Flexjet: Increasing popularity of private jets helps UK sales soar
The UK arm of private jet company Flexjet is eyeing further growth in Europe after increasing its sales and cutting its pre-tax loss during its latest financial year.
The London-based division of Flexjet, which operates in the fractional ownership market, has posted a turnover of £40.9m for 2023, up from £38.4m in 2022.
Newly-filed accounts with Companies House have also revealed that its pre-tax loss fell from £15.4m to £14.2m over the same period.
Flexjet said the decrease in its pre-tax loss was mostly because of the rise in its turnover and the improvement of its margin.
The company’s UK turnover increased from £21.6m to £22m while it nudged up from £12m to £12.5m in the rest of Europe.
The firm’s turnover in the rest of the world also rose from £5.1m to £6.2m.
During the year the average number of people employed by the division grew from 32 to 48.
Flexjet has operated its shared ownership and access programmes in the UK and Europe, under the banner of Red Label by Flexjet, since 2021.
Its European fleet includes the Gulfstream G650, Praetor 600 and the Sikorsky S-76 helicopter
Private jet firm Flexjet eyeing further growth
In a statement signed off by the board, the company said: “New exclusive modern aircraft types, a distinctive luxury on-board experience and highly personalised service are at the core of the Red Label offering.
“The Red Label programme has already provided Flexjet LLC in the USA with a distinctive competitive advantage and the company’s directors have identified that there is a similar space for this offering in the UK and Europe.
“As Flexjet Europe continues to expand to reach the appropriate required scale in the EMEA region, it continues, however, to generate operating losses driven by the investment in operations and marketing infrastructure.”
It added: “The mid-term leading ambition of the OneSky Group and its reputation for high-end jet services require the OneSky Group to keep on investing in its development before it expects to see profitability in the company.
“The OneSky Group has highlighted publicly its ambition for growth and continued support in the company and the losses it incurred in the year were expected.”
Flexjet is chaired by American aviation entrepreneur Kenn Ricci, the principal of Directional Aviation Capital.
The company is headquartered in the USA, was founded in 1995 and owns and operates more than 270 aircraft and 19 helicopters globally.