees” that fixed-based operators like Jackson Hole Aviation assess to aircraft owners who do not fuel up at the airport.

A new facility for a competing fixed-base operation would likely be located just north of Jackson Hole Aviation’s building, Elwood said. The new business, he said, won’t be able to operate until next year, after an enlarged fuel farm is built on the premises.

Article in Jackson Hole News&Guide

Source:  Jackson Hole News&Guide

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.

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.

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How Private Jets are Sourced for 21 Jet Card Programs

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 jet card programs –  terms, availability and more.

The fifth installment below answers the question when using various jet card companies, “Where does your private jet come from?”

Forbes.com logoSafety first. It’s the mantra of all of the aviation world globally. Like flying commercially, flying privately is safer than taking a bath. In 2015, nearly 5,000 deaths from drowning in one’s bathtub were recorded in the U.S. For general aviation, there were 384 fatalities. Still, when spending hundreds of thousands of dollars for a private jet card or prepaid charter program, you probably want to know where the planes you and your family will be flying are coming from.

Large-cabin Gulfstream, Challenger and Falcon jets on the ramp at Aspen-Pitkin County Airport in Colorado. The number of flight hours in large-cabin jets operated under Part 135 grew by 10 percent in 2016 according to industry data provider Argus.  (Photo credit: New Flight Charters)

Large-cabin Gulfstream, Challenger and Falcon jets on the ramp at Aspen-Pitkin County Airport in Colorado. The number of flight hours in large-cabin jets operated under Part 135 grew by 10 percent in 2016 according to industry data provider Argus.  (Photo credit: New Flight Charters)

One advantage of jet card programs is the expectation of consistent standards in terms of sourcing the planes you will fly on. In some cases, your jet card provider operates the fleet you will be flying on, although during peak periods providers (including fractional operators) will charter planes from the open market to meet demand. There are about 7,500 planes in the U.S. available for charter under Part 135, either via brokers, jet card providers or directly from the operators, although often they are being used by their owners.

Out of this fleet, executives estimate that there are a couple thousand planes that fit the needs of the charter and jet card market, both in terms of what customers will accept for age (a 40-year-old plane may be safe, but many consumers don’t want to fly on one), cabin condition, interior configuration, complete maintenance records for inspection, and availability. While using a company that owns or operates its fleet may seem like an advantage to one person, it’s not a one size fits all market. Several brokers who sell jet cards I spoke with have significant in-house safety departments to oversee the planes they charter to fulfill your jet card flights.

Read:  Who’s Who In The Private Jet Card Market

This is Part 1 of 2 parts on sourcing planes and also pilots. In Part 2, I will share what questions experts say you should ask providers about how they source airplanes, pilots and other safety related issues to consider.

I found that for sellers of private jet cards and prepaid private jet programs, fleet composition broke down three ways: Some companies fulfill flights via fleets they either directly own or manage and operate. Others, like charter brokers, go out into the market to source planes, while some feature a hybrid model, owning or managing jets, but also sourcing them like a broker. Some programs have age limits on the jets they will offer you, and most use two industry rating services, ARGUS and Wyvern, which rate operators. Some have even further in-house standards and reviews.

Below is an overview of responses when I queried companies about their sourcing standards. In some cases, it is based on information from their websites and other published data. I also refer to a survey by Business Jet Traveler of over 1,000 readers about various providers,  however, it doesn’t cover all companies:

Air Partner

Air Partner says it has access to over 5,000 carriers globally through a preferred network of providers. The Air Partner Group has an internal Quality Management System focused on safety. This system, in addition to national safety expectations from the European and American Civil Aviation Authorities, systematically promotes (when available) companies that suit at least one of the following: Wyvern Wingman or Registered expectations, ARGUS Platinum or Gold Plus rating, IS-BAO certification, IOSA certification.

Airstream Jets

Airstream Jets employs a dual-layer approach to safety, according to the company ASJ only utilizes ARGUS Platinum/Gold rated aircraft and crews. Pilots and aircraft must also undergo additional in-house screening and clearance by ASJ management.

Clay Lacy Aviation

The fleet of Clay Lacy is made up of 90 owned jets and jets it manages for owners that have been audited and received the following ratings from third party safety auditing companies: ARGUS Platinum; Wyvern Wingman; and IS-BAO Stage 3. In addition, Clay Lacy has received the FAA Diamond Award and NATA Five Stars award recognizing excellence in maintenance procedures and training. When sourcing aircraft beyond its charter fleet, it uses the Wyvern and ARGUS systems to verify ratings of third-party charter operators. Clients can specify preferences related to the age of the jets they want to use. The fleet is mainly based in the Western U.S., particularly on the West Coast, and its Executive Traveler Program is targeted for customers in the region.

