Find out How More People Are Flying by Private Jet

Whether increased terrorism or just the fact that business is getting more global, more and more people are turning away from the airlines and flying by private jet. This is bringing some new interesting business models to the market.

Malta-based VistaJet reported Program Membership sales up a record 57% with customer retention reaching 91%. Just a few days ago, US based Wheels Up announced it had secured $90 million in debt financing from KKR that will be used to purchase 17 King Air 350i. Its CEO Kenny Dichter said new memberships are nearly double compared to 2016. Last month Flexjet announced it was hiring pilots for the first time since 2015. It said new business was up 50% on top of 20% growth last year. At the same time, JetSmarter is claiming it is nearing profitability while Omaha, Nebraska-based Jet Linx Aviation surpassed 100 jets in its managed fleet and is looking to add more. Surf Air in California is selling club memberships and for a monthly flat fee you can buy a seat on a flight connecting various cities in California. Bliss Jet are offering a similar model but operating 12 seater Gulfstream G550s connecting New York to London, UK. Florida based Tyrus Wings have just launched their “Try B4U Buy” Jet Programme offering 3-36 month ACMI leases on private jets.

The good news from these eight companies lies in the creative variety of options on the market and a shift away from direct ownership, with new aircraft deliveries stagnant and the market for used private jets still tepid. Each of these business models is catering for a different niche.

VistaJet’s niche have been global Ultra High Net Worth families, royalty, heads of state and CEOs that do business all over the world. It says its fleet of just over 70 Bombardier Global Express and Challenger aircraft have taken customers to 187 countries.

VistaJet reported its first quarter ending June 30 with a 51% jump in total flight hours versus last year. Program Membership revenue was a record 63% of total revenue (up from 55% in the previous quarter) and average aircraft utilization rate increased by 11%.

Wheels Up caters for HNWIs that make up 80% of private flights that are under two hours. Dichter recently said he hopes to have 20,000 “sticky members” by 2020. Unlike VistaJet’s fleet which is suited for flights such as Geneva to New York or Shanghai to Sydney, the workhorse of Wheels Up is the Beechcraft King Air 350i, a turboprop that can seat eight and is more ideal for going to a college football game in South Bend, Indiana or Athens, Georgia. The company, which launched in 2013, is on target to reach $300 million in annual revenue and get to a positive EBITDA by the end of 2017 Dichter said on CNBC’s Squawk Box Monday morning. While flights on VistaJet range up to $17,000 per hour, Wheels Up starts at $4,295 per hour. You can even get a $3,500 discount on the $17,500 initial membership if you buy through Costco.

VistaJet is being used as both supplemental lift for corporate flight departments and an alternative to owning and operating large, expensive jets for both rich families and companies. While Wheels Up fleet is taking entrepreneurs to business locations in secondary cities and to their vacation homes on the weekend. It also draws from corporate executives who fly the company plane for business but need their own personal private aviation solutions. Wheels Up also flies the Citation XL/XLS, a twin-engine jet. Dichter told CNBC, “We’re more Netflix than Netjets.”

Last month Flexjet, which sells fractional shares and jet cards on a fleet that ranges from Super Light Jets like the Embraer Phenom 300 to the ultra-long-range Gulfstream G650, announced it is hiring pilots for the Phenom 300, Learjet 75LXi, Legacy 450 and Challenger 350.

JetSmarter is popular with private jet operators for buying empty legs, flights that normally don’t produce revenue. Earlier this month the Ft. Lauderdale-based broker which charges upfront membership fees and then offers a variety of empty legs, shuttle flights which are reserved by the seat and on-demand charter, said it has reached 10,000 customers, of which the top 10% spend an average of $140,000 per year. With memberships that start under $10,000, it claims its customers range from the Super Rich to personal trainers and small business owners fed up with commercial airlines.

Jet Linx Aviation uses a local market model, focusing on 14 cities where it has its own bases, it manages jets for owners in those markets and then sells jet cards to take up the time when the owners aren’t using their planes. It now has the second-largest managed fleet in North America behind Berkshire Hathaway’s Executive Jet Management. With two to three more bases expected to open before the end of the year, its fleet is going to continue to grow further.

Surfair have been operating Pilatus PC-12 8 seater single-engine turboprops in California and have just a few weeks ago launched their European operations out of London Luton. For Europe they are using Embraer Phenom 300s and PC-12s and flying routes from London to Zurich, Paris, Cannes and soon Milan.

Bliss Jet are positioning themselves as an alternative to First Class travel across the Atlantic. Operating between New York La Guardia and London Stansted out of private jet terminals (FBOs), this slashes at least 4 hours off your total trip time, as you avoid the long lines at TSA.

Tyrus Wings is offering clients a personal jet with dedicated crew 24/7 for anywhere from 3-36 months. “We have clients all over the world and our favourite product is the Global Express. With our programme you get a jet and crew parked at your local airport available only for you 24/7. All the benefits of private jet ownership without outlaying money to purchase. You then work the jet to get you more business and hopefully when the lease is up you may want to buy”, said Managing Partner, Fabrizio Poli. As well as jets, Tyrus Wings is also offering ACMI (wet leases) on helicopters too. They also offer a unique private jet management system where the private jet stays private and they advice clients not to charter their jets out to third party but keep them available 24/7 for their own personal/company use. "The power of the private jet lies in having it available 24/7. This gives you the flexibility to do a trip when you want and keeps the private jet, private", explains Fabrizio Poli. They apply the same philospohy to their leases.

Fabrizio Poli (left seat, with Geoff Andrews) is Managing Partner of Aircraft Trading Company Tyrus Wings. He is also an accomplished Airline Transport Pilot having flown both private Jets and for the airlines. Fabrizio is also a bestselling author and inspirational speaker & has been featured on Russia Today (RT), TRT World, Social Media Examiner, Bloomberg, Channel 5, Chicago Tribune, Daily Telegraph, City Wealth Magazine, Billionaire.com, Wealth X, Financial Times, El Financiero and many other Media offering insight on the aviation world. Fabrizio is also regularly featured as an Aviation Analyst on Russia Today (RT) and TRT World. Fabrizio is also aviation special correspondent for luxury magazine, Most Fabullous Magazine. Fabrizio is also considered one of the world's top 30 experts in using Linkedin for business. You can tune in weekly to Fabrizio's business Podcast Living Outside the Cube available both in video & audio. You can also follow Fabrizio's aviation videos on Tyrus Wings TV. Fabrizio's latest book "Health4Flyers", the first natural-health book for pilots, flights attendants and frequent flyers is now available worldwide.