Flexjet Accelerates Jet Deliveries as Demand Rises

Fractional ownership provider Flexjet is accelerating aircraft deliveries and hiring another 200 pilots to fly them as the industry experiences an “unprecedented rise” in demand, CEO Michael Silvestro told AIN. But while such demand has posed problems for some competitors, he said, it hasn't interfered with Flexjet's ability to sell shares and jet cards and arrange leases for its fleet of Phenom 300 light jets.

“Over the past year and a half, we acquired new clients who had previously never flown privately,” Silvestro noted. "That increase in business includes fractional, lease, and jet cards across all of our aircraft types. [It's] not limited to light jets.”

A proactive approach to maintaining service levels has mitigated any service disruptions from the demand increase, Silvestro noted. While focusing on fractional sales as Flexjet’s core business, the company said it has remained mindful of the importance of jet cards to its total operation. “In this way, we can continually ensure that supply matches demand,” Silvestro said. He added that companies with a "disproportionate number" of jet cards rolled into their core business of fractional ownership shares make it “much harder to withstand moments like this when they unfold.”