- Record number of new VistaJet Members onboarded in first half 2023.
- Existing clients are flying more with Vista, with approximately 50% of Program hours sold being add-on hours, highlighting the unique attractiveness of the subscription product.
- Larger Member base and fleet led to flight hours increasing by 30% in the first six months of 2023 compared to the same period in 2022.
- Extensive cabin upgrades across the fleet, highest speed Wi-Fi and retraining of Cabin Hosts to maintain unparalleled client experience.
Vista Global Holding (Vista), the world’s leading global private aviation group, today gives a market update and an overview of its performance for the first half of 2023. The company has seen exceptional growth in demand across all geographies in the first half of the year, supported by significant growth in its Program membership, reflecting the positive trends across its dynamic global markets and demand from both existing and new Members.
Vista’s total flight hours grew 30% globally since the start of 2023. Europe was the largest contributor to growth in absolute terms, with flight hours up 38% year-on-year, contributing to 34% of Vista’s total flight hours. The U.S., Vista’s largest region, saw flight hours increase by 15%, and Program contracted hours sold up over 40%. Strong global performance was also driven by other key geographies in Vista’s portfolio, including Asia, which saw 80% growth in flight hours year-on-year, and the Middle East, where flight hours grew by 62%. Strong demand for ultra-long-range travel among corporates has been fueling growth, which is serviced on Vista’s intercontinental fleet — the largest available in the industry.
“We are off to a strong start in 2023 thanks to our rapidly growing subscription Program, which highlights just how popular our unique asset free offering is among both existing clients and those flying private for the first time. Reflecting the enduring demand for the subscription model across our client base across all markets, we continue to see unprecedented levels of demand from existing and new Members, with many more hours being sold to existing Members as well as a large number of new clients asking to join Vista”.
Thomas Flohr, Vista’s Founder and Chairman
The VistaJet Program has delivered impressive Members’ growth in the first half of the year, up ~40% relative to June 2022, while Program hours sold grew by more than 20% year-on-year in the first six months of 2023, half of which came from add-on hours for existing clients.
Investments made have substantially scaled the fleet and geographical scope of Vista’s offering, especially across the U.S., Europe, and the Middle East, giving Vista clients a truly unrivaled level of global coverage and connectivity. Vista has conducted an extensive upgrade program of its fleet to keep improving its cabins to the level of the new Global 7500 specifications and to deliver a consistent client experience on every flight.
Today, already more than 200 aircraft provide the iconic silver and red quality and onboard products. Year to date, Vista has upgraded 46 aircraft globally, 31 of which are U.S.-registered, including Citation X, G450 and GIV-SP, as well as 15 in the international fleet, including Citation XLS+, Legacy 650 and Falcon 7X.
A larger fleet requires a growing number of industry experts to maintain Vista’s quality of service on every flight. Vista and its operating partners in the U.S. have therefore continued to invest in the best people, training them to the highest standards that Vista expects of its crew on every flight. Across 40 assessment days held in the U.S. and Europe, Vista met more than 500 candidates, narrowed down from more than 3,000 applicants, before welcoming the strongest 120 performers to the Vista team. Since the beginning of 2023, Vista has trained over 250 Cabin Hosts, including the entire Air Hamburg team, and more than half of those from Jet Edge, with the remaining set to be trained by the end of September.
In May, Vista successfully launched the first U.S.-based VistaJet Training Academy in Columbus, Ohio. Furthermore, Vista is ensuring upgraded ground support across the globe thanks to an expanded team of Quality Ambassadors.