Delta Private Jets

Delta Private Jets has more than 70 aircraft, a combination of managed and floating fleet. All operators are ARGUS Gold or better, and DPJ last year said it was co-funding with the jet owners enhancements to the cabins of its planes, an unusual move for a management company. In the Business Jet Traveler survey of jet card programs last year, 70% of readers marked the operator Excellent/Very Good for Age of Aircraft, while 80% of readers gave it Excellent/Very Good marks for Cleanliness.

Flexjet

Flexjet operates its own fleet. It offers fractional ownership and leases as well as jet cards, which are available on its Challenger 300 and Phenom 300 planes. In the Business Jet Traveler survey, 77% of readers gave Flexjet Excellent/Very Good marks for Aircraft Age, with 88% scoring it in those two categories for Cleanliness.

Jet Linx

Jet Linx has 90 aircraft under management, and in addition to third party ratings, it has its own in-house compliance team that audits planes to ensure Jet Linx standards are being met. The company has an interesting model selling management and jet cards from 14 base airports and growing. Its jet card sales focus is targeted at customers in those markets. At each of these bases, it operates its own terminal with dedicated staff. Its current locations include Atlanta, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Ft. Worth, Houston, Indianapolis, Nashville, Omaha, San Antonio, Scottsdale, Tulsa and Washington D.C.

JetSet Group

Operators must have over $50 million insurance, must be ARGUS Platinum or Gold, with perfect safety and maintenance records.

JetSuite

JetSuite’s owned fleet, like the company, is relatively new. Its Phenom 100 and Citation CJ3 were all delivered new between 2009 and 2013. The operator received Excellent/Very Good ratings from 87% of Business Jet Traveler readers for both Aircraft Age and Cleanliness. Using planes that seat four seven passengers, JetSuite’s strength is with customers that want new planes, an owner-operated fleet and are focused on flights around two hours or less.

Magellan Jets

Magellan Jets doesn’t own aircraft but instead sources aircraft and operators that that have been pre-screened and qualified through the proprietary standards of its Magellan Jets Preferred Network. MJPN criteria uses data provided by ARGUS, Wyvern, ISBAO, and the Air Charter Safety Foundation, as well as internal due diligence by the company’s flight support and compliance team. The team is comprised of professional pilots who understand best practices in safety for both aircraft and the crew. Magellan has a 42-point safety checklist for every flight segment, including information such as crew time in type of aircraft. You can customize a program around 10 different jet types and even specify a jet card program that guarantees WiFi.

NetJets

NetJets is the largest fleet operator with some 700 planes. NetJets offers fractional share and lease options. For its Marquis Jet Card program, there are 10 different plane types across the Light, Midsize and Large cabin categories. The company has an impressive operations center in Columbus, Ohio (I’ve personally toured it), and with Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway as its owner, and clients like Bill Gates, Rodger Federer and Tiger Woods, is one of the highest profile companies in the private aviation market.

Nicholas Air

Nicholas Air offers fractional shares and leases as well three different jet card products. It buys its planes (Pilatus PC-12, Phenom 100 and 300, and Citation Latitude) directly from the manufacturer, operates them and all aircraft are five years old or less.

Solairus

Solairus has a managed fleet of over 100 private aircraft nationwide with four programs broken into Very-Light, Light, Mid-Size and Super-Mid categories. Solairus holds the Platinum rating from ARGUS, the Wingman certification from Wyvern, and is one of only 100 operators worldwide to be IS-BAO (International Standard for Business Aircraft Operations) Stage Three certified.

Private Jet Services (PJS) Group

Private Jet Services (PJS) Group offers age differentiation within its programs. Elite aircraft are manufactured in the year 2000 or younger and are an average age of six years old. Priority aircraft may be “slightly older” but are held to the same safety standards. It has its own in-house Director of Safety who oversees its vetting program.

PrivateFly

PrivateFly doesn’t own or operate aircraft so it goes out into the market to source aircraft. It is an ARGUS certified broker. The company says, in addition to working with operators who meet industry safety standards, it conducts its own due diligence, including vetting insurance, airworthiness certificates, and aircraft inspections. Upon request, PrivateFly says it will share documents proving safety standards.

