A Unique Way To Charter A Private Jet

In late June, FlyUSA, which is a United States-based private jet charter company, revealed it was releasing a new membership program. The Tampa, Florida-based company announced a new initiative called the Ascend Club on June 26. This newly released initiative is another step in the membership program status, but it also includes a set of new exclusive benefits. Let’s take a closer look at how FlyUSA differs from other charter companies, and let’s also take a look at the newly released Ascend Club membership.

About FlyUSA

The company itself is described as an end-to-end private aviation solution for United States-based customers. Along with offering chartered services, FlyUSA also offers aircraft management services and acts as an aircraft brokerage for clients across the world. In talks with Simple Flying, Barry Shevlin, the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of FlyUSA, spoke about how FlyUSA is different from other private aviation companies. Shevlin stated,

“FlyUSA provides true end-to-end private aviation solutions. Clients typically begin their relationship with us by buying one-off charter flights, then they become members, and some become owners with us.”

FlyUSA typically sees many customers and clients become members after just one chartered flight. Many of these members will even eventually become owners with FlyUSA as part of its aircraft management services. Shevlin also said,

“Our mission is connecting people and creating opportunities for our clients. Our company is centered around a culture of safety and the belief that private aviation should be responsive, personalized, and easy.”

Shevlin attributes this philosophy of working with people and networking to how the company has continued to grow. Although the private aviation industry has held steady over recent years, FlyUSA has seen a nearly 40% increase in revenue compared to last year.

Nationwide activity

Currently, FlyUSA operates with a focus on the Southern United States, mostly in Texas and Florida. However, the company has also seen an increase in business at a nationwide level. The company has stated that it expects to take off and land at over 100 different airports in any given month.

This includes Teterboro Airport (TEB) in New Jersey, Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport (OPF) in Florida, Van Nuys Airport (VNY) in California, and Palm Beach International Airport (PBI) in Florida. Currently, FlyUSA offers unlimited destinations worldwide, and its network of FAA-certified aircraft spans the globe. This means that its clients can take off from nearly any type of jet they want from nearly any airport in the world.

Since FlyUSA has already established its aircraft management services in Texas and Florida, this is where many of the aircraft it owns are located. This makes for an easily accessible infrastructure of technicians, pilots, and other staff in these areas. When a new owner looks to join the FlyUSA aircraft management services, the aircraft is typically based in this area. Because of this, FlyUSA operates similar airframes. Therefore, if an owner owns a similar aircraft to the existing fleet and is located in Texas or Florida, FlyUSA support and management is a seamless transition.

FlyUSA takes advantage of its aircraft acquisition business segment when working with clients to add more planes to the charter pool. Shevlin spoke about the two business segments, stating,

“When a client wants to buy a plane to put into our charter pool, we assist them with the acquisition. We are averaging approximately one aircraft acquisition transaction per month.”

Currently, FlyUSA focuses on managing mostly Textron Aviation products, including Cessna and Beechcraft. All but three of the twenty aircraft that the company manages are Textron Aviation airframes. Two other aircraft that the company manages are the Dassault Falcon 2000. Shevlin has stated that the company will look to expand its larger fleet, and it will most likely focus on adding more Dassault Falcon 2000s to continue its standardization.

How to charter

FlyUSA offers an on-demand charter offering to book a flight on one of the private jets in its extensive network. Users can easily select their flight routes, timing, and number of passengers and get quoted the cost along with the type of recommended plane. These flights are offered, booked, and paid for one flight at a time. Therefore, FlyUSA does not require any extensive membership program or fractional ownership to book a flight.

Photo: Fasttailwind | Shutterstock

Many travelers who book flights are enamored by the Dynamic Pricing feature that FlyUSA offers. The Dynamic Pricing feature allows members to take advantage of empty-leg flights that can be heavily discounted. This results in extreme savings for these clients.

However, many travelers who book a single charter flight end up joining the newly offered FlyUSA membership. Around 10% of the charter clients have even enrolled in the next tier of membership, the newly offered Ascend Club membership. Based on current trends, Shevlin expects that this number will double by the end of the year, increasing the number of members taking advantage of unique benefits.

The Ascend Club membership

As previously mentioned, the Ascend Club membership is the newest membership tier for FlyUSA. This new membership includes an array of benefits focused on assisting top-tier members through the charter process. Some of these benefits include:

• A 2% cash-back rebate
• $1,000-per-flight discount at the time of booking
• A dedicated Ascend Club Travel Advisor
• Guaranteed availability and recoveries
• Priority booking on peak travel days
• Up to an additional $250 in perks per flight

The major focus of the new benefits is the industry-leading 2% cash-back rebate that no other private aviation company matches. Shevlin previously stated that already 10% of its membership base has converted to the newly offered Ascend Club. He also expects this number to reach 20% by the end of the year.