Airshare Expands Service Area Nationwide

Private aviation company Airshare is expanding the primary service area for its day based fractional ownership, lease and jet cards customers. All current and future customers can travel in the lower 48 states with no repositioning fees.

Increased West Coast Flights

Operating a fractional fleet of Phenom 300 and Challenger 350/3500 jets, Airshare has recently experienced a significant increase in flights traveling to the West Coast, prompting the company to review timing of future expansion plans due to demand. With this service area expansion, the company will no longer charge repositioning costs for any fractional, lease or jet card flights that begin or end within any of the lower 48 states. Both the fractional and card programs are days-based programs, so that owners have the use of the plane for the day, whereas most other providers offer hours based programs.

“We are extremely excited to be offering the Airshare Fractional Program to all potential customers coast-to-coast,” said John Owen, CEO of Airshare. “Over the last few years, we have been carefully analyzing the right time to make our fractional ownership and jet cards available nationwide, as we wanted to confidently ensure we would maintain the exceptional customer service we provide for our existing customers. This change will only increase the flexibility our customers benefit from while flying with us, while enhancing operational efficiencies across our entire fractional fleet.”

Expansion

Airshare made a significant expansion last year when it acquired the Wheels Up aircraft management business. The company doubled in size to nearly 600 employees while operating a fleet approaching 150 aircraft, becoming one of the largest fleet operators in the United States. In 2023 it came in at number ten on the list of largest North American operators, so it will be interesting to see how these recent additions change this number in future years.

The management acquisition also means the company now has aircraft based around the country, expanding from its original central USA roots, and it offers a full suite of private aviation solutions, including aircraft management, fractional ownership, EMBARK jet cards, charter services and third-party maintenance. Just a few months ago private equity group Kompass Kapital made a strategic investment in Airshare, and now leads the Airshare ownership group.

For the expanded service area, Airshare told SherpaReport that they will utilize a “floating fleet” for the new regions until they determine customer density in specific markets. So, they won’t be specifically basing Phenoms or Challengers in those markets, but will move them around the country to fulfill demand. They are also not planning to change prices for fractional ownership or for their EMBARK jet cards, even with the larger service area – both of which are days-based programs, so that owners have the use of the plane for the day.