Prive Jets

Prive Jets doesn’t own or operate planes. It says the planes it sources “exceed” FAA requirements and all planes sourced for its jet card programs are manufactured in 2000 or newer.

Sentient Jet

Sentient is also a broker, and goes into what it describes as an “open fleet” to source planes, which are aircraft from the “top 25% of operators.” Sentient does auditing and has an advanced certification process as well as a field auditing team. Only aircraft that meet and exceed these standards are used. To become Sentient Certified, aircraft are reviewed based on their history, including maintenance reliability. They must pass a physical inspection that covers key safety elements in addition to the comfort and condition of the aircraft. In the Business Jet Traveler survey, 80% of readers ranked the company Excellent/Very Good for Age of Aircraft and 86% said Cleanliness was at an Excellent/Very Good standard.

Star Jets International

Star Jets International is a broker. It sources from over 5,000 private aircraft worldwide. Operators providing service for Star Jets clients must meet standards set forth by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for safety, security, and service, according to the company.

VistaJet

Malta-based VistaJet has only had a U.S.-based fleet since 2013. The U.S. fleet is now entirely operated by Jet Aviation, one of the leading management companies in the industry (Its parent General Dynamics owns Gulfstream). Globally, VistaJet owns 72 Bombardier Global and Challenger aircraft. The fleet is ARGUS International Platinum rated and Wyvern Wingman Level. In the survey by Business Jet Traveler, 93% of respondents gave it Excellent/Very Good marks for Age of Aircraft and the same score for Cleanliness.

WheelsUp

The Wheels Up fleet of King Air 350i (all 2013 or later) and Citation Excel/XLS (2000 or later) are operated by Gama Aviation.  They are ARGUS Platinum, Wyvern Wingman or have had an onsite audit completed by Wheels Up EVP of Safety. The King Air 350i is the defining aircraft in its fleet, more economical than jets, but well suited for missions up to 500 miles where a significant portion of the flight is the climb and descent, thereby minimizing the time difference versus a jet.  What does Wheels Up cost?

Wholesale Jet Club

Operators must be Wyvern Pass, ARGUS Gold or Platinum

XOJET

XOJET owns and operates a fleet that includes 42 Challenger 300 and Citation X aircraft. It also taps into some 1,000 more aircraft ranging from long-range Global Express to Very Light Jets and Turboprops. All planes must meet XOJET Charter Vendor Standards with ARGUS Platinum and Wyvern Wingman rated aircraft and operators. Some 83% of Business Jet Traveler readers marked XOJET Excellent/Very Good for both Age Of Aircraft and Aircraft Cleanliness.

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

Post a comment!

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.

Post a comment!

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

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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.

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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

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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.

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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

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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

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Bliss Jet Launches Individually-Ticketed Private Jet Passenger Service New York To London

Bliss JetBliss Jet announced yesterday the first individually-ticketed private jet flights between New York and London on a regular schedule, according to a press release from the company. This new service offers sophisticated travelers an ultra-exclusive transatlantic travel experience that is significantly more efficient, convenient and secure than the airlines’ first and business class products.

Pre-screened travelers, who are accustomed to flying private or in premium cabins, can begin taking advantage of Bliss Jet’s new class of service between New York’s Westchester County Airport and London’s Biggin Hill Airport in September. Bliss Jet is now accepting reservations.

According to the Bliss Jet website, the leadership team consists of David Rimmer, Toni Drummond, Omar Diaz and other familiar names in the U.S. jet charter industry.

“Bliss Jet is for people who schedule time in minutes, not hours,” says President and CEO David Rimmer. “We will cater to discerning, intercontinental travelers who seek a unique, private jet experience that is superior to any scheduled premium cabin service, yet far more cost-effective than bespoke private jet charter.”

Bliss Jet’s premier service will enable busy travelers to circumvent the hassles of flying from congested major airports. According to the company, Bliss Jet passengers can expect to:

• Arrive at the airport only 30 minutes before departure
• Board an aircraft just a few steps from the private terminal
• Benefit from discreet, highly professional security
• Avoid lengthy airport and flight delays
• Proceed rapidly through boarding, deplaning and customs
• Arrive faster at their final destination with immediate baggage retrieval and ground
transfers

“We are offering all the advantages of a private jet experience on optimally-scheduled flights that bypass the inefficiencies of business class travel,” Rimmer says. “Not since the days of the Concorde has a door-to-door journey between New York and London been this fast or refined.”

