$300M Data Center, Netjets and Starlink Unlikely Fellows, and CSX Flight Dept. Says Goodbye

🚀 Boom Supersonic Raises $300M... But Not for Supersonic Jets

Boom Supersonic just raised $300 million in a round led by Darsana Capital Partners with participation from Altimeter, Ark Invest, Bessemer, and Y Combinator. But here's the twist: it's not for the Overture supersonic aircraft. It's to commercialize a stationary gas turbine called "Superpower" that will power AI data centers.

Their first (and so far only) customer is Crusoe, which is buying 29 of Boom's 42-megawatt turbines for $1.25 billion to generate 1.21 gigawatts for data center operations. First deliveries are expected in 2027.

The Hot Take: As Alasdair put it on the show—if you can play in the Super Bowl, why would you choose college football? If Boom can make money selling turbines to data centers, why deal with the decade-long certification headaches, manufacturing ramp-up, and razor-thin margins of aircraft development? The answer, apparently, is that turbine profits will fund supersonic dreams. But let's be honest: if the data center business works, there's no need for the aircraft. And if it doesn't, they probably can't fund the aircraft anyway. CEO Blake Scholl is calling this Boom's "Starlink moment," but we'll see if the comparison holds.

Read more on Tech Crunch

🚂 CSX Shuts Down 84-Year-Old Flight Department

CSX Corporation has closed its corporate aviation department after 84 years of operation. The flight department was disbanded on December 1st, just over two months after new CEO Steve Angel joined the company. Pilots and mechanics are now looking for work.

The timing makes sense… the railroad has warned of weak Q4 results due to lower-than-expected coal and automotive shipments. Add in the pending Norfolk Southern merger, and cost-cutting optics become more attractive.

The Hot Take: Before you read the headlines about corporate austerity, know this: word on the street is CSX is going fractional, not commercial. So the executives will still fly private—they just won't have their own fleet. This isn't unique either; International Paper, Sedwick, and Air Products all shut down flight departments this year. The interesting thing? Some companies that made this same move four or five years ago have quietly come back to whole aircraft ownership after realizing fractional doesn't always deliver the same service level. The CEO who misses a callout tends to change the equation pretty quickly.

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📡 NetJets Signs Starlink Deal for 600 Aircraft

NetJets and Starlink have entered into a multi-year agreement to bring high-speed connectivity to 600 aircraft across NetJets' fleet. Installation begins this month and will be completed by the end of 2026. The deal covers Latitudes, Praetor 500s, Longitudes, Challenger 350s, Challenger 650s, and the entire Global fleet in the U.S., plus Challenger 650s and Globals in Europe.

Interestingly, NetJets also maintains its 20-year relationship with Gogo. The Phenom 300 fleet, upcoming Citation Ascends, and European Latitudes will get Gogo Galileo instead.

The Hot Take: This is a bifurcated connectivity strategy, and it's worth watching closely. Alasdair dropped some knowledge on the show: Starlink can't be used in certain countries (China, for one), and it's a closed system… you can’t run multiple systems if you’re using Starlink without additional hardware. Gogo Galileo lets you switch between air-to-ground and satellite. Then there's the waiting list problem; Starlink dishes aren't always available when you need them. And here's the sleeper: Amazon is launching its own aviation connectivity product next year. The connectivity wars are far from over. Starlink has brand recognition, as every principal knows the name… but that doesn't mean they've won.

Read more on Private Jet Card Comparisons

💰 Bond Raises Another $44 Million (How Is This Happening So Fast?)

Bill Papariella's new fractional venture Bond has confirmed yet another fundraise—$44 million from "a group of ultra-wealthy individuals," according to Axios. This comes on top of the $30 million from founding partners earlier this year and $320 million in preferred equity and debt via KKR. That's nearly $400 million in financing for a company that currently has no airplanes, no operations, and won't start flying until 2027.

Bond was revealed at NBAA in October as the mystery customer behind Bombardier's $1.7 billion order for Challenger 3500s and Global jets.

The Hot Take: As we discussed on the show, there are two types of fundraisers in this business: the dreamers and the "I have a track record, now watch" crowd. Bill Papariella firmly falls into the second category. The man built Jet Edge and knows how to execute. But here's the question we keep coming back to: who exactly is the Bond customer? They're positioning themselves as the "Aman Hotels of private aviation"—a step above Vista's old "Four Seasons" pitch—but the ultra-luxury fractional market is a pretty narrow Venn diagram. Is it Hollywood? Tech billionaires who want bespoke everything? We're genuinely curious. At this funding pace, they clearly have believers. We'll see if the addressable market matches the ambition.

Read more on Private Jet Card Comparisons

🤳 Mile High Madness

This week's wildest aviation content from social media

The Infinite Loop of React Videos: Al brought a video of Steve Varsano reacting to the detailer guy video, where we then react. So it becomes an infinite loop of react videos if the detailer guy then posts a react video to The VIP Seat reacting to Steve Varsano’s reaction… that said, Steve has been butt of many of these jokes so it’s good to see him having some fun.

Bonus Depreciation Math Gone Wrong: Preston reacts to a real estate “guru” telling everyone about his $7k a month triple net lease to a flight school on a $280k LSA aircraft. The math doesn’t always math… so yet another reaction video. Standby on X to see if the guru responds.

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The VIP Seat Weekly is the companion newsletter to The VIP Seat podcast. We give you the business aviation hot takes for your commute.

Jessie’s Links:
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Preston’s Links:
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Private Jet Insider (Newsletter)
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