PrivateFly has been acquired by OneSky, part of the US business aviation-specific private investment company Directional Aviation. The UK online booking platform will join forces with OneSky’s existing Massachusetts-headquartered brokerage Skyjet to create one of the world's largest digital platforms for on-demand private jet charter.

Launched in 2008 as the first business model to offer online private jet bookings from end-to-end, PrivateFly has seen continued high sales growth over the last decade. Initially UK-focused, it has since developed multiple channels and customer bases worldwide through localised platforms and a multilingual team. Currently, PrivateFly’s platform for booking includes websites and digital applications tailored for 19 different countries on four continents, including North America, Europe, Asia and Australia.

Co-founders Adam Twidell and Carol Cork remain with the company and will lead the combined entity, which will operate offices in the US and Europe. They intend to leverage the extensive infrastructure and assets available within the OneSky family of brands, which also includes jet card provider Sentient Jet and fractional operator Flexjet.

Directional Aviation principal Kenn Ricci says: "We are delighted to welcome PrivateFly to the OneSky and the Directional Aviation family. Adam and Carol are true innovators who recognised early on how important mobile capabilities and on-demand digital bookings are in the charter space, and they will continue to play a critical role in the company's future. Pairing PrivateFly with Skyjet, OneSky’s current digital on-demand charter broker, brings together two unique, innovative companies that are in different geographies to support OneSky's vision of a world-leading on-demand charter operation.”

Twidell comments: “We are proud to be joining OneSky, which incorporates every aspect of the private aviation industry in a way that no other company can. This is a key strategic moment for PrivateFly that opens up new opportunities for our loyal and growing base of globe-spanning users, leveraging the power not only of Skyjet but also of the other OneSky companies.”

Andrew Collins, president of Skyjet and Sentient Jet adds: "With this transaction, and the combination of PrivateFly and Skyjet, we are realising the digital part of OneSky’s vision in the on-demand charter space. Nobody provides instant private jet travel at the touch of a button with this degree of expertise, allowing people to travel in the way that best meets their needs."

OneSky has a series of forthcoming technology-driven innovations that it says will further cement its global leadership in providing digitally accessed on-demand private jet travel.