Directional Aviation Launches Premium Air Charter Provider

Directional Aviation has launched FXAir as a premium on-demand charter product,  the company recently announced. New York City–based FXAir will complement Directional’s other on-demand air services—including Sentient Jet and PrivateFly—while offering customers the onboard experience and safety that its Flexjet fractional program provides.

FXAir’s initial fleet consists of 17 former Flexjet aircraft—12 super-midsize Bombardier Challenger 300s and five ultra-long-range Global Expresses. It plans to add Nextant 400XT light jets in the coming months and FXAir president Gregg Slow expects the fleet to expand to about 40 aircraft by the end of next year. FXAir will also source aircraft from an approved network of flight providers not owned by Directional.

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The new on-demand service was originally scheduled to launch in the fourth quarter, but with more people considering private jet travel to minimize their risk of exposure to the coronavirus, Directional decided to accelerate FXAir’s introduction. According to Slow, FXAir has been quietly marketed to customers for the past month and has already began flight operations.

While FXAir has no membership fees and offers pay-as-you-go charter, it does have an Aviator debit card program that adds benefits such as priority scheduling, fixed-cost coast-to-coast flights, and a more lenient cancellation policy (24 hours versus 48), as well as no-cost catering from a standard menu and deicing when flying on program airplanes.

Andrew Collins, FXAir’s CEO and director of Directional’s OneSky flight jet card and on-demand offerings, said FXAir is intended for continental U.S. customers, while sister company PrivateFly will focus more on the international market.