Flexjet acquires Constant Aviation ahead of IPO

The move by Flexjet brings sister MRO Constant Aviation under the OneSky Flight group that is planning an IPO this year

Flexjet has acquired Constant Aviation, a leading provider of aviation maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) services that is also part of Directional Aviation’s business aviation holdings.

It comes as operators seek to bring more maintenance in-house to increase reliability.

The move was first revealed as part of the company’s announcement that its OneSky Flight unit would become publicly traded via a SPAC merger.

At that point, OneSky will be renamed Flexjet, Inc., and incorporate Flexjet, Sentient Jet, FXAir, PrivateFly, and several other companies.

“Integrating Constant Aviation into Flexjet is part of an overriding strategic vision to differentiate Flexjet among its competitors at the most fundamental level. Typically, other companies in our space rely largely on third-party providers to meet their global product support and maintenance needs. This not only limits their overall ability to meet the needs of their customers, but it also takes control away from operators and limits their ability to deliver the highest possible levels of service,” said Jay Heublein, Flexjet Senior Vice President of Maintenance.

Flexjet fleet growth

Flexjet’s fleet grew by 40 percent in 2022, bringing additional demands for maintenance services.

The company is the second-largest private jet operator in the U.S., measured by fractional and charter flight hours.

Integrating Constant will bring complete airframe, engine, and avionics maintenance capability; paint and interior modification and refurbishment capability; in-house engineering and avionics installation; heavy maintenance, engine, and component overhaul; damage repair, composite and sheet metal repairs, and non-destructive testing, plus parts support and distribution.

Expanding MRO facilities

As part of the transaction, Flexjet will acquire Constant’s facilities at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport and Orlando Sanford International Airport.

Flexjet plans to build new facilities at Sanford, significantly expanding its maintenance footprint in the heart of Florida’s high-volume private jet travel corridors to a total of 220,000 square feet.

Flexjet’s maintenance facility footprint now covers 650,000 square feet in Cleveland, Ohio; Teterboro, New Jersey; Naples, Florida; Dallas, Texas; White Plains, New York; Sanford, Florida; and Morgantown, West Virginia.

Flexjet also gains dedicated access to Constant’s nationwide AOG mobile response network, with teams deploying from 28 U.S. locations and the capacity to serve the entire continental U.S. and Caribbean markets.

The teams can respond to maintenance requests from aircraft at multiple airports in every region that lacks dedicated facilities.

“With Constant’s unique capabilities, along with a proprietary Aircraft on Ground network to handle real-time aircraft issues, Flexjet is not dependent on third-party maintenance to keep its fleet flying regardless of location or conditions,” said Heublein.

Constant Aviation recently expanded its MRO capabilities beyond its portfolio of business jets and other fixed-wing aircraft to include rotorcraft such as helicopters, drones, and other commercial Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS).

It will be able to support Flexjet’s new private helicopter division, which operates in the U.S. in the Northeast and South Florida and in Europe based out of London, England.

All of Constant’s existing team members will join Flexjet.

Help Wanted

Additionally, Flexjet plans to hire nearly 200 more technicians over the next 12 months.

Constant has been an MRO industry leader in workforce development and training initiatives to grow an industry-wide talent pool for technicians that have been shrinking.

Those initiatives will carry over to Flexjet, which recently graduated its first class of apprenticed Airframe and Powerplant (A&P) technicians.