Jet It, a fractional jet ownership company out of Greensboro, North Carolina, has its sights set on further international expansion, having recently made significant progress into Canada. CEO Glenn Gonzales says that at the moment the entire Jet It team is playing its part to uphold safety while not spreading infection. “It’s a challenging time for the world,” he admits.

Founded in 2018, the organisation comprises two companies, Jet It and JetClub, which have the same leadership and ownership. Jet It is the North American arm that has expanded into Canada. “We’ve already established our business quite well there,” states Gonzales. “JetClub is for some countries where English is not the dominant-speaking language. My co-founder Vishal Hiremath runs JetClub, and soon we will have our first aircraft in operation through our Maltese operating company, most likely in March. We’re very excited to extend that next phase of our business and begin our international expansion.”

The operator has an all-HondaJet fleet. “The aircraft have been performing very well for us, we’re very happy with the reliability, and it is a unique product. In many ways it is a leap in technology; the cabin experience that you get in a HondaJet is similar to much larger executive aircraft, and the speed is similar to much larger aircraft too. The passenger experience rivals that of larger, more expensive jets, and in an environmentally-conscious world, the HondaJet doesn’t burn as many fossil fuels, but is still equally as capable, and it is demonstrating the reliability that you would expect from the Honda brand.”

Jet It is already active throughout the US. It started by focusing along the eastern half of the country, given the concentration of population. Its expansion is now moving westward, and it has owners in all four corners of the US. “We also have a number of Canadians looking to travel either into the US or intra-Canada, so we established our business in Quebec,” notes Gonzales. “We always look to establish ourselves in whatever country or environment that we are in. We are a Canadian company and that is an advantage. It always pays to have a base in the country you are operating into; it’s a holistic mindset that we always look to adopt where possible. We have Canadian natives who are leading and supporting our efforts.”

Harvard University recently ran a case study on the Jet It business model, which was encouraging for Gonzales and Hiremath. “It wrote about us and sang the praises of our business model, and this was an honour as it is one of the premium academic institutions. It has now been taught in several countries and I have participated in university discussions,” Gonzales concludes.

Jet It took delivery of six new HondaJets during the final quarter of 2020, an investment valued at over US$36 million. With the delivery of these aircraft, the operator more than doubled its fleet, meeting its goal to have ten jets in operation.