A New World of Access Options

Though the pandemic produced a sudden and prolonged decline in business aviation flight operations, the industry has lately been staging a remarkable resurgence with many new providers, programs, and products. Today you’ll find more options than you had a few years ago but also spillover effects from demand for access at all levels of private aviation.

As NetJets said in July, when it announced a temporary hold on sales of some fractional shares and jet cards due to that demand, “Everything from fueling and ramp space to catering and ground transportation is being pushed to the limit.” Data from Argus International shows significantly more charter and fractional activity in March, April, and May this year than in each of those months in 2019, which was considered a breakout year. 

With the surge of travelers have come billions of private equity investment dollars, leading to multiple improvements in the charter experience for travelers, while accelerating a consolidation reshaping the access space. Also a force: untold but significant numbers of pandemic-propelled, new-to-business-aviation customers who may add permanently to demand.

“Once you start flying on private aircraft, it’s very difficult to go back to flying commercial,” observes Argus president and CEO Joe Moeggenberg.

Here are some of the most notable new offerings, options, and service upgrades. 

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UK-based global brokerage Air Partner has updated its group charter offerings, adding Air Partner Protect and Tour Protect options. Air Partner Protect, for group travel to meetings, conferences, multi-leg trips, and other business, includes options for cabin deep cleaning, branding on headrest covers, and full aircraft livery makeovers for making a big visible impact on arrival. Tour Protect is designed for “complex world tours,” as live performances return to stages, says Air Partner, Americas president David McCown. It includes advanced COVID-19 protocols, security detail, 24/7 health and medical support, and evacuation planning.

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Amalfi Jets, a California-based charter and jet card provider founded last year, has introduced the Amalfi Guarantee jet card, providing 12-hour call-out access to five aircraft categories at fixed hourly rates. “A representative is at the airport to meet clients before every [domestic] flight to ensure quality,” the company says. Round-trip discounts are available with the card, which requires a $50,000 minimum refundable deposit.

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Southeast Florida’s Elite Jets introduced its first jet card last year, and recently added a membership card ($15,000 to join; $100,000 refundable minimum deposit) for guaranteed access to its four Embraer Phenom 300s, all of which are based in Naples (where the operator has a private terminal). The hourly rate is $5,250 one-way (or $6,500 for travel more than 200 miles from the continental U.S.) Members also have access to Elite’s Embraer Legacy 500 super-midsize fleet. 

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Among the largest charter operators in the U.S. by hours flown, mid-Atlantic-based FlyExclusive debuted the Jet Club last year, providing guaranteed access to the company’s Wi-Fi-equipped fleet of more than 65 light, midsize, and super-midsize Citation jets at low hourly rates. The program requires a $150,000 deposit and has two tiers: Fly Club, a two-year, no-fee membership, charges hourly rates from $5,450 (for light jets) to $7,650 (for super-midsize); Exclusive Club is a recurring membership with a $20,000 annual fee and hourly charges from $4,750 (for light jets) to $6,950 (for super-midsize).

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California charter management firm Jet Edge has introduced AdvantEdge, a three-tiered block-charter program for jet owners that guarantees revenue minimums in return for exclusive use of their aircraft for a set number of weeks per year. “Tell us when you are not using your aircraft and we will charter it,” says CEO Bill Papariella. “It’s like Airbnb.” 

Edge 250+ provides a minimum of 250 hours of charter in return for 14 weeks of aircraft access; Edge 500+ doubles those figures while Edge 900 delivers 900 charter hours in exchange for exclusive use of the aircraft all year. AdvantEdge members can charter aircraft from Jet Edge at preferred rates and change programs if needed.

A $150 million investment from private equity firm KKR fueled the program and will also fund digital technologies Jet Edge is bringing on board as well as expansion of its charter sales division.

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Florida-based VeriJet, founded last fall, operates an expanding charter fleet of Cirrus SF50 Vision Jets, the single-engine VLJs equipped with a ballistic recovery parachute and a push-button emergency Autoland system that can fly and land the aircraft automatically. The Vision Jet can carry three to four adult passengers and two children, and the interior can be reconfigured during stops for the mission at hand. 

