Private aviation service JetSuite files for bankruptcy

Dallas-based private aviation service JetSuite filed for bankruptcy Tuesday in Delaware. Superior Air Charter LLC, the operating company for the on-demand flight service, listed assets of less than $10 million and debts of $50 million to $100 million in its Chapter 11 petition, according to U.S. Bankruptcy Court documents.

JetSuite abruptly shut down operations April 15, citing a “dramatic downturn” in its business in a posting on the company’s website. It catered to upscale travelers who wanted more flexible flight schedules than commerical airlines offer.

JetSuite’s notice apologized to customers planning to travel for “this sudden, but unavoidable and necessary, cancellation of all flights until further notice.”

The bankruptcy filing appointed a restructuring officer to guide the company through bankruptcy, including potentially selling off assets or the entire company.

Dozens of customers are owed thousands of dollars by JetSuite and are identified in court documents as unsecured creditors. The petition said the company doesn’t expect to be able to repay those creditors.

Streaming TV company Netflix topped the creditors’ list at $931,098. Other customers owed money include a Texas cattle rancher, a California real estate developer and Cognizant Technology Solutions’ Southlake office.

The private jet business saw a short-lived uptick in February and early March as major airlines began cutting routes to adjust to travel restrictions around the globe to control the spread of COVID-19. By late March, CEO Alex Wilcox told Skift that 90% of the company’s business disappeared as stay-at-home orders went into effect around the country.

JetSuite arrived in North Texas in 2018 from California as one of the most high-profile additions to the region’s aviation economy in years. It was described at the time as a well-capitalized veteran of the competitive and fractured private aviation landscape. www.dallasnews.com