PlaneSense Marks 30 Years in Fractional Aviation

As PlaneSense celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2025, the company continues to flourish, expand, and roll out new products. Founded in 1995 and rooted in New England, PlaneSense has evolved into a leading fractional aircraft operator across North America. SherpaReport recently talked to Founder, President and CEO George Antoniadis.

The Fleet

The PlaneSense fractional program launched on September 9, 1995, with the delivery of the company’s first Pilatus PC-12, the 20th produced by Pilatus Aircraft Ltd. With its short field capabilities, flexibility to land on unpaved runways, comfortable cabin, interior cargo, and proven reliability, the PC-12 is a recognized solution for business and leisure flights.

In 2015, PlaneSense started its initial jet program, and built on this with the arrival of the world’s first Pilatus PC-24 light jet in February 2018. Today, PlaneSense operates the largest fleet of PC-12 turboprops and PC-24 jets in the United States.

George Antoniadis tells SherpaReport that in 2025, PlaneSense expects to add three PC24s and two PC12s to the fleet – this is a little lower than in recent years, but he expects the fleet to grow faster next year, partly due to the launch of the new PC-12 Pro, the latest evolution of the venerable aircraft. At the end of this year, the total fleet size will be about 64 aircraft.

“The PC-24 continues to shine,” says George proudly, adding, “it can get into airstrips that other light jets cannot access.”

European Flights

Earlier this year, PlaneSense rolled out a partnership with European Pilatus operator Jetfly. This enables each of their customers to fly on the other's aircraft on either side of the Atlantic.

“We’ve seen very strong demand for this,” says George Antoniadis, “With many of our North American clients enjoying flights with Jetfly in Europe.”

Share owners from PlaneSense can book European flights through PlaneSense’s Flight Operations team, with hours deducted from their PlaneSense account, while pricing and billing remain local to each program. George notes that PlaneSense organizes everything and Jetfly only takes over communication 24 hours before a flight.

CobaltPass

The CobaltPass jet card was also introduced in 2025, and is offered on both the PC-12 and the PC-24 or a combination of hours on both aircraft. The 25-hour cards can be used on flights all 365 days a year, across North America. They require only 24 to 48 hours’ notice and have a two-year term.

George Antoniadis expects the CobaltPass program to grow as PlaneSense keeps aircraft in its fleet a little longer, which will make more availability for the card program. Although he is keen to note that they “by no means want to get on the wrong side of capacity.” He adds that several Pass customers have already bought a fractional share, but notes that some Pass customers will never buy a fractional asset (because it doesn’t fit their travel needs), and they will be ongoing Pass customers.

PlaneSense Sourcing Solutions

Another new service that just launched this summer is called “Sourcing Solutions,” which means that both fractional owners and card customers can turn to PlaneSense if they have mission requirements that may not be met by the PlaneSense-owned fleet. For instance, if a customer wanted to fly 12 people from coast to coast, PlaneSense would go to vetted operators to source an aircraft to accomplish this mission. This has been mainly driven by customers, George Antoniadis tells SherpaReport. It allows a PlaneSense customer to buy a fraction or card that fits most of their mission requirements and then still turn to PlaneSense for those one-off, occasional flights.

While PlaneSense has long operated throughout the continental U.S., Canada, Bermuda, the Bahamas, the Caribbean, Central America, and Mexico, these new strategic initiatives expand the program’s footprint even further, delivering more value and convenience to clients wherever they need to fly, both nationally and internationally.

Staff, Training & Maintenance

George Antoniadis also attributes the company’s enduring success to its dedicated employees, noting that many staff have been with the company for over 10 years and some well over 20 years. “Our team is the backbone of PlaneSense,” he says.

On the training front, PlaneSense has developed its own programs, with syllabi for the PC-12 and PC-24, and all of their trainers have thousands of hours in the aircraft, which brings all that real-world experience into the classrooms. Earlier this year, the company developed and launched the world’s only Pilatus PC-12 NGX Level D Full Flight Simulator to enhance its pilot training program.

Maintenance for PlaneSense’s fleet is conducted by Atlas Aircraft Center, its sister company. Technicians receive manufacturer training from Pilatus, Williams, and Pratt & Whitney, and average over 2,200 training hours annually. Atlas is notable for earning the FAA Diamond Award for Excellence every year since 2002.

Putting all this together, PlaneSense says it has achieved an impressive 91% client retention rate, with some families now spanning three generations of PlaneSense share owners.

“When we launched PlaneSense three decades ago, our vision was to offer a more intelligent and highly personal approach to private flying,” says George Antoniadis. “We believed clients deserved a sophisticated aircraft but also a trusted partner dedicated to fulfilling their flight needs with a cost-effective, safe, and service-focused solution. Thirty years later, that philosophy still drives every decision we make.”