The charter rate is $3,000 per hour within a 600-nautical-mile radius of Orlando, with no charge for taxi time. The jet is certified for single-pilot operations and flown that way by VeriJet, but customers can opt for a second pilot for an additional $875 per flight. Scheduling and operations are managed by an AI platform already proven in the charter arena from Coastal Technologies Group, a company that VeriJet founder and CEO Richard Kane established in the 1990s. Some six jets were in the fleet at mid-year, and plans call for 16 by year's end. In July, meanwhile, the company announced that it is expanding to the Los Angeles area.

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In June, Clay Lacy Aviation added Citation X and Challenger 300 super-midsize jets to its Seattle-area charter fleet. 

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Boca Raton, Florida’s Journey Aviation began 2021 with a newly refurbished Challenger 300 on its charter certificate, bringing its fleet to 18 midsize to heavy jets. 

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Planet 9 added two ultra-long-range jets early this year to its floating charter fleet: a Global Express (positioned in the U.K.) and a Falcon 7X (in Long Island, New York). They join the two managed Global Expresses, a 7X, and the California-based charter operator’s own 7X in its fleet which also includes GVs, a G550, and a G650, all sporting “sparklingly refurbished cabin interiors,” says co-founder and director of business development Matt Walter. 

Planet 9 partnered with the Culinary Institute of America this year to help the charter operator deliver superior onboard service.

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Dallas charter brokerage and jet card provider Status Jet has opened an office in Paris, its first international location, to cater to its growing base of European clients, says company president David Gerard Henry.

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Solairus Aviation’s new Search, Book, and Fly! mobile app accesses the California operator’s nationwide managed fleet of some 200 aircraft, and more from vetted operators, then “guides the user from searching to booking in minutes,” says the company’s senior vice president of charter sales, Paul Class. Available for Android and iOS devices, the app supports flight sharing, special handling requests, and live chat with Solairus staff, and can store favorite routes and manage payment information.

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Airstream Jets’ Distance Card is offering a discount of $1,000 off its $25,000 Silver Distance Card, and $4,000 off the $100,000 Gold Distance Card. Rather than charging for flying time, the Boca Raton, Florida broker’s cards provide fixed rates, priced by the mile flown by direct routing, with the charge dropping every 1,000 miles; a light jet costs from $16 down to $11 per mile; and a heavy jet from $26 to $17. The cards are sold in $25,000 increments. 

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New-to-market Ajax Jets offers two-tiered jet card access (guaranteed, or as available) to its leased fleet of some dozen refurbished and upgraded Dassault Falcon 50 and Falcon 900B trijets, operated by Chicago Air Group. Transcontinental rates are capped at $27,500 on the Falcon 50 and $37,500 on the 900B, and the one-way fixed-rate service area includes Hawaii. The relatively old but airworthy airframes lower acquisition costs for the aircraft, and consequently charter rates, says founder John Sullivan.

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Jet card fleet operator Jet Linx has introduced a joint-ownership program (two owners per aircraft limit) that it claims provides a better experience than traditional fractional plans, which have up to 16 owners per aircraft. Also unlike traditional fractional plans, this one is set up so that owners will fly only on their own aircraft with dedicated crews, says company president and CEO Jamie Walker. Jet Linx will source and purchase the aircraft based on the owners’ needs. Operating some 120 jets, Jet Linx can also charter the aircraft to its jet card customers when owners aren’t flying. The company this year joined the 4Air aviation sustainability certification program. 

Its ground network expansion continues, meanwhile, with private terminals opening in the past year in the Minneapolis area and San Antonio, and one scheduled to debut this fall at Miami-Opa Locka. Jet Linx has also broken ground for a flagship private terminal and hangar at its Omaha, Nebraska home base that is slated for opening in June 2022. 

