FXAir, a premium on-demand charter provider launched by Directional Aviation six months ago, ended the year with more than 4,000 arranged charter flights that carried more than 8,000 passengers to 600 different destinations, the New York City-based company announced today. Likewise, FXAir doubled the 2020 sales goal for its Aviator debit card program.
With FXAir’s launch, Directional Aviation’s on-demand charter segment in North America increased its revenue by 55 percent when compared with 2019. “The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated change in a number of industries, including private aviation,” said FXAir president Gregg Slow. “While there was growing demand for premium on-demand charter service, travelers wanting to avoid exposure to the coronavirus have sought out private air as an alternative to crowded commercial airliners and terminals. From a timing standpoint, FXAir was perfectly positioned to meet this demand and raise the bar for charter service within the U.S.”
Slow believes leisure travel will continue to account for most of the private charter activity in the first quarter, though he expects business travel to return in the second and third quarters. “We are confident business travel in all forms will have a strong comeback once vaccines are distributed and coronavirus risks diminish,” he explained. “And when that happens, the thousands of people who experienced private jet charter during the pandemic will likely continue to utilize it.”