JSX, the semi-private experience
Ask any business owner in Dallas how they travel, and if they don't own a King Air, they probably fly JSX as much as often as they can. JSX, for those that don't live in the Southwest, is a public charter operation that sells by-the-seat public charters primarily in the Southwest. If you want to see the whole experience, you should watch this video from my friend Nick Gray. Prices range significantly, from a few hundred dollars to over $1,000 for the longer more popular routes. It is objectively far more comfortable and enjoyable than commercial air travel, I just wish they flew to a single location that was convenient for me to fly them more often.
The Origin Story
JSX (formerly known as JetSuiteX) was not the original business model for founder Alex Wilcox. Originally, JetSuite was started as an on-demand charter operator, most similar to a Wheels Up or a Surf Air as you may recognize today.
The early days (2006-2008)
Founded in 2006, the original idea for JetSuite was to build a lean, efficient private charter company that could revolutionize private aviation. JetSuite aimed to make private flying transparent, accessible, and, a probably overused term, "disruptive." This is well before Wheels Up founding (2013), JetSmarter (2012), and Volato (2021-2024). Its founded around the same time as XO Jet (2006), and 2 years after Facebook (2004). This should give you some perspective for the fundraising market.
The choice of aircraft, the Embraer Phenom 100, was a bit of a head-scratcher. Sure, it was modern and fuel-efficient, but the tight cabin wasn’t exactly a crowd-pleaser. Still, JetSuite officially took flight in 2008—right into the throws of a global financial crisis.
Gaining Some Traction (2010–2015)
Jetsuite sells to David Neeleman (of JetBlue, Azul, and West Jet airline fame) in 2010, but Wilcox stays as CEO. Then, as they continued to grow their fleet of Phenom 100's and expand into Texas, their standout innovation was SuiteDeals: an offer that filled unsold flights at low prices. Sounds like an empty leg, right?
Yet, balancing affordability with profitability proved tricky. The Phenom 100 fleet was economical but limited in range and capacity. To appeal to higher-end clients and expand their East Coast operation, JetSuite brought in the larger Citation CJ3s (announced Oct. 2012), with what seemed like a smart move. Competition was fierce, with players like XOJET, NetJets, and even subscription-based newcomers like Surf Air (2012) all fighting for a slice of the market.
Insert: JetSuiteX, A Pivot with Potential (2016)
By 2016, JetSuite faced stagnation in its core Part 135 charter business. Enter JetSuiteX—an attempt to blend the best of private and commercial aviation. Think private terminal perks and no TSA lines, combined with semi-private scheduled flights on Embraer ERJ-135/145 jets.
It was brilliant, filling a gap for travelers who wanted more than commercial but less than private. However, as you know, adding complexity to your business creates cost centers. Meanwhile, JetSuite’s charter business quietly started taking a backseat.
The Cracks Begin to Show (2018–2019)
In 2018, major investments from JetBlue and Qatar Airways should’ve been a turning point. But with big money came big expectations. JetSuite was stretched thin between its hybrid business model—was it a charter company or a semi-private airline? Operational hiccups, customer complaints, and rising competition only added to the pressure.
Wheels Up, a rising star with a subscription model and aggressive marketing, began siphoning off clients. And even JSX (renamed from JetSuiteX in Fall 2019) started facing new entrants.
The Final Descent: COVID-19 Strikes (2020)
By 2020, JetSuite was already wobbling. Then, COVID-19 grounded the entire aviation industry. While the big players weathered the storm, JetSuite didn’t have the same financial runway. By April, operations ceased, and the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, citing the pandemic as the knockout punch. Critics, though, argue the seeds of failure were planted long before—over-expansion, over-reliance on investors, and financial missteps.
One of the keys points was they used jet card deposits for funding operations (as was allowed under their contract) to the tune of $50m. If you want to dive deep into the bankruptcy story, read this article. Basically, the money was gone.
How did JSX come out the other end?
Through some strategic corporate structuring, JSX continued as a by-the-seat public charter operation. As separate entities, JSX continued on as a business and has become what we know it as today: a public charter operator.
What is a public charter?
Alright, so what does "public charter" mean exactly?