Bliss Jet passengers will be able to choose custom meals from an extensive menu, access a variety of inflight entertainment options, and connect to worldwide Wi-Fi. Upon request, Bliss Concierge services will arrange ground or helicopter transportation, or private charters for passengers flying to another location.

Bliss Jet flights will depart from New York on Sunday nights so that passengers will arrive at London’s uncrowded Biggin Hill Airport refreshed, relaxed, and ready for a productive work week. Return flights depart from London after lunch on Friday so passengers can schedule morning meetings and arrive back in the United States for a family dinner or a Broadway play. Travelers accustomed to private jet charter will appreciate that Bliss Jet provides virtually the same amenities at a fraction of the cost. Seats on the 14-passenger jets will cost $11,995 each way. Unlike crowded business class sections, Bliss Jet will limit seat sales well below the maximum aircraft’s capacity for extra comfort.

“Bliss Jet security will be supervised by top global firms in New York and London to ensure the safety and security of everyone on board,” Rimmer says. “Our security team, complemented by high-level security intelligence, will provide comprehensive, discreet coverage that far exceeds regulatory requirements and the industry’s best practices.”

Every flight will be operated by a highly-experienced carrier and crew on aircraft judged superior by respected third-party safety audit standards such as Wyvern Wingman, ARGUS Platinum ISBAO and the Air Charter Safety Foundation. The initial schedule of flights will be operated for Bliss Jet by Jet Access Aviation under a Public Charter approval from the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Bliss Jet CEO David Rimmer is an experienced premium air travel and charter industry innovator. He will lead a seasoned team of private jet professionals who will ensure Bliss Jet passengers receive the highest level of customer service. A pioneer with more than 15 years of private aviation leadership experience, Rimmer has created exponential growth and generated significant success in the private aviation market by championing industry-leading safety standards and business practices.

“Throughout our careers in private aviation, the Bliss Jet team and I have catered to the needs of the world’s most prominent and successful people, including CEOs, heads of state, royalty, film and music superstars, and ultra-high net worth individuals, all of whom have very high expectations when they travel,” Rimmer explains. “Bliss Jet will capitalize on that priceless insight to meet, and exceed, the expectations of these discriminating passengers.”

Source:  company press release

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Start-Ups Selling Seats on Private Jets Don’t Always Make It

By MATT KRUPNICK  |  THE NEW YORK TIMES  |  

Dannel Schwartz was agonizing over his wife’s 60th birthday gift when she proposed an idea herself.

“She said, ‘You know, I don’t want to wait on another T.S.A. line. I want a private plane,’” said Mr. Schwartz, a retired rabbi who splits time between Florida and Maine. “We laughed. Then comes this email about how it would cost $4 a flight.”

Intrigued by the all-you-can-fly model offered by BlackJet, the couple in March paid $15,000 for a membership that would allow them cheap seats on private jets with empty spots, scheduling their first trip for the weekend of April 30.

But it quickly became clear that the Schwartzes would not be making the flight to New York. The company stalled when Mr. Schwartz tried to confirm the flight a few days before it was scheduled.

A few days later came even worse news in an email from BlackJet.

“It is with great regret and personal disappointment that I need to report the following,” wrote the company’s chief executive, Dean Rotchin. “Recent events have resulted in abruptly ceasing BlackJet operations.”

The Schwartzes’ $15,000 was gone. They said they had wired the money to the company, which told the couple it was no longer accepting credit cards.

“Not even one trip,” said Mr. Schwartz, 70. “It’s embarrassing to go through this.”

Dannel Schwartz at the former location of BlackJet, a private jet broker in West Palm Beach, Fla.  Mr. Schwartz lost a $15,000 membership fee when the company shut down. Credit Scott McIntyre for The New York Times

The Schwartzes’ experience is a warning to travelers considering start-ups that offer relatively inexpensive access to private jets, once out of reach to the average customer. New companies pop up frequently, many with apps that allow travelers to book seats in minutes. But not all of them will survive.

BlackJet was founded in 2012 and aimed to apply the Uber model to private jets. It was backed by a founder of Uber, Garrett Camp, and celebrities like Ashton Kutcher. But about a year after it began, it laid off staff and suspended service. It later shifted to the membership model, which allowed customers to find unused seats on nearby jets. That is what enticed the Schwartzes, who found that travelers who join can be on the line for thousands of dollars.

In his email to clients last month, Mr. Rotchin said “inaccurate bad press” had caused BlackJet’s sudden closing, a reference to a TechCrunch article in April that incorrectly reported that the company had expired, which dented membership sales. He also blamed delays in short-term and long-term financing.

