 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Aviation |
| Founded | 2018 |
| Headquarters | Dubai, UAE |
| Website | vistaglobal |
Vista Global Holding Limited is a private aviation group based in Dubai. It was founded in 2018 by Thomas Flohr. The group offers private jet services under VistaJet and XO. [1]
Vista was launched on September 20, 2018 with support from the global private equity firm, Rhône. Rhône invested an additional $200 million in September 2018. [2] Vista became the parent company of VistaJet, a global business aviation company that Flohr founded in 2004. [3] A week after Vista's launch, it acquired the on-demand private jet company, XOJET. [4] [5]
In April 2019, Vista acquired JetSmarter, a technology-enabled service provider specializing in the aviation industry, [6] [7] [8] and in June, it merged XOJET with JetSmarter and rebranded the companies as XO. [9] [10]
By 2020, Vista acquired Red Wing Aviation, Apollo Jet, and Talon Air. [11] [12]
In February 2022, Vista acquired Air Hamburg, the private jet operator with the highest number of flights across Europe. [13] [14] [15] In March, it acquired Jet Edge, a private aviation company based in North America, offering jet cards and charter flight services. [16] Over 800 Jet Edge employees also joined Vista. [17]
In April 2022, Fitch Ratings assigned Vista Global's $500 million notes a final BB- rating with a Recovery Rating of RR3. [18]
As of February 2024, Fitch Ratings assigned Vista’s IDR at "B+" with a recovery rating of RR3. [19]
In 2024, Vista’s founder Thomas Flohr alleged in legal filings that a rival company and Timothy Horlick, a British financier, launched a smear campaign against Vista. Flohr claims that AirX founder John Matthews used a burner email address with a fabricated identity to send emails to business contacts of VistaJet, bypassing court-ordered confidentiality. He also alleges Matthews created a WhatsApp group in March 2023, titled VistaComms, which was used to discuss with colleagues the use of burner emails to share confidential information about VistaJet with lenders, business partners, and journalists. [20]
SmartLynx Airlines Limited, previously LatCharter, is a Latvia-based ACMI, charter and cargo airline based in Mārupe, operating flights on wet lease out (ACMI), holiday charter flights, ad-hoc passenger charter and cargo flights across Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, Canada and the United States.
NetJets Inc. is an American company that sells fractional ownership shares in private business jets.
ABS Jets is a business jet operator based in Prague, Czech Republic, and Bratislava, Slovak Republic.
VistaJet is a global business aviation company founded in 2004 by Thomas Flohr. The firm flies between any two points, under a "pay for hours flown" fare structure.
Air Hamburg Luftverkehrsgesellschaft mbH is an open-base charter airline headquartered in Hamburg, Germany. According to its own statement, it is the "largest provider of charter business aviation in Europe".
Rhône Group is a global private equity firm with approximately $11 billion of assets under management, specializing in mergers and acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, recapitalizations, and partnerships with particular focus on European and trans-Atlantic investments. Rhône also offers financial advisory services, strategic alliances, joint partnerships, and business valuation services. Rhone Group was listed in 2013 to 2014 by Preqin as the 'Most Consistent Performing Private Equity Fund Manager' based on both its multiple and IRR of all 3 funds in the top quartile ranking.
XO is a US-based private aviation company and subsidiary of Vista Global with its headquarters in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. XO, with a worldwide fleet access of more than 1,450 private aircraft, offers clients on-demand private jet charters with fixed-price membership programs as alternatives to jet cards and fractional ownership of aircraft. The company also offers the ability to purchase individual seats on pre-arranged, shared flights.
AirMed International, LLC, based in Birmingham, Alabama, is aa FAA-approved fee-for-service air ambulance airline. AirMed holds accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation of Medical Transport Systems (CAMTS) and the European Aero-medical Institute, and is an accredited service provider with the International Assistance Group (IAG).
Avolon is an aircraft leasing company headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. It was established in May 2010 by Dómhnal Slattery and a team from RBS Aviation Capital, including John Higgins, Tom Ashe, Andy Cronin, Simon Hanson, and Ed Riley. In December 2014, Avolon went public on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) with the ticker symbol AVOL, marking the largest listing of an Irish-founded company on the NYSE. In September 2015, Avolon received a cash offer from Bohai Leasing Co., an affiliated Chinese leasing and financial services company, to acquire 100% of Avolon's common shares. The acquisition by Bohai Leasing was completed in January 2016, leading to Avolon's delisting from the NYSE. In November 2018, ORIX Corporation, a Japanese financial institution, acquired a 30% stake in Avolon from its shareholder, Bohai Capital, which is part of the HNA Group.
Jet Support Services, Inc. (JSSI) is a maintenance support and financial services provider to the aviation industry. The company offers hourly cost maintenance, or Power by the Hour, programs for corporate and private aircraft engines, APUs and airframes. The company's JSSI Parts & Leasing division provides parts, engine and APU leasing support for approximately 10,000 aircraft maintenance events each year. Following the acquisitions of TRAXXALL, SierraTrax and Conklin & de Decker, JSSI also offers aircraft consulting services and software to support aircraft owners and operators with aircraft maintenance tracking, acquisition, financing and operating decisions.
Kenneth C. "Kenn" Ricci is an American aviation entrepreneur, the principal of Directional Aviation Capital, which owns or invests in various aviation enterprises including Flight Options and Flexjet, where he is chairman. He is an operating partner at Resilience Capital Partners, a private equity firm with a variety of portfolio companies, including an investment in Flight Options, and has helped found or lead other companies, including Nextant Aerospace and Constant Aviation.
Surf Air is a Los Angeles-based aviation marketplace offering regional flight services and a strong focus on developing electric aircraft solutions. Surf Air is a subsidiary of Surf Air Mobility.
JetSmarter was a corporation and mobile application for private jet users. The company was headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States. The app connected users to available aircraft and routes in the United States, Europe and Middle East. The company was purchased by Vista Global in 2019 and merged into a new brand, XOJET Aviation.
JetSuiteX, Inc. is an American air carrier in the United States and Mexico that describes itself as a "hop-on jet service" that operates point-to-point flights between and within Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, and Texas in the United States and Baja California Sur in Mexico.
Wheels Up is a provider of "on demand" private aviation in the United States and one of the largest private aviation companies in the world. It was founded in 2013 by Kenny Dichter, using a membership/on-demand business model. Wheels Up members can book private aircraft from the company fleet and third-party operators using a mobile application.
Flexjet is an American provider of fractional ownership aircraft, leasing, and jet card services. Founded in 1995 as a division of Bombardier Aerospace, it is currently owned by Directional Aviation, an aviation private investment firm.
Thomas Flohr is a Swiss businessman, amateur racing driver, and former billionaire. He is the founder and chairman of VistaJet, a private jet charter company.
Clay Lacy Aviation is a business aviation company founded at Van Nuys Airport (KVNY) in 1968 by Clay Lacy. Clay Lacy Aviation provides aircraft management, private air charter, aircraft maintenance, fixed-base operator (FBO) and other services to private and corporate clients. The company manages a nationwide fleet of more than 100 business jet aircraft, worth more than $1.5 billion, most of which are available for domestic and international private charter.
Surf Air Mobility Inc. is an American aviation company focused on regional flying. The company plans to develop electric and hybrid powertrains to upgrade existing aircraft. Surf Air Mobility is the parent company of Surf Air, a charter flight operator, and two airlines, Mokulele Airlines and Southern Airways Express.
Elevate Aviation Group, formerly known as Elevate Holdings, is an American aviation, air transportation, aircraft management and maintenance service group. It was founded in 2003 by Greg Raiff.