FAR Part 380 is the regulation set that governs "public charters." The concept was originally created for travel agents arranging trips for cruises or Vegas runs, where they could sell by-the-seat. In this scenario, the travel agent's LLC would book the on-demand charter (say, JFK to Miami) from the operator and then turn around and sell the individual seats. If the aircraft has 30 or less seats, the aircraft can fly under Part 135 rules. If the aircraft has more than 30 seats, it must fly under Part 121 rules (the same rules that govern airliners.)
Where JSX found the opportunity is by acting as both entities, and as long as you have less than 30 seats you can fly the aircraft under Part 135 rules, allowing them to leave out of FBO's and private terminals.
The flights are all technically operated by Delux Public Charter, LLC, which holds the air carrier certificate. That means, they are actually performing the flight on behalf of JetSuiteX., Inc. who then sells you the individual seats. They have common ownership, but are following all of the proper rules and regulations. Pretty clever, yeah?
The Business Model: Small Airports, Small Terminals, Scale Gracefully
One of the most popular questions I got asked when I tweeted about about this newsletter was around JSX's business model and their profitability. The head of PR reached out to me when he saw my tweet (x post? still not sure what we're calling it) and I sent some questions to help frame this part of the newsletter. First, in order to provide a better understanding for you, I'm going to explain the difference between Block Hour and RASM/CASM revenue management.
Block Hour Revenue Management
This is the methodology I primarily use when creating content, because it is the most relevant to true private aviation (see this article on cost-per-hour). If you’re operating a charter business, fractional program, or managing a fleet of business jets, block hour revenue management is probably how you create a business plan.
- What it is: Revenue is tied to the time an aircraft is active, from engine start to shutdown—measured in "block hours."
- Who uses it: This method thrives in smaller, bespoke operations like charter services and fractional ownership programs.
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Why it works:
- Operational Simplicity: Maintenance, crew, and fuel costs align neatly with aircraft time in use.
- Flexibility: Tailor-made for pay-as-you-go models like hourly charter rates.
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Where it stumbles:
- Scalability Issues: Block hour models struggle when passenger loads and route efficiency become critical.
- Revenue Gaps: Since it ignores per-seat utilization, this method can miss out on insights for larger-scale planning.
RASM & CASM Revenue Management
This is the type of revenue management you would see in an airline, like Delta or United. RASM stands for Revenue per Available Seat Mile and CASM stands for Cost per Available Seat Mile. You're smart, you can see that the super basic math is RASM-CASM=net margin.
- What it is: These metrics focus on seat efficiency over distance flown.
- Who uses it: Airlines optimizing for profitability and operational efficiency across complex networks.
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Why it works:
- Comparative Power: You can benchmark performance against competitors, but even more useful to benchmark across your own routes. Makes it really easy to make route decisions.
- Efficiency Insights: It’s all about maximizing every mile flown, making it ideal for route optimization.
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The challenges:
- Data Heavy: Success demands meticulous tracking of load factors, seating configurations, and route metrics.
- Scale Dependence: RASM/CASM shines brightest with large fleets and economies of scale.
JSX Uses a Combo of the Two
JSX uses both when calculating their route planning and their revenue management. One X user asked me why they abruptly cancelled the Denver to Dallas route, and the answer is they probably ran an analysis that said that the route wasn't profitable anymore. Here's the first big difference I'm pointing out in this article between true private flying and JSX. When you are flying private, the plane comes and picks you up and drops you off where you want to go, when you want to go. They charge you X, the trip costs them Y, and their profit is X-Y=Z. JSX has up to 30 customers on a route, and assuming they're using dynamic pricing have all paid a slight variation of the price. Enter, RASM and CASM.
They have said they use block hour revenue management as well, so there is consideration for that. The equation is simple: cost per hour (X) times the time in route (Y), divided by the number of passengers (Z) times a margin (.05 for example). So your equation is (X*Y/Z)*.05 and the math is pretty straight forward.
