VistaJet expanding in US market
The United States has become VistaJet's largest market, and the charter firm is expanding its presence with more large-cabin business jets.
Ron Silverman, U.S. president of the company founded in Europe 14 years ago, said the company has 11 business jets here and expects to increase that number by about 50 percent.
"We entered the U.S. market four years ago and we've been extraordinarily successful," Silverman said. "We'll be increasing our fleet by 50 percent in the next few months."
VistaJet said its fleet is about 18 months old on average, and the company doesn't plan to purchase any new aircraft in 2017.
The privately owned company differs from competitors in that it owns its own assets and has an extensive international network. Fractional ownership firms typically require customers to own a percentage share of an aircraft.
"Our customers only pay for the amount of time they're on an airplane," Silverman said. "They don't have to write a big check to join, and they don't have any risk that the value of their asset will decline."
VistaJet said about half its customers are "ultra-high-net worth individuals" and half are corporations—and corporate customers are growing as companies seek to shed assets like business aircraft.
Los Angeles International, West Palm Beach in Florida, and Teterboro in the New York City metro area are the most popular U.S. airports for VistaJet customers.
Dave Hirschman
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