Vista Global chairman Thomas Flohr says he is not ruling out an IPO after the ‘strongest subscription additions in our entire history’.
Speaking to CNBC’s Dan Murphy, Vista Global chairman Thomas Flohr declined to rule out a rumored IPO in an interview from earlier today.
Vista Global is the parent of flight providers VistaJet and XO.
Flohr, speaking from Dubai, told the cable news network that it is benefiting from strong demand.
Its large fleet of Bombardier ultra-long-haul Global private jets is paying dividends.
With airline service via key Middle East hubs in Dubai, Doha, and Abu Dhabi disrupted, he said the company is benefiting from flyers who are using private aviation as an alternative.
Flohr said Vista is enjoying “significant growth around the world.”
He told CNBC, “Flying very long haul (is) making up for that local (Middle East) traffic that is missing.”
Flohr said executives are using private aviation to shift important meetings away from the region.
At the same time, he said there is increased demand for private flights to the Maldives and Seychelles, where high-end tourists arrived on connections via Emirates, Etihad, or Qatar Airways before the U.S.-Iran war.
What’s more, Flohr said fuel price increases, which are passed along to customers, are not impacting demand.
“In business aviation (fuel surcharges are) a fraction of the hourly rate,” Flohr noted.
Demand for “long-haul point-to-point travel” is powering sales of VistaJet’s Program, a subscription product that sits between fractional ownership and jet cards.
Last week, Vista said it would upgrade its entire Global 7500 fleet by the end of the year.
The upgrade to the Global 8000 extends range and increases speed.
“In 2026’s first quarter, we had the strongest subscription additions in our entire history over the last 22 years,” Flohr told Murphy.
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Murphy also probed Flohr about recent reports of a possible IPO.
The CNBC anchor asked Flohr, “Is that a move to scale, or a defensive necessity to deleverage the balance sheet, which S&P still views with a negative outlook?”
Flohr said, “We always keep all the financial options available to us (and) that includes an IPO (and) it includes other potential strategic investments.”
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Flohr noted, “We have an usecured bond in the market.”
International Financial Review reports the bond at $525 million.
It says proceeds will be used to redeem $500 million of senior notes due in 2027.
Remaining proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes.
An investor call took place yesterday, with a virtual roadshow running through today.
S&P Global Ratings assigned a B issue-level rating to the bond yesterday.
The VistaJet Malta Finance PLC and Vista Management Holding Inc. senior unsecured notes mature in 2032.
S&P said its 5 recovery rating “indicates our expectation of modest recovery in the event of a default.”
S&P wrote:
‘Our B+ long-term issuer credit ratings and negative outlooks on VistaJet Malta Finance PLC and Vista Management Holding Inc. are unchanged. The BB- issue-level rating, with a 2 recovery rating, on the previously issued secured term loan; and B issue-level ratings, with 5 recovery ratings, on the existing senior unsecured notes, are also unchanged.’
Flohr told CNBC, “All the equity options are open to us, but certainly I will not go anywhere. I will always keep control of the company.”
Watch the entire interview on CNBC.
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