✈️ The VIP Seat Weekly

Your business aviation hot takes, served fresh

January 6, 2026 | Season 3 Episode 1 Companion

Welcome back to The VIP Seat—it's 2026 and we're kicking off the new year with a bang. Literally. Delta Force grabbed Maduro, the Caribbean turned into a no-fly zone during peak travel season, and chaos ensued. We've also got a bankruptcy that's been two years in the making, a safety system proving its worth, a bipartisan win for ADS-B, and two publicly traded operators going to court. Let's get into it.

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🚁 Maduro Capture Creates Private Aviation Chaos

The Scoop: Nicolas Maduro was captured by Delta Force in a midnight operation over the weekend, and the aftermath sent shockwaves through aviation. Aerial reconnaissance shut down airspace across the Western Caribbean and much of South America… during what's arguably the busiest private aviation weekend of the entire year. Commercial airlines suspended service, though some foreign-tailed aircraft found workarounds. Read more

Our Take: Accusations of price gouging surfaced, but here's the reality: the fleet isn't elastic. When demand spikes unexpectedly and operators have to reposition aircraft from California to handle rescue flights, that's supply and demand doing its thing.

Jet It Finally Files Chapter 7

The Scoop: Two and a half years after shuttering operations, Jet It has officially filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy. The numbers are brutal: $1.1 million in assets against over $36 million in liabilities. Lojet, which owned roughly 40% of the company, is the only secured creditor… owed over $26 million. Everyone else is likely getting nothing. Read more

Our Take: The creditor list reads like a who's who of aviation vendors: Honeywell ($607K), World Fuel ($735K), Flight Safety ($400K), JSSI ($227K), GoGo ($227K), American Express ($600K+), and various operators owed between $4K-$27K each. The filing mentions a speculative HondaJet lawsuit… wouldn’t hold our breaths. For the industry, this creates ripple effects: companies absorb losses and pass them on, and startup operators will find credit even harder to come by.

🎯 Garmin Autoland Proves Itself in King Air Emergency

The Scoop: Big win for aviation safety. Garmin's Autoland system successfully landed a King Air after a rapid loss of cabin pressure during departure from Aspen at FL230. The crew donned oxygen masks and the system activated automatically. Here's the key: the pilots were conscious and chose to let the system handle it rather than risk cognitive impairment from potential hypoxia. The aircraft landed safely and flew out the next day. Read more

Our Take: Aspen is no cakewalk… terrain, airspace, altitude, runway complexity. Autoland handled all of it. Kudos to the pilots for not ego-tripping and saying "I'm better than the machine." Hypoxia is incredibly hard to recognize in yourself, and this crew made the smart call. This technology needs to win every award from here on out. It's saving lives.

Senate Passes Rotor Act Unanimously

The Scoop: In the wake of the DCA crash, the Senate unanimously passed the Rotor Act, requiring ADS-B in and out in busy airspace and closing the Pentagon loophole that exempted military helicopters from transponder requirements during training exercises. The families are pushing for FAA implementation before the crash anniversary. Read more

Our Take: This is a no-brainer. ADS-B out isn't new… you already can't fly in controlled airspace without it. While there is a legit need for military training (you can't exactly build a fake city), there's no reason to compromise civilian safety.

⚖️ Wheels Up Refiles $37.5M Lawsuit Against Fly Exclusive

The Scoop: The Wheels Up vs. Fly Exclusive saga continues. After the Southern District of New York dismissed the case, Wheels Up has refiled their $37.5 million lawsuit in North Carolina. This stems from a November 2021 Guaranteed Rate Program agreement… 10 light jets and 10 mid-sized jets dedicated to Wheels Up customers. The lawsuit alleges breach of contract, fraudulent misrepresentation, unfair trade practices, and unjust enrichment. Read more

Our Take: Here's what's fascinating: the entire agreement is now public in the court docket including rates, overnight costs, back-and-forth emails. Wheels Up claims they put over $30 million in deposits upfront, which somewhat undermines Fly Exclusive's potential concerns about getting paid. GRPs were very popular post-COVID when everyone was desperate for lift and everyone was printing money. Now we're seeing what happens when those agreements go sideways.

🎨 Mile High Madness

Less spicy this week, more eye candy. Jesse found a stunning G700 interior by Kimmel Interiors featuring starry sky ceilings (think Rolls Royce Phantom vibes), gold accents with blue stone velvet chairs.

Meanwhile, BizAv Memes came back with a vengeance!

🎧 This Week's Episode

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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:
Private Aviation Safety Alliance
FlyVizor
LinkedIn

Preston’s Links:
Prestige Aircraft Finance
Private Jet Insider (Newsletter)
LinkedIn
X (Formerly Known as Twitter)
Jetting