In this week’s VIP Seat podcast, we talk about:

The $175 Turkey Sandwich that everyone is talking about

The cost of in-flight catering has annoyed private jet flyers and operators for many years. Still, at Corporate Jet Investor Miami last week, Flexjet/Flight Options founder Ken Ricci said the firm spends a staggering $43 million annually on catering, $6 million of which is on silverware “set-ups” alone. He blamed private equity’s influence on the industry for increased catering costs and more expensive fuel and maintenance labor costs.

Jet tracking is already back…now on Reddit

Despite blocking Jack Sweeney on Meta and Twitter, flight-tracking enthusiasts have moved their hobby to Reddit. Elon Musk’s jet-tracking subreddit already has 200,000 followers, much to the chagrin of private jet privacy advocates. Users are commenting, "I love this tracker. It's great to see a billionaire's physical presence in politics. How quickly into 2025 does the data become unavailable for this tracker." Congress directed the FAA in the Reauthorization Act to provide more privacy for fliers, but the details of which have yet to be determined…

Volato Deal Produces $600K for FlyExclusive

FlyExclusive (FLYX) released earnings this week, with a mixed bag of results. FLYX took over the aircraft management of Volato’s fleet in September of this year and the firm notes that the deal has already netted them $600,000 to the bottom line. However, share prices sank as revenue from the beginning of the year has declined, lowering revenue per share, but year over year results reported an increase in revenue. They hope to reach positive adjusted EBITDA soon.

Famous and Infamous Celebrity Gulfstreams just listed for sale

If you’re in the market for a Gulfstream 550 or 650, there are plenty of options available. Jeff Bezos, who took delivery of his new G700 in August, has listed his G650ER for around $39 million; it’s one of 18 650ER models listed on Controller. Diddy/P. Diddy/Puff Daddy’s infamous G550, known as “LoveAir”, is also reportedly for sale, and is available for charter as well; the artist is working to raise funds for his legal troubles.

Wheels Up’s Acquisition of GrandView Aviation’s Fleet is Official

The deal officially closed last week as Wheels Up secured $332 million in financing from Bank of America to transition its fleet to Phenom 300s and other aircraft. CEO George Mattson stated the timeliness of the transaction will help support upcoming peak holiday travel.

“Wheels Up's Part 135 fleet comprises 105 aircraft, including thirty-eight Beech King Air B300s, twenty-seven Hawker 400XPs, nine Citation Excels, seven Citation XLS, and twenty-four Citation X. The operator plans to transition from the Citations and Hawkers to Phenoms and Challenger 300/350s as part of its ongoing restructuring. It recently entered into an agreement to sell of its owned Citation X jets, although it will lease some of them back to support the transition to the Challenger 300/350 fleet.” (CH-Aviation)