Flexjet Ltd., the UK sister company of U.S.-based Flexjet, plans to add super-midsize Legacy 600s to its dedicated fleet by year end, the company is announcing this week at EBACE. In March, the company took delivery of its first dedicated fleet type—the Nextant 400XTi—and now has three of the light jets, with plans for 10 by this time next year. Flexjet Ltd. operates under a UK CAA air operator certificate that it acquired in August and also manages five other varied business aircraft.
The Legacy 600 was chosen for its super-midsize cabin and nearly 3,800-nm range, allowing flights from London or Paris to points in Northern Africa and the Middle East, according Flexjet Ltd. CEO Ray Jones. Each of the pre-owned Legacy 600s will be outfitted with new interiors that seat up to 13 passengers in a three-zone configuration, complete with an aft lavatory. The forward section will have club-four seating and the middle a club-four configuration clustered around a fixed table, while the aft zone will have two facing seats across the aisle from a three-place divan.
Jones said the addition of a second dedicated fleet type is coming sooner than previously planned as the company ramps up flight services for North America-based Flexjet customers via the dedicated fleet. In fact, it conducted the first interchange flight for a U.S. Flexjet customer using one of its 400XTis in March, which was ahead of schedule, he told AIN.
Flexjet Ltd. also plans to add more dedicated aircraft types beyond the 400XTis and Legacy 600s in the “not too distant future,” said Jones, though he was tight-lipped about which models or even aircraft categories are being considered. However, a longer-range aircraft would fit the company’s previously stated goal of providing North American Flexjet customers with a bridge from Western Europe to India, which is just beyond the range of the Legacy 600.
For European customers, the company currently allows “select” partners to broker trips using its excess capacity. Later this year, it plans to decide on more formal programs that it will offer to European clients. Jones said these offerings will be “driven by demand in relation to aircraft types” and likely will employ one of the new models for business jet flights, such as a membership scheme.
Asked if Brexit could dampen these plans given that it operates with a UK AOC, Jones was optimistic that a bilateral aviation agreement will be forged before the UK officially breaks away from the European Union. “It’s early days in this process, and we have a long way to go before whatever happens,” he said. “We don’t feel the need right now to look at contingency plans. Whatever emerges from Brexit will be further out.”
