Story ID: 
Frax Operator Volato Releases First-quarter Metrics
By: Curt Epstein
Caption: Despite a dip in flight hours, the company's hourly price remained strong
Word Count: 213
Fractional ownership aircraft provider Volato’s flight hours in the first three months dipped slightly quarter-over-quarter, according to key performance indicators the company released this morning. Volato is the largest HondaJet fleet operator in the U.S., and its 26 light jets flew nearly 3,000 hours in the first three months of 2024, down from more than 3,500 hours in fourth-quarter 2023.
Of that amount, however, the percentage of hours considered “empty” or non-occupied declined quarter-over-quarter from 37.9 percent to 35.1 percent, denoting improved fleet efficiency.
In the first quarter, the usage mix was split evenly between ownership and program/ad hoc charter, and its blended yield—the average occupied price per hour across all the company’s usage types—remained strong at more than $5,300 per hour.
“We continue to focus on growing our flight hours and optimizing our demand mix to achieve a higher blended score and lower empty percentage,” said company CFO Mark Heinen. “We are pleased the blended yield remained strong despite the impact of winter weather and fewer peak calendar days in Q1.”
On Monday, Volato’s executives celebrated the company’s listing on the New York Stock Exchange by ringing the closing bell. It became a publicly traded company via a SPAC merger in December.