Fly Alliance has agreed to replace its existing flight management system across its entire operation with Contrails FMS, flyExclusive's free, AI-powered aviation operating platform.

This represents a significant milestone for Contrails FMS and introduces a new approach to aviation technology: providing operators with advanced flight management software at no cost while creating opportunities for operators to do more business together. Contrails was first announced to the wider industry at the NBAA Schedulers & Dispatchers Conference in Cleveland on 25 March 2026.

Private aviation remains highly fragmented. Operators manage their own fleets and schedules independently, often leaving aircraft underutilised, repositioning opportunities unrealised and customer demand unfulfilled.

flyExclusive believes connecting operators through shared aircraft availability can change that. Contrails FMS is designed to allow participating operators and brokers to access authorised, real-time aircraft availability across participating fleets, making it easier to book flights on one another's aircraft. Its patent-pending scheduling optimiser is designed to reduce empty legs, improve utilisation, increase yields and generate additional revenue.

The goal is simple: flyExclusive wants to book more flights on other operators' aircraft and wants those operators booking more flights on flyExclusive aircraft.

Just as importantly, operators retain ownership and control of their data. Contrails FMS is designed with tenant isolation and controlled information sharing. Customer identities, customer relationships, proprietary pricing and commercially sensitive information are not required to participate. flyExclusive intends to share the same aircraft scheduling and availability information it asks participating operators to share.

“We know what every operator is thinking: What's the catch?” says Jim Segrave, founder, chairman and CEO of flyExclusive. “There isn't one. We don't want your customers or your proprietary information. We want to know when your aircraft are available so we can book flights on them, and we want you to know when ours are available so you can book flights on ours. We'll share the same information we're asking you to share. We believe there's far more value in helping everyone fly more trips than in charging operators for software. It's that simple.”

Fly Alliance, an established US private aviation operator with more than 100,000 flight hours and 50,000 dispatched legs, has agreed to replace its existing flight management system across its entire operation.

The company provides charter, aircraft management, jet cards, fractional ownership and aircraft sales and acquisitions. Its commitment represents a full operational transition rather than a limited pilot or supplemental deployment.

“For operators like Fly Alliance, the real opportunity isn't just reducing software costs. It's improving aircraft utilisation, eliminating unnecessary inefficiencies and creating more opportunities to generate revenue,” says Chris Tasca, CEO of Fly Alliance. “Contrails brings those priorities together in one platform. By connecting operators and making aircraft availability more accessible, we believe there's an opportunity to make the entire charter ecosystem more productive. That's a compelling reason for us to make this transition across our business.”

The agreement follows flyExclusive's March 2026 announcement that it would make its flight management and scheduling optimisation technology available to other Part 135 operators without licensing fees.

Contrails FMS combines aircraft scheduling, crew compliance, dispatch, maintenance visibility, disruption recovery, fleet optimisation and AI-assisted workflows in one operating platform.

Developed from technology used in flyExclusive's own operations and intellectual property acquired from Volato Group, including Mission Control, Contrails FMS is designed to automate workflows, assist operational decisions and optimise aircraft schedules.

Unlike traditional flight management systems built primarily to store and organise information, Contrails FMS uses AI and automation to help operators perform more of the work.

“Adding AI to a 20-year-old software business model doesn't change the business model,” Segrave continues. “We're challenging both. Operators should have better technology, fewer manual processes, lower costs and the ability to generate more revenue.”

For decades, aviation operators have paid recurring licensing fees, per-user charges and additional costs for software integrations and functionality. Contrails FMS is being offered without software licensing fees, per-seat charges or feature gates.

flyExclusive believes the economic opportunity from connecting participating operators, improving aircraft utilisation and capturing additional charter demand is substantially greater than the revenue available from selling software subscriptions. flyExclusive is a FAA-certificated private aviation company providing charter, jet club membership and fractional ownership services worldwide.