says. That’s not to say that smaller operators in the space aren’t keeping up, he suggests. However, Riegel says those companies positioned themselves to make money not only by trading shares at the right price but also by operating their fleet profitably, or even supplementing income through chartered services. But Riegel maintains Jet It missed the mark to the point where, earlier in the pandemic, he did not recommend the company to his clients after he looked at its contract and pricing because he suspected it wouldn’t last. Moreover, he says the writing is on the wall for some other small operators, like the rapidly declining AeroVanti. AeroVanti launched in 2021 during the industry’s Klondike gold-rush moment. Still, the spoils for the private aviation company, which operated the Piaggio P-180 Avanti under a pay-as-you-go business model, found itself embroiled in controversy over charges of fraud. That now has the company facing multiple lawsuits, not to mention running amok of FAA regulations for commercial operators. Things seemed to be going well. In March, notes from Sarasota Manatee Airport Authority meeting minutes indicated the company was in the process of securing long-term hangar space—a $10 million investment for a 20-year lease—at that airport and even mentioned deals the company signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the
University of Maryland Terrapins, and the University of Central Florida Knights to be their exclusive private aviation partners. But how quickly things changed. By April, news of the trouble at the company bubbled to the surface as the FAA began to probe AeroVanti’s operating practices and procedures. Shortly after, lawsuits began, and by June, the company grounded its fleet and suspended its services. In the last week of July, Patrick Britton- Harr, AeroVanti’s embattled chairman and CEO, departed. His replacement, Scott Hopes, is now doing what he can to stave off the certain rigor mortis the operator is facing. And those are just two operators. Aside from those that have shuttered, others have faced FAA enforcement actions involving either a civil penalty or the issuing of a certificate suspension or revocation. In its latest report at the end of March, the FAA said it sanctioned 20 operators for recent offenses. The most seismic news of the year’s first half came in May when Wheels Up announced that its founder and CEO, Kenny Dichter, would step down amid another quarter report of losses. Dichter founded the company in 2013 and brought it public on the New York Stock Exchange in 2021, but he struggled to make the company profitable as its number of active members and live legs shrank. The company also found itself
Volato announced in early August its plans to become a publicly traded company through a SPAC merger with an enter- prise value of $261 million. The company will trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol NYSE: SOAR.
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