The KBRA bond rating of VistaJet, XO parent Vista Global, will be its last as it moves to private coverage of the private jet company.
Rating agency KBRA has affirmed Vista Global’s BB- issuer rating with a stable outlook.
It will also mark the end of KBRA’s public coverage of its bond ratings for the private jet company.
Vista Global is the parent company of private jet flight providers VistaJet and XO.
KBRA is converting Vista Global’s rating from published to unpublished.
Unpublished means KBRA will continue to monitor creditworthiness.
However, it will no longer make that rating available to the general public.
No reason was given for the move.
However, Vista, which is privately held, has seen its financial results scrutinized since a May 2023 Financial Times report on the company.
Last September, Fitch stopped following Vista.
Earlier last year, Vista secured $1.3 billion in financing.
Earlier this month, Vista placed a major aircraft order with Bombardier.
Per KBRA, Vista Global’s dedicated fleet stood at 206 aircraft at the time of analysis.
Over 90 are registered in the U.S., according to the latest FAA data.
In 2025, Vista was the third-largest private jet operator in the U.S. based on charter and fractional flight hours.
It closed 117,423 flight hours per ARGUS TRAQPak.
That included about 11,000 hours from Talon Air, which it sold last month.
KBRA listed out key credit considerations in a press release.
Per KBRA:
‘The issuer rating reflects Vista’s strong market position in global business aviation, supported by its scaled, diversified platform and differentiated subscription-led access model. Vista is among the largest operators globally by hours flown and represents approximately 5% of total private aviation traffic, benefiting from a broad international footprint and multichannel offering anchored by its contracted Program product. The company’s continued shift toward higher-quality contracted flying is credit supportive, with Program mix reaching the company’s long-term target of 70% of on-fleet hours via Program in Q3 2025. This mix shift, together with improving fleet utilization (approaching 1,000 hours per aircraft on an annualized basis in 2025), supports revenue visibility and partially mitigates cyclicality relative to purely transactional charter operators.’
KBRA reports, “The rating also incorporates Vista’s disciplined pivot away from acquisition-led growth toward organic execution, including fleet simplification and utilization-led capacity expansion.”
It said, “Vista’s capital intensity has moderated meaningfully, with fleet-related capex predominantly maintenance-oriented and limited near-term growth capex commitments, which supports free cash flow generation and balance sheet flexibility.”
Vista’s recent Bombardier order “provides incremental capacity visibility.”
It also gave some previously unreported insights into the deal.
KBRA says, “Of the 40 firm orders, 20 are firm commitments by Vista and another 20 are firm commitments from common-controlled entities, with an average of four deliveries per year for Vista through 2031.”
It also gave a timing for initial deliveries in the order, beginning in Q4 2026.
It said the order “supports longer-term fleet renewal and scalable growth capacity without implying a near-term step-up in fleet size.”
KBRA adds, “While 2025 profitability was temporarily pressured by elevated operating costs, trailing EBITDAR remained broadly stable versus the prior year, indicating that yield discipline and contracted mix have largely offset cost headwinds at the operating level.”
In terms of financials:
‘Financial flexibility is supported by continued access to diversified funding channels and active liability management. In 2025, Vista strengthened its capital structure through a $600 million equity investment and a $700 million term loan B, extending maturities and supporting deleveraging, while maintaining a manageable near-term maturity profile with the next material corporate maturities in 2027. Credit metrics are consistent with the rating level. Cash flow measures have been stable, translating to modest improvement in leverage as debt declined. Fixed charge coverage remains moderate, reflecting the still-elevated leverage profile and fixed cost burden.’
KBRA says its rating “remains constrained by the cyclical nature of business aviation demand and the competitive, fragmented charter market, execution risk associated with sustaining utilization gains while normalizing maintenance and crew cost inflation, relatively modest liquidity compared with the company’s scale, and private ownership considerations, including the potential for cash leakage.”
Its stable outlook is calculated on the expectation that “Vista will maintain a broadly stable credit profile over the next 12 to 18 months, supported by continued Program penetration and utilization-led efficiency gains. ”
KBRA continued, “We expect Program (its subscription version of a jet card) mix to continue to trend towards the target, underpinning revenue visibility and cash flow generation.”
It said, “Profitability and credit metrics should be stable to modestly improving, contingent on management’s ability to contain maintenance and labor cost pressures, sustain utilization gains, and maintain disciplined capital allocation and liquidity.”
Upgrade or Downgrade?
KBRA gave scenarios for both an upgrade and a downgrade for Vista Global
It said, “An upgrade could occur if Vista demonstrates sustained improvement in operating performance and balance sheet strength, including debt/EBITDAR sustained below 4.0x, fixed charge coverage sustained above 2.0x, and improved liquidity and financial policy discipline (including limited shareholder distributions) supported by consistent free cash flow generation and continued progress on utilization and cost normalization.”
On the other hand, it warned of factors that could lead to a downgrade in Vista Global’s rating.
KBRA said, “A downgrade could occur if Vista experiences sustained deterioration in earnings and/or a reversal in deleveraging, including debt/EBITDAR sustained above 6.0x and/or fixed charge coverage below 1.0x, weakened liquidity or reduced capital markets access, or negative financial policy actions such as larger shareholder distributions or debt-funded expansion.”
It added, “Downside pressure could also result from material operational disruptions (such as maintenance and crewing constraints), a sharp demand downturn in core markets, or adverse regulatory/cost shocks that cannot be passed through.”
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