Charles Alcock is managing editor of the AIN Media Group, having rejoined the company in 2019. He has been an aviation journalist since 1986, and previously worked for AIN from 1990 to 2017, most recently as editor-in-chief. His main focus is on covering new aviation technology and business models, as well as international news.
Having been raised in the London area, Alcock studied at the University of Manchester in the UK and earned an honors degree in Politics and Modern History. He speaks English and French, and some German.

Managing Editor

Charles Alcock

While privacy is a key attribute that private aviation delivers for its customers, from the outside, and even for insiders, the industry can appear opaque. According to consultants at ACC Aviation, the charter and fractional ownership sector in particular would benefit from much greater financial transparency—especially at a time when it seems to be in a state of flux.
In its recently published report,&nbsp;<a href="https://accaviation.com/aviation-consultancy/corporate-jet-financing-report/?utm_campaign=161019120-Highgate&amp;utm_source=AIN&amp;utm_content=Corporate%20Jet%20Financing%20and%20Business%20Model%20Report">Private Aviation Business Models and Financing Strategies</a>, the ACC team warns that investors and consumers are dealing with an industry that is “ripe for misinformation and misinterpretation, especially at this time of record capital investment and contrasting operator failure.” The authors, led by senior associate consulting Naishal Chag, say they have tried to generate greater transparency about the financial state of key players, but admit that this has proved hard due to gaps in available information that make it hard to assess how resilient and sustainable the service providers are.
“ACC Aviation believes that private aviation customers should be very concerned about the financial foundations of service providers, because many aren’t just buying flights, they’re extending unsecured credit,” the UK-based group’s CEO, Philip Mathews, told AIN. “Jet cards, memberships, subscriptions, and fractional programs routinely require six- and seven-figure upfront payments. In many cases, that money is not escrowed, not insured, and not protected. It’s used as working capital. When providers stumble—as several high-profile ones have—customers often discover too late that they rank last in line for reimbursement.”
ACC’s team focused its efforts on the business models of seven operators, which they concluded “set the tone for the rest of the industry,” namely: NetJets, Vista, Flexjet, Wheels Up, AirX, Fly Exclusive, and Jet Linx. Together, the consultants estimated, these companies control almost 10% of the global private jet inventory, more than 23% of all U.S. private jet hours, and 43% of all U.S. Part 91K and Part 135 hours flown.
<h2>Ranking the Operators&nbsp;</h2>
Based on three key metrics—operating performance, financial leverage, and asset monetization—ACC ranked NetJets, Vista, and Flexjet as the strongest performers. The report said this is reflected in the, respectively, $1.3 billion and $800 million raised by Vista and Flexjet during the first half of 2025.
The report drills into the details of the differences between private aviation’s three main models: operator-owned aircraft, fractional ownership, and aircraft management. It seeks to illuminate the associated risk factors with each of these models in terms of financial liability, concluding that “risk is never erased, just transferred.”
For fractional ownership businesses, the key risk comes from failing to consistently resell shares or losing revenue to early client exits. On the other hand, operators who directly own the aircraft they operate have to make strict debt repayments that require great financial discipline and rigorous asset management. In short, concluded ACC, some are better than others at dealing with these imperatives.
In determining the financial strength of service providers, ACC went beyond just examining credit ratings to assess “cash flow adequacy” to understand their ability to cover debt servicing from core operations. The report analyzed EBITDA to debt ratios, and concluded that Vista and Flexjet have maintained “adequate” ratios, while Wheels Up and FlyExclusive are dealing with “more challenging ratios.”
For another take on the resilience of private aviation providers, the ACC research assessed revenue per market value of aircraft to overcome disparities in how operators hold assets and how efficiently they monetize their asset base in generating revenue. The report concluded that operator-owned business models generally have the edge in terms of asset efficiency.
ACC acknowledged difficulties in measuring operating performance and cash flows in terms of EBITDA or funds from operations due to limited disclosure by companies in the sector and variable public financial information. But the report does present an assessment of operating performance and leverage KPIs, with Vista coming out on top of the pack with an EBITDA margin of 27% and an EBITDA-to-debt ratio of 19%.
<h2>Buyer Beware</h2>
“The risk isn’t theoretical. Private aviation operates on thin margins, volatile demand, and heavy capital costs,” Mathews concluded. “Providers dependent on growth, venture funding, or prepaid liabilities are especially vulnerable in downturns. When the music stops, flights cancel overnight, operators stop flying, and customers’ funds can vanish into bankruptcy proceedings.”
In his view, there is a strong case for a buyer-beware approach. “The smartest customers ask uncomfortable questions before committing: Where is my money held? Are you profitable? What happens if you fail? Can I get out—and how fast? Providers that can’t answer clearly are telling you everything you need to know,” he explained. “The bottom line is this: if you’re prepaying for private aviation, you’re not just a customer, you’re a creditor, so you should act like one.”
According to ACC, its research signals that more consolidation in private aviation should be expected and indeed is already happening. “The economics of the sector increasingly favor scale, capital strength, and operational depth, making it difficult for smaller operators to compete independently over the long term,” Mathews said.
Across the board, operators are facing a convergence of rising operating costs, increasingly exacting customer expectations, and fluctuations in demand prompted by economic instability. While ACC does not expect to see a single dominant player emerge, it indicated that institutional investors chasing predictable cash flow and growth potential are seeking acquisitions of regional charter operators and aircraft management companies.

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