The year 2022 may be only nine weeks old; however, March started with the fifth announced M&A deal involving private jet operators and brokers. In this case, Omaha-based Jet Linx Aviation twinned the opening of its first base in Florida at Miami’s Opa Locka Executive Airport with announcing it had acquired Boca Raton-based Southern Jet.
Announcing is the key word. It turns out the deal was consummated in December. Similarly, when Jet Edge announced it had secured funding from KKR to acquire dozens of private jets last summer, it turned out the money and aircraft had been secured months earlier. Which begs the question, what other deals have been done but not yet announced?
Jet LInx has opened its first based and private terminal in Florida at Miami’s Opa Locka Executive … [+]
In the case of Jet Linx, Southern Jet adds six aircraft to its fleet. So, while Vista Global’s agreement to acquire Air Hamburg promises 45 jets, this latest deal is more in line with Wheels Up’s purchase of Alante Air Charter and Elevate Holdings’ acquisition of Keystone Aviation, which each added 13 aircraft to their new owners’ rosters. Wheels Up also announced a proposed acquisition of U.K.-based broker Air Partner.
Jet Linx CEO Jamie Walker tells me that his latest addition – its fifth acquisition since 2015 – is in line with its other deals – small and locally focused. He says the key is not just the airplanes but the people. Jet Linx, the seventh-largest operator in North America, based on charter and fractional hours, is focused on aircraft management. In other words, it typically doesn’t own the aircraft it flies but manages them for owners who then make them available for charter when they aren’t using them. Jet Linx, in turn, uses the fleet to fulfill flights for members of its jet card program, helping owners offset some of their expenses.
Because management contracts enable aircraft owners to easily move their airplanes from one company to another, Walker says his focus continues to be local, looking for operations that have strong connections to their communities Jet Linx can build and nurture. While it offers its jet card customers fixed pricing for flights throughout North America, Canada, the Caribbean and Mexico, it focuses sales on 21 markets where it operates its own terminals.
Instead of using a local FBO, Jet Linx members and owners get more personalized service. Valets detail their cars while they are away, returning them upon arrival – heat is turned on in the winter, air conditioning in the summer. Inside the lounges, customers find an open bar stocked with the favorite libations – a counter to the typical vending machines. Walker says Southern Jet will enable it to add a terminal in Boca Raton.
With the opening of Opa Locka, Jet Linx now operates from 14 of the 25 busiest private jet airports in the U.S. The CEO says following its expansion to the Sunshine State, making it to the West Coast remains a top priority. Over the past five years, Jet Linx has moved into the Northeast with locations in Boston, New York and Washington D.C. It also added Austin, Chicago and Minneapolis, bulking its girth in the middle of the country.
Southern Jet flew 3,870 hours last year, which added to 42,284 hours by Jet Linx, would have been enough to push its new parent from the seventh spot to fifth in what is a fragmented market. In North America, the 10 largest operators measured by charter and fractional flight hours control just 45.1% of the market, with NetJets, Inc. owning 20.1%. The 20 companies ranked 11th through 30th have 8.8% between them.
While most industry observers expect more deals as owners seek to cash out while demand remains strong, we will have to wait and see what other transactions have already been consummated but are yet to be announced. Of course, it’s only Monday.