Volato Retires Aircraft as Part of Fleet Restructuring
Volato, based at Houston Hobby, has retired its only Gulfstream G280, Cessna