But in an interview late last month, he said the collapse happened mainly because a BlackJet official who was crucial to operations left the company, though he would not name the executive.

Mr. Rotchin acknowledged that the private jet business was inherently risky and said that the company stopped accepting credit cards late last year because of high fees.

“Everybody knew when they signed up that there would be no refunds,” he said. “There is some risk when you pay upfront for anything.”

Another company, Beacon, shut down this year after finding that its membership-based, all-you-can-fly model for private flights between New York and Boston was not sustainable.

The BlackJet app provided information on available seats on private jets.CreditBlackJet, via PR Newswire

For travelers looking into private jet services, Robert Mann, an airline industry analyst and consultant, suggests considering companies that have a history and own their own planes, as opposed to BlackJet, which acted as a broker, matching travelers with empty seats. Several major or developing players — some of which have evolved since their founding — have their own fleets, including the 10-year-old XOJet and the 2013 start-up Surf Air.

Too many start-ups are playing fast and loose with both safety and finances, said Mr. Mann, citing the 2005 crash of a Platinum Jet plane at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey. Federal authorities said the accident, which led to several felony convictions, illustrated the need for better oversight of charter companies.

“It really is the Wild West,” Mr. Mann said, referring to recent charter jet accidents in Massachusetts and Ohio.

Executives who have tried — and sometimes failed — to “democratize” private aviation are not giving up. Mr. Rotchin first tried out the plane-hailing concept with Greenjets, which fell into financial trouble and reorganized, becoming BlackJet. He is now considering his next move, but he said he realized that failures like these raise investors’ skepticism and make it more difficult for start-ups to raise money.

A founder of Beacon, Wade Eyerly, is now at Wheels Up, which counts the tennis star Serena Williams and the sports broadcaster Erin Andrews among its members. Mr. Eyerly, Wheels Up’s managing director, acknowledged that Beacon had miscalculated the demand for flights between New York and Boston.

“Beacon was a failure to execute,” he said. “There’s no way to sugarcoat that.”

But he remains optimistic about consumers’ desire for private air travel, he said. Wheels Up, he noted, is offering a range of memberships and more destinations, and it operates its own fleet through contractors. He also advised consumers to conduct thorough research before choosing a company.

“In a technology-driven world, little companies and big companies can look similar,” said Mr. Eyerly, who also helped start Surf Air.

With so many competitors in the private aviation world, travelers can have difficulty telling the difference between stable and shaky companies. Mr. Schwartz, for example, said he looked into BlackJet before buying a membership, but nothing he found indicated that the company would crumble so suddenly.

“Red flags should have gone up, but they didn’t,” he said, adding that he should have looked deeper into the company before paying.

Those kinds of failures threaten to erode trust in the industry, said Alex Wilcox, chief executive of JetSuite, a seven-year-old jet charter company based in California with its own fleet.

“We’re all going to be painted with the same brush,” he said. “But I think people understand the difference between Spirit Airlines and Singapore Airlines. Hopefully, we can distinguish ourselves in the same way.”

Mr. Wilcox, Mr. Eyerly and others in the industry said potential customers should look as closely as possible at a company’s financial backing before paying. Talk to the executives and ask tough questions, they said, which is more easily accomplished at small start-ups.

A lot of newer companies just do not have a chance of surviving because the cost of operating jets is so high, said Sergey Petrossov, the founder and chief executive of JetSmarter, which several industry insiders said was a successful example of an aviation start-up, allows members to reserve seats on charters and other private planes using an Uber-like app. Although it allowed nonmembers to book seats until last week, only members may use the service now.

“This industry as a whole really operates in an unsophisticated way,” he said. “Anyone who isn’t implementing sophisticated math and yield management isn’t going to survive.”

Source:  New York Times online article 6/13/16
Full article here:  Start-Ups Selling Seats on Private Jets Don’t Always Make It

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Private Jet Service New Flight Charters Is Awarded A+ Rating From Better Business Bureau

Jet Charter Company Also Awarded BBB Accreditation, Affirming It Meets And Will Abide By Certain Standards of Practice and Ethics.

private jet charter flightsU.S. air charter industry leader New Flight Charters announces the Better Business Bureau (BBB) has awarded it an A+ rating, according to a company press release.

The BBB has been tracking New Flight Charters since 2011, and the rating is based on 13 different factors revolving around customer satisfaction.  According to the BBB, factors that raised the rating for New Flight Charters include length of time in business (12 years) along with no complaints filed.

