Private Jets, Hot off Pandemic Surge, Face New Hurdles and Fewer Customers
- Private flights in US dropped 4.5% in 1Q from year earlier
- FlyExclusive plans SPAC public listing, valued at $900 million
Jim Segrave has provided private jet services to wealthy clients for decades. He chartered flights through the financial woes of 2008 and through hurricanes that slammed his home state of North Carolina, forcing him to salvage equipment from his flooded office building using a canoe.
But Segrave’s biggest test yet may come this summer as he pushes forward with a public listing of flyExclusive Inc., which operates more than 90 private jets, through a special purpose acquisition company that values his business at $900 million. Private flights in the US have declined from their pandemic highs, with takeoffs and landings dropping 4.5% in the first quarter from a year earlier. The drop accelerated to 9.3% in April compared with an 8.6% decrease in March.