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Illegal Seat Sharing in Bizav, Soaring Tarrifs Are Back

Illegal Seat Sharing in Bizav, Soaring Tarrifs Are Back

Plus, Jetnet IQ Data, IPO stalled, and other statistics (this is a data filled episode!)

Jessica Naor & Preston Holland
July 15, 2025

✈️ The VIP Seat Weekly

Your business aviation hot takes, served fresh

This Week: Business aviation weekly: WhatsApp seat-sharing hits Wall Street Journal spotlight, new tariffs threaten Canada & Brazil aircraft trade, fatal accidents trend up globally, and JetNet reveals book-to-bill manufacturing ratios.

Season 2, Episode 7 | July 15th, 2025 | Episode Companion

🛫 The Runway Report

The top 5 stories from this week's podcast that are moving the needle in bizav

1️⃣ WhatsApp Groups Gets National Press (And It's Totally Illegal)

Gif by salonline on Giphy

The Scoop: The Wall Street Journal exposed WhatsApp groups where people are selling private jet seats to strangers…basically recreating the JetSmarter model but with zero regulatory oversight. It's bringing back all the gray‑area charter nightmares we thought we'd left behind.
Our Take: The market is screaming for this service, but we're stuck in regulatory limbo. Preston's hot take: The FAA needs to create a framework for Part 380 brokers to do this legally, or it's going to be whack‑a‑mole forever. People miss JetSmarter more than any other aviation service, and that demand isn't going away.
Links: Wall Street Journal | Doug Gollan's deep dive analysis

2️⃣ Trump's Tariff War Targets Canada and Brazil

Giphy

The Scoop: 25% tariffs on Canada effective August 1st, and potentially 50% on Brazil over their cozy relationship with China and Russia. This has the potential to hit Bombardier, Embraer, Pratt & Whitney engines, and basically every component that crosses borders.
Our Take: The geopolitics are getting messy and our supply chain is about to feel it. Bombardier might be protected under USMCA, but parts and maintenance costs are going up regardless. The Brazil play is pure power politics… they need to pick a side, and Trump's forcing their hand.
Links: Tariff announcement details

3️⃣ Business Aviation Accidents Trending Up (Not Great)

The Scoop: First half of 2025 saw 18 fatal turbine business aircraft accidents worldwide claiming 81 lives, up from 17 accidents and 54 fatalities in 2024. US‑registered aircraft actually improved slightly, but the global trend is concerning.
Our Take: The devil's in the details… all three fatal US accidents were Part 91 single-pilot operations in older aircraft. When you separate dual‑crew Part 135 operations from weekend warriors in aging jets, the safety story looks very different. Still, any upward trend is unacceptable.
Links: AIN safety report Aviation International News | PASA safety data dashboard

4️⃣ PHI Helicopters Pulls IPO as Private Equity Gets Stuck

Rich Rich Finance GIF by What We Do in the Shadows

Gif by theshadowsfx on Giphy

The Scoop: PHI Aviation withdrew their IPO plans after a year and a half, while Gama Aviation continues acquiring medevac operators. Major PE firms have been stuck holding helicopter investments for nearly a decade, which is way beyond typical investment horizons.
Our Take: Public markets hate aviation complexity, and helicopters are complexity on steroids. Time‑life components, OEM integration, and medevac operations don't translate well to Wall Street analysts. Sometimes staying private is the smarter play.
Links: PHI IPO withdrawal | Gama Aviation acquisition spree

5️⃣ JetNet Reveals Manufacturing Reality Check

The Scoop: New book‑to‑bill ratio data from JetNet IQ shows Embraer leading the pack despite wild volatility, while established players like Gulfstream stay steady. The post‑COVID highs are officially over, but most manufacturers are still above 1.0.
Our Take: We're back to normal after the 2021 insanity, which is healthy. Embraer's volatility reflects their supply chain struggles and those massive FlexJet orders. The real test comes next year when tariff impacts fully hit the numbers.
Links: JetNet IQ manufacturing data

🤳 Mile High Madness

This week's wildest aviation content from social media

Jessie's Pick - JetSmarter Throwback: We dug up this absolute classic - a completely unhinged JetSmarter passenger from years ago screaming "heads will be chopped off!" during a full mental breakdown on a shared flight. Perfect timing given this week's WhatsApp seat-sharing story. It's a reminder that democratizing private aviation sometimes attracts people you really don't want at 41,000 feet.

Preston's Pick - Tiffany Gomez Goes Gulfstream: The woman who went viral freaking out on American Airlines is back - posting "vacay mode on" with her passport from inside what's clearly a Gulfstream (those circular windows don't lie). Apparently getting yourself banned from commercial airlines is one way to upgrade your travel experience. (We’re unsure if she’s actually banned)

Vaca mode… on. 😎👙☀️
— Tiffany Gomas (@Tiffany_Gomas)
1:58 PM • Jul 12, 2025