Story ID: 304VistaJet
VistaJet Celebrates Record 2015
By: Matt Thurber
Caption: VistaJet’s 60-airplane business jet charter fleet averages less than two years old.
Word Count: 271
VistaJet’s 60-airplane business jet charter fleet helped drive a record year during 2015, the company’s strongest-ever with a global flight traffic increase of more than 21 percent compared to 2014, and passenger totals up more than 23 percent. The fleet’s average age is less than two years, and it consists entirely of Bombardier Challenger and Global jets owned by VistaJet. “We welcomed more passengers onto our jets than ever before,” said chairman and founder Thomas Flohr. “VistaJet is still increasing its geographic reach in the U.S. and China, and we are taking market share from our main competitors in all of our core markets.”

Year-over-year, flights to China climbed 25 percent, with flights to Asia up 62 percent and passengers up 57 percent. The fastest-growing Asia destinations were in the Philippines and China, while traffic in Malaysia, Thailand and South Korea also grew. In China, VistaJet (Static Display) last year launched in-country service with partner Apex Air, flying China-registered airplanes. The first jet under the partnership is a Challenger 850.

VistaJet’s European flights grew 13 percent and passengers 17 percent. Flight and passenger growth into the Middle East both were up 58 percent, while Africa climbed 15 percent (flights) and 19 percent (passengers). The greatest growth took place for flights into the U.S., up 139 percent, with passengers up 106 percent.

“It was particularly pleasing to see Asia becoming one of our fastest growing markets,” Flohr said, “and we were delighted to see strong growth in flight traffic in China. We have clear execution plans to increase the number of destinations we fly to still further and to accelerate our growth in 2016.”