Fans of GrandView Aviation will want to follow Venture Jets as it builds its fleet with a similar strategy but a new airplane type.
Lancaster, Pennsylvania Venture Jets is looking to make its mark along the East Coast and beyond by expanding its fleet of Pilatus PC-24s.
The operator has two Swiss-made light jets, a third arriving in the next 60 days, and expects to have five by the end of the year.
Executive Vice President David Posey says he would like to reach up to 15 over the next several years.
The PC-24s seat eight passengers, feature a flat-floor cabin, and have the trademark rear side cargo door that provides optimal luggage capacity, especially for sporting gear.
All have WiFi.
The fleet is young, with the oldest vintage being 2019.
The formula, Posey says, is to build on its medical business organ donor flights.
It also means expanding the fleet with high-volume fractional owners.
That will be layered with an as-available jet card.
Finally, Posey says, wholesale customers are attracted to the premium PC-24s.
Except for the fractional ownership, Posey is replicating a strategy similar to GrandView Aviation, where he was national director of sales and marketing.
GrandView expanded from a single base at Martin State Airport near Baltimore, scaling to a national operator with bases in Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, and Scottsdale.
It built its network on the back of an all-Phenom 300 fleet, leveraging that aircraft’s preferred status and becoming a favored provider in the wholesale market.
GrandView was the 22nd largest charter/fractional operator in the U.S. before it was sold to Global Medical in 2022.
It was sold again to Wheels Up in 2024.
Its new owner used the Embraer light jets as the foundation for its fleet renewal and repositioning into a premium brand under Delta Air Lines.
Venture Jets was founded in 1994.
In addition to the PC-24s, it also has three Learjets.
However, Posey says Pilatus light jets have developed the same loyalty with flyers that helped the Phenom 300.
Plans call for targeting high-volume flyers with only four shares per aircraft, each at 150 hours.
Limited share to four owners helps manage demand, Posey says.
Fractional callout is 48 hours with guaranteed availability.
Repositioning to Lancaster applies to unsold return legs for now.
There is no callout restriction on its jet cards, but they are available.
The card rates are for occupied hours with no additional repositioning.
Deposit is $150,000, and pricing is guaranteed for 24 months.
The low hourly rates include a two-hour daily minimum, encouraging efficient flyers.
In the initial growth phases, Posey says target customers are flying mainly up and down the eastern seaboard.
However, the organ transplant business keeps the fleet moving.
Posey says the fleet often flies to Texas and the Midwest.
At GrandView, while the company didn’t guarantee availability, Posey says it built a loyal following by not overpromising.
He says the other key was an engaged team that went the extra mile to ensure customers were accommodated.
Several have joined Venture Jets.
Creative solutions to make schedules fit often meant saving clients’ money.
Savings were often five figures, something Posey says was always well received.
Posey says in terms of the Venture Jets customer, he is again looking for flyers who want a boutique provider.
He wants customers who treat the airplanes as if they were in their own living rooms rather than fleet aircraft.
Posey says part of the letdown with bigger players is that flyers can be rough on the cabins, leading to wear and tear on items.
“The next person gets on, and they are disappointed,” he says.
With only four shares per aircraft, Posey says he expects the growing fleet to be positioned locally to where customers are based.
He says that by combining elements of a floating fleet and a based fleet, Venture Jets can better accommodate customers and minimize repositioning expenses for fractional owners.
Bases at Martin State, Long Island, New York, and Florida are likely on tap.
Like GrandView, Posey says there will be measured growth without overcommitting.
When Posey joined last July, he told a local outlet, “We are officially in growth mode at Venture Jets and excited to launch our new Pilatus platform.”
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