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Outlier Jets—which offers the Elite and Select jet cards (respectively providing models with an average age of six years and ones made before 2000)—eliminated peak-day surcharges this year. Call-out time on these 18 days, however, has lengthened from 10 to 96 hours. With offices in Boston, Houston, and Los Angeles, Outlier relies on a core of fewer than 300 carefully vetted jets for lift, says CEO Michael Farley.

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Magellan Jets has added jet cards for Cessna Citation CJ3 and Bombardier Challenger 605 access, as the Boston-based brokerage has revamped its jet card offerings and decreased some pay-as-you-go rates.

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The bespoke charter division of Qatar Airways, Qatar Executive has introduced its first jet card, the Diamond Agreement 50-hour card, providing aircraft-specific options for ultra-long-range models, including the Gulfstream 650 and G500 and Bombardier’s Global XRS and Global 5000.

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Dubai-based Vista Global Holding this year bought U.S. charter broker Apollo Jets, which claims 4,000 clients, and VGH expects the acquisition to boost its North American flight volume by 20 percent. Apollo has become a division of VGH’s XO, the subscription-based, business-class on-demand charter brand. Apollo also holds a share in MRO services firm Talon Air, which XO will incorporate into its own management and maintenance services, while Talon Air’s managed aircraft will join XO’s owned and managed fleet of some 160 jets.

VistaJet, VGH’s flagship block-charter operator, announced orders this spring for a dozen more Global 7500 and 10 Challenger 350 jets for delivery over the next two years, to meet demand from corporate customers (up 50 percent over the past year, according to the Malta-based operator, while new memberships surged 90 percent). Because of COVID-19, the company has also added VistaJet Protect, which removes all cancellation fees up to 48 hours before a scheduled departure for a 20 percent premium over the flight’s price. 

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California management company Silver Air has introduced Flight Club, a three-tier program (Simple, Secure, and Stealth) that it labels as “not a card, a club.” The Simple plan is pay-as-you-fly, with dynamic pricing and no membership fee. Secure provides fixed, all-inclusive hourly rates, guaranteed availability, and round-trip discounts, and requires a small monthly fee. Stealth is a customized, “build your own” membership (sans membership fee), allowing clients to choose the jet type, secure fixed-route pricing, and access a dedicated concierge. Hawaii is included in Silver Air’s primary service area.

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Maryland-based AeroVanti, launched this year, offers membership access in the Eastern U.S. to the Piaggio P.180 Avanti, the Italian executive twin turboprop pusher, at “ultra-competitive pricing,” the company says. Monthly fees range from $1,000 (individual) to $2,500 (corporate), and the hourly rate is $1,995. 

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Airshare will add up to 20 Challenger 350 super-midsize jets to its fractional fleet, three for delivery this year, and options for up to 17 more, part of a move to “expand the Airshare brand nationally,” says president and CEO John Owen. The Kansas-based AirShare currently operates only Phenom 300s.

Airshare’s fractional program guarantees owners access by the number of days, rather than hours; the minimum 1/16^th share provides 20 days of unlimited flight time (maximum 14-hour crew duty day). Discounts for round and multi-leg trips can cut hourly costs by more than a third, according to the company. Airshare also offers the Embark jet card, as well as aircraft management, on-demand charter, and maintenance services.

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JetIt’s all-HondaJet program, introduced in 2018, offers day-based fractional shares and “hybrid charter” for customers planning to buy into its fleet of distinctive, above-the-wing engine-mounted light jets. Now the program is expanding into Europe via the newly launched sister company JetClub, with a Maltese air operator certificate awarded in June. JetIt claims to be the world’s largest HondaJet operator.

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After adding a pair of new Phenom 300Es last year, Nicholas Air in June introduced an additional 300E and a Citation Latitude to its fleet, with plans to acquire more of each. The pair bring Nicholas Air’s fractional fleet to 25 jets; an additional 12 managed aircraft are not on its charter certificate. The company reports that it registered a 45 percent growth in flight hours and a 62 percent increase in revenue last year. 