Doing Some Back-of-the-napkin Math
Aircraft Cost Calculator says that the ERJ145 (one of the aircraft JSX flies) costs $5,800 per hour to fly. I don't think this is totally right, and isn't factoring in much of fixed overhead including crew, but let's use it as an example for this thought exercise. For a one hour flight say Dallas to Houston, the cost would be $5,800, which would make a full flight (30 seats) break-even at $193 per seat. I picked a random few dates for that route with JSX and it's around $234 per seat. They would need to sell 25 of the 30 seats to break even on the flight. Now, their cost per hour is probably lower because of scale (see: scale power law). But you get the idea, the margins are thin and if its not a full flight, it might from time-to-time be operating at a loss. That's when RASM/CASM comes into play looking at the lifetime of the route and measuring customer demand (RIP Nashville to White Plains.)
JSX: Can it survive?
I think it comes down to a few core ideas.
Profitability
Well, they're not publicly traded, so I can't tell you if they're profitable or not. I do know that the best way to make a million dollars is to start out with a billion dollars and start an airline. As I've said many times, the movement of people business has razor thin margins and theres so many ways for it to go horribly wrong. You've seen from the above examples where it takes a lot of effort to create a profitable "scheduled" (technically not scheduled but, let's be honest, it's pretty scheduled) airline.
Scale
I also think scaling in this business is really hard. How many people are willing to pay a premium to first class to fly on a service like JSX? The market isn't infinite, but it's also not small. Being able to land at smaller airports thanks to the Part 135/Part 380 situation definitely helps, because they can manage costs by selecting smaller airports (OPF in Miami instead of MIA, or HPN in New York City, for instance) and can have a more exclusive feel.
Political Pressure
There's also a lot of political pressure that JSX is under because of the Part 135/Part 380 as some like to call it "loophole." The FAA as recent as this year (2024) has said they want to close the loophole for services like JSX, which would land them in a large company of defunct and bankrupt charter operators and airlines. The pilot's union has an issue with it because of the age restriction being less in Part 135 and because they don't have to fly Part 121, the airlines hate it because its forcing them to make a better product (shocker), and frankly, people who can't afford it hate it because they're jealous. Maybe the Trump Administration will look at it differently and see the opportunity and benefit to this service, and if the rumor is true that Alex Wilcox might have a seat at the head of the FAA in the new administration, I would imagine he would move to cement the rule relatively quickly.
Security Pressure
The other issue a lot of people take is how safe is it, and how can they prevent some sort of catastrophic safety event? They do use the same background screening technology (TSA secure flight) that the airlines use, and they use non-invasive scanning technology to make sure nothing dangerous gets on board.
Future Technologies
I have been micro-obsessed with the concept of regional air mobility for the past two years, imagining a world in which smaller tertiary cities are connected by some sort of air service in order to move about the country more freely. For those that don't know, I live just outside of Chattanooga, Tennessee, and our airline service sucks. Regional air mobility unlocks towns like Chattanooga and Huntsville, AL, and Greenville, SC, and Bentonville, AR to more people experiencing their city. I am fully convinced the only way this ever becomes economically viable is through hydrogen propulsion aircraft.
JSX has the largest order for hybrid-electric aircraft at 332 options for 9, 19, and 30 seat aircraft. I don't know how well electric and battery storage wins the war against gravity versus hydrogen, but we'll save that debate for an X spaces or something.
Bottom Line
I think the only way JSX makes it long-term is if they can hold on long enough to make a legitimate pivot to hydrogen propulsion (or alternative propulsion technology compared to jet fuel) and that technology has to make it here, and make it quickly. The exponential reduction in cost through these alternative technologies will create a massive TAM expansion because the affordability will increase and the profitability will increase. It will always be a competitive market (JSX is not alone in this space), but if they can continue market dominance until that massive change, I wouldn't bet against them.
All this to be said, JSX is not flying in a private jet. It's an elevated airline-like service, and I hope it is here to stay. I am a fan. I hope that you enjoyed it. Reply to this email if you liked it or if you didn't, I accept the feedback either way! (and I read every reply that comes to this newsletter.)
Until next week,
Preston Holland
P.s. forward this to someone you know who owns a plane, owns a jet card, a fractional, or even flies private with one of their friends. I bet they'll like it.
If you want to dive really deep on this, my friend Doug Gollan wrote a TON about bot JetSuite and JSX. You can find all the articles here.
