Private Jet Card Comparisons - Know Before You Buy
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Another week, another deal. Vista Global has entered an agreement to buy Air Hamburg, bringing 44 owned and managed private jets into its fleet. If successful, it will increase Vista’s fleet size to over 240 aircraft.
When Wheels Up’s acquired 5th-biggest Part 135 charter operator Mountain Aviation in January, it pushed the group past Directional Aviation’s Flexjet as the second-largest for-hire private aircraft operator in the U.S. For Wheels Up founder and CEO Kenny Dichter, it was a day at the beach compared to another cold New York winter morning in early 2019. At that point, Wheels Up didn’t operate a single aircraft. Founded in 2013, its owned and leased fleet was outsourced to Gama Aviation Signature. Wheels Up was a big brand. Yet, it was merely a marketing organization selling memberships onto what was then mainly a fleet of King Air 350i turboprops.
Argus TRAQPak’s list of the 25 largest U.S. Part 135 private jet operators ranked by flight hours highlights the industry’s frenetic merger and acquisition activity. Ten of the private jet charter operators were involved in transactions. Part 135 includes on-demand and jet card flights
The Part 135 private jet charter market is ripe for consolidation and outside investment. That’s according to Brooks Crenshaw, managing director of Balmoral Advisors.