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In the last three years, Partners in Aviation’s managed co-ownership program, which matches two prospective owners to share one aircraft, has cut the time to match from six months to two, founder Mark Molloy says. He cites the “critical mass” the company has reached in establishing a nationwide pool of co-owner candidates who share a geographic region and target aircraft category. Co-ownerships arranged thus far involve aircraft ranging from turboprops to heavy jets, Molloy says.

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Priester Aviation sees rising demand among FAA Part 91 owners to use their aircraft for “internal charter,” making them available to businesses within their portfolios under Part 135 charter rules, rather than to third-party charter customers. An IRS regulation finalized this year exempts owners from paying federal excise tax (FET) for their flights on owned aircraft that are also used for on-demand charter. That regulation can exempt internal charter flights from FET charges as well, while also offering Part 135 liability protection, which is stronger than Part 91 operations provide. Several of the Chicago-based charter and jet card operator’s Part 91 management customers “are taking advantage of the new structure,” company president and CEO Andy Priester says.

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HondaJet access program operator Jet Token, founded in 2018, signed an order for four jets from the U.S. airframer in December and is offering HondaJet Elite fractional shares and jet cards under the Pearl service banner. A one-fifth share ($1.25 million base price) provides 75 flight hours per year and a five-year term, has no monthly management fee, and bills quarterly. Las Vegas–headquartered Jet Token’s 25-hour jet card offers access 365 days a year and starts at $123,750; a 10-day jet card provides all-day access for $173,500 plus $1,499 per flight hour.

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European flight operator Luxaviation launched a U.S. expansion this year with a new Miami base and is poised to introduce America to its premium charter service and ancillary benefits, including Luxaviation Experiences bespoke travel packages. At the facility opening, group CEO Patrick Hansen called the U.S. market “more crucial than ever” to the Luxembourg-based bizav powerhouse’s future. All U.S. flights will use sustainable aviation fuel.

Luxaviation also expanded its European and Mideast charter fleets, adding a Bombardier Global 7500 and Gulfstream 600 based at London Luton—the first of each model available for charter from the U.K.; and an Embraer Lineage 1000 and Legacy 600 under San Marino Registry for the Mideast market.

Note: Prices quoted in this article do not include federal excise tax.

Directional Aviation: A Big Player Grows Bigger

Directional Aviation’s portfolio includes OneSky Flight, parent to fractional-ownership and jet card fleet operator Flexjet, jet card charter brokerage Sentient Jet, and on-demand charter brokerage PrivateFly. 

Flexjet, Directional’s flagship brand, has added a Flexjet 25 card for its European customers, providing access to Embraer’s super-midsize Legacy 500. (In the U.S., Flexjet’s cards offer access to Embraer Phenom 300s or Bombardier Challenger 300s.)

This spring, meanwhile, Flexjet opened a private terminal at bizav hub Van Nuys, California, its fourth U.S. location. A connectivity upgrade is underway for its Praetor 600, Bombardier Global, and Gulfstream 450 and 650 fleets. The super-midsize Praetor 600s, operated on transatlantic and domestic European routes, are getting Viasat Ka-band systems, while the large-cabin jets are being outfitted with advanced Ku-band communication systems that are upgradable to Ka-band. 

Sentient Jet has extended its jet card’s range, introducing one-way, fixed-rate transatlantic flights this spring, with departures from New York, Chicago, and South Florida airports to destinations including London; Frankfurt, Germany; Milan, Italy; and Paris. Once in Europe, cardholders can get fixed-rate flights to a host of destinations, including Tel Aviv, Israel; Moscow; and St. Petersburg, Russia.

Private Fly last summer also introduced the PrivateFly Jet Card, for access in Europe to light, midsize, and large-cabin jets. Rates are the same for the PrivateFly and Sentient jet cards, ranging from about $7,000 to $13,900 per hour, but Sentient’s card offers a super-midsize category. Sentient will handle arrangements for U.S. flights for PrivateFly’s European card customers. 

