flyExclusive, a leading provider of premium private jet charter experiences, has announced that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has certified it as a Repair Station Operator under Part 145 of the FAA’s Code of Federal Regulations. The certification authorizes flyExclusive to perform maintenance, repair, paint, interior, and avionics services on third-party aircraft in addition to its own fleet of 95 jets. These services will be performed out of the company’s six-hangar MRO facilities, constructed as part of its Kinston, North Carolina, campus infrastructure expansion plan.
Part 145 Certification covers flyExclusive’s MRO division, which operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with the objective to perform repairs overnight to optimize aircraft uptime. The company’s MRO facilities span more than 100,000 square feet, including the company’s state-of-the-art 12,000-square-foot electrostatic painting and coating facility and its nearly 80,000 square feet of shop, interiors, avionics, and maintenance facilities.
“People who fly with us aren’t just purchasing a premium flight experience – they’re purchasing the value of time. Minutes matter to our customers and to us,” said Mike Guina, COO of flyExclusive. “Part 145 certification is a key component of our vertical integration efforts. Few charter companies can back their word with their own work, and this gives us direct control over the status of our fleet.”
The Company completed Phase 2 of a multi-stage plan to execute on its unique vertical integration strategy, which aims to bring 80% of flyExclusive’s scheduled aircraft maintenance in-house. To meet this goal, the Company successfully increased hiring efforts for technicians in the last year. flyExclusive has also announced its goals for Phase 3, which include a new corporate headquarters, ground and flight training space that will house flight simulators, adding approximately 80,000 square feet of training and office space.
“When someone flies with flyExclusive, we want them to know that our team has obsessed over every detail of their trip, literally down to the stitching of their seat,” said Joe Nelson, SVP MRO. “We have one of the most experienced MRO teams in the business, and Part 145 Certification will allow us to utilize our facilities to provide the level of precision we currently offer to our passengers to other aircraft owners.”
Part 145 certification makes flyExclusive’s state-of-the-art, 12,000 square foot electrostatic painting and coating facility, along with the company’s entire maintenance support expertise, available to third-party aircraft owners. The paint shop is the first of its kind in the Southeastern United States, and can accommodate aircraft as large as the Gulfstream IV and Falcon 900. Senior paint team members each bring more than 20 years of corporate experience and industry processes to the operation. To date, the team has completed work on Citation, Gulfstream, Hawker, King Air, Falcon, and Bombardier aircraft.
flyExclusive is also qualified to provide dealership-certified installations of equipment, and currently has installation slots available for Garmin, Gogo, and SmartSky. The company has completed installations of SmartSky and Gogo Wi-Fi systems and specializes in Garmin G5000 upgrades. flyExclusive has vertically integrated the avionics shop all the way through building the wire harnesses in-house.
