The Jet Business was the first private jet aircraft brokerage to have a street-level retail location at London's Hyde Park Corner in 2011. More recently, founder Steve Varsano has become an internet sensation with over 2.5 million TikTok followers. Flexjet, Inc. acquired The Jet Business last week.

Doug Gollan

Steve Varsano's love for aviation began at the age of 14 after flying in a Cessna. By age 17, he had earned his pilot's license. His diverse career has spanned real estate, aviation, and restaurants, the latter with Yum Brands, where he headed international development for the company that franchises Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and KFC.

In 2011, he put the business of brokering private jet sales in the spotlight when he opened a street-level retail location at Hyde Park Corner, one of London's busiest intersections, replete with a cut-out life-size cabin interior of an Airbus Corporate Jet in the window.

More recently, Varsano built a TikTok audience of over 2.5 million followers with another 1.26 million on YouTube. His approach is direct, educational, and fact-based.

For a segment of the industry where large players measure sales by just dozens of transactions in any given year, and most business comes through referrals, Varsano's marketing of preowned aircraft led Corporate Jet Investor to designate him "the world's best-known aircraft salesperson."

On Friday, Flexjet, Inc. said it had acquired The Jet Business, with Varsano taking the role of president at his new company.

Varsano and The Jet Business are additive for Flexjet, Inc. in several ways.

The Jet Business’s London location should help propel the expansion of Flexjet’s fractional ownership program in Europe, just launched in 2021. While second to NetJets in North America, in Europe, it is competing against more established players such as NetJets, VistaJet, and a host of high-end independent charter operators.

Varsano’s extensive rolodex will also be valuable for building Flexjet, Inc.’s aircraft management portfolio. This area has never been a particularly large focus for Flexjet, Inc., but it has recently been expanding its infrastructure for its Sirio unit, based in Milan.

Then there is Varsano's expertise in sourcing both pre-owned aircraft and buyers, particularly for large-cabin and ultra-long-range private jets. Flexjet, Inc. chairman Kenn Ricci has built the company's fleet of heavy private jets mostly through the pre-owned market.

Exiting aircraft for fleet operators is also an art. While Flexjet sold 20 Challenger 300s to Baker Aviation last year, those types of deals can backfire - essentially providing arms to a competitor. After NetJets sold two dozen Dassault Falcon 2000s to Dumont Aviation last decade, the buyer refurbished the jets, and then turned around and created jet card and fractional programs competing against the the unit of Berkshire Hathaway.

"By further integrating aircraft acquisition and disposition capabilities within its global platform, Flexjet gains greater strategic control over fleet quality, modernization, and lifecycle planning," Flexjet said in the announcement.

Moreover, The Jet Business, which will keep its branding, should be a lead source from whole aircraft owners, not only for the Flexjet fractional ownership program but also for jet cards sold via Sentient Jet and ad hoc charters via FXAir.

Over 50% of whole aircraft owners also use jet cards, according to research by Private Jet Card Comparisons, while 47% charter for certain trips and 31% own fractional shares. Private jet owners use shares, jet cards, and charter when their existing aircraft is down for maintenance, out of position, not suitable for the mission, being used by someone else, or the pilots aren't available. Conversely, 14% of fractional customers also own a jet, providing leads for The Jet Business when Flexjet customers want to transition to full ownership.

"Clients engaging with The Jet Business will gain access to a new offering called Flexjet Solutions, which will provide access to the broader capabilities of the Flexjet ecosystem. Through this offering, owners and buyers can benefit from aircraft operational support, pre-purchase inspections, maintenance infrastructure, AOG response resources, and turnkey aircraft management solutions designed to maximize aircraft availability, while minimizing owner complexity and downtime," according to the announcement.

"A core tenet of our luxury strategy is maintaining one of the youngest and most modern fleets in the industry," says Ricci, adding, "To do that effectively requires sophisticated capabilities around aircraft remarketing and transition planning."

Ricci says, "This acquisition strengthens our platform to move aging aircraft gracefully out of the fleet, while introducing next-generation aircraft into service for our fractional owners. By continuing to gain greater control of key aspects of our industry ecosystem, Flexjet is constantly elevating customer experience and innovating product offerings in a way that truly redefines private aviation today."

For his part, Varsano says, "I am proud to see The Jet Business augment the global advisory and research capabilities of Flexjet, which has established itself as the definitive luxury brand in private aviation under the visionary helm of Kenn Ricci…The opportunity to take everything I have built and place it inside the world's leading luxury aviation platform is one you do not pass up."

Corporate Jet Investor's Al Whyte wrote of Varsano's social media prowess, "Many people in business aviation have gained credibility with their children for just knowing him." Varsano says his mass-market marketing, via his street-level location, videos, and the publicity they generated, has also attracted new customers.

Last year, Flexjet, Inc. attracted an $800 million investment from LVMH-affiliated investment firm L Catterton.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.