In addition, as of 2016 the BBB has determined that New Flight Charters is now a BBB Accredited Business, affirming that it meets and will continue to abide by the following BBB standards;  Build Trust, Advertise Honestly, Tell the Truth, Be Transparent, Honor Promises, Be Responsive, Safeguard Privacy and Embody Integrity.

Details on each of these and New Flight Charters Accreditation are available at the BBB review of New Flight Charters.

According to the BBB, their New Flight Charters Business Review includes background, licensing, consumer experience and other information, such as governmental actions, that is known to BBB. These reviews are provided for businesses that are BBB accredited and also for businesses that are not BBB accredited.

Source; company press release

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Why Are Some Private Jet Startups Failing, With Commercial Airlines Soaring?

— Private jet charters Blackjet, Blue Star Jets and Beacon, among others, have ended operations in recent months, citing funding difficulties as well as problems securing planes, among other issues. —

With commercial airlines soaring, why have some private jet start-ups failed?

By Hugo Martin, Los Angeles Times, May 21, 2016

The nation’s commercial airlines are reporting soaring profit margins and enough revenue to invest billions of dollars in new planes, airport lounges and even designer-made employee uniforms.

So why hasn’t that success extended to the fleet of private jet start-ups that launched in the last few years?

Private jet charters Blackjet, Blue Star Jets and Beacon, among others, have ended operations in recent months, citing funding difficulties as well as problems securing planes, among other issues.

Many of the new jet charter businesses have tried to jump on the popularity of the “shared economy,” with some comparing themselves to the ride-hailing business Uber. The private jet businesses have also promoted themselves as a way to avoid long airport security lines.

SurfAir

Captain Chris Pimentel, right, waits for passengers to board the SurfAir airplane at the Hawthorne Municipal Airport in Hawthorne last year. SurfAir is an all-you-can-fly membership airline. (Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)

“There was this feeling that we have this unmet demand,” said Brad Stewart, chief executive and president of XOJET, a San Francisco-based charter jet business.

But according to industry experts, too many of the charters either overestimated the demand or underestimated the funding needed to keep the businesses in the air.

Commercial airlines can squeeze more seats into each cabin and use each jet as extensively as possible to keep costs down, but private charter jets don’t have that option, said Seth Kaplan, managing partner at the trade magazine Airline Weekly.

“The economics of small private jets are not the same as the economics of commercial carriers,” he said.

The most publicized failure was the sudden closure of Florida-based BlackJet, which was backed by tech executives and Hollywood celebrities including Ashton Kutcher, Jay-Z and Will Smith. It collected annual membership fees of $3,000 and up plus fares starting at about $950 to share a ride on other people’s jets.

BlackJet Chief Executive Dean Rotchin wrote a letter to members of the business May 5, saying he was “abruptly ceasing Blackjet operations,” citing “bad press,” the departure of a “critical team member” and finance problems.

Source:  Los Angeles Times

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First Ever FAA Charter Industry Report Released & Available

2016 report includes information and analysis on Part 135 operators – aircraft – revenues – utilization – safety – passengers – airports.

For the first time the U.S. FAA has fully quantified the Part 135 industry, providing a baseline to track its contribution to the economy and the effect of rulemakings on air charter operators. The agency released the long-awaited congressionally mandated FAA Charter Industry Report, finding that 2,155 U.S. charter companies operate 10,655 aircraft to more than 3,000 airports. The companies average 19 employees, have only a couple of aircraft and report less than $2.5 million in annual revenues. Business jets account for 30 percent of the fleet, with the remainder made up of pistons, turboprops and helicopters.

Review of charter operators

FAA Charter Industry report 2016

“In requesting this report, Congress recognized the importance of the air charter industry to the aviation sector and the fact that a full understanding of this segment’s importance to the national economy requires information culled from a number of disparate sources,” said NATA president and CEO Tom Hendricks. The report illustrates the vital role charter operators play in the economy, reaching five times as many communities as schedule airlines, he said.

The FAA’s study also “underscores the folly” of assessing user fees on that segment of general aviation, considering that most on-demand operators are small businesses, Hendricks added. Noting the report depicted a reduction in the number of charter certificates, he said, “Why would we want to make that harder by allowing an airline-dominated air traffic control corporation to become the de facto economic regulator of small businesses providing the only air service to thousands of communities across this nation?”

Source: AINonline

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