On the environmental front, in May Flexjet reported that year-to-date U.S. and European flight operations were carbon-neutral and carbon-negative, respectively, thanks to its purchase of verified carbon-countering credits from 4AIR. (Customers were not charged.) Sentient Jet achieved carbon and emissions neutrality through 4Air on all its flights, according to the jet card provider.

Demonstrating the synergies that help propel Directional’s growth, FXAir, a premium charter provider launched in 2020, offers on-demand service aboard Flexjet-operated Challenger 300 and Global Express jets retired from the fractional-ownership program’s fleet, in addition to lift from vetted operators. Its Aviator membership provides fixed trans-continental rates, dynamic pricing, late-cancellation guarantees, and an escrow account option.

Directional’s vertical expansion also continues. This year it purchased Associated Aircraft Group, a Northeast-based helicopter fractional-share and card-program operator, while OneSky Flight added U.K. rotorcraft fleet operator Halo Aviation, as part of its expansion into managed helicopter services. Through Halo, OneSky ordered 200 eVTOLs from Embraer-backed Eve, an urban air mobility developer, and partnered with the company to build eVTOL operations in the U.S. and U.K. Deliveries of the first vehicles are expected in 2026.

NetJets Adds Aircraft and Programs

NetJets, the world’s largest private jet operator, will take delivery of more than 50 new jets this year (individual models and numbers undisclosed). But record demand has forced the suspension of fractional share and card sales for some aircraft models and brought restrictions to cardholder benefits for new customers in others. 

Sales of shares, jet cards, and leases for the Phenom 300 and Citation XLS were suspended in July; prospective customers are joining a waitlist. Earlier this year, NetJets suspended peak-day access (formerly available at a surcharge) on some cards and withdrew its Citation Latitude and Classic jet cards (current cardholders are unaffected). Meanwhile, prices across its cards have recently increased.

The demand crunch shows no signs of deceleration. NetJets president Patrick Gallagher notes that corporate owners are asking to add more executives to their lists of eligible users, while NetJets’ internal research indicates most shareowners plan to increase their flying for both business and pleasure. 

For the European market, NetJets has introduced a pay-as-you-go card for long flights across the continent. The card provides access to super-midsize jets for journeys over 3.5 hours at a discounted rate.

Last fall, NetJets announced an expanded global sustainability program, which includes reliance on sustainable aviation fuel where available (including its Columbus, Ohio base and headquarters), and offsetting emissions for all administrative and training flights in the U.S. beginning this year. The first of the company’s planned biannual progress reports this spring cataloged the emissions countered, flight hours covered, and other metrics quantifying the sustainment efforts. Its European operations have been carbon neutral since 2012. 

Wheels Up Introduces Several Programs

Wheels Up, progenitor of the membership access model (the membership fee provides access to a closed fleet of aircraft), announced more roll-ups and product rollouts as it prepares for an IPO expected this year that would value the company at $2.1 billion.

Product debuts in 2021 include Up for Business for the corporate market, which provides charter, aircraft management, and aircraft-ownership solutions, and allows members to book flights on Wheels Up and with partner Delta Air Lines. Also new: Long Flight Capped Rates for transcontinental flights, now topping out at $8,995 or $9,295 per hour (based on deposit level), which cuts the maximum cost for a six-hour flight by about 44 percent, the company says.

The New York-based company has also launched a loyalty program and opened some bookings to Delta SkyMiles members, allowing them to redeem miles for Wheels Up charters.

On the acquisitions front, the company bought Citation X super-midsize-jet operator Mountain Aviation, using its Colorado-based fleet to offer capped rates on flights between the East Coast and the Western U.S. (maximum $29,995, seven-day advance booking).

Also this year, a security breach at Wheels Up data and booking platform Avianis affected data at several operators and management companies, though the extent of the compromise has not been disclosed. Meanwhile, in the first quarter, membership grew 56 percent year over year, to 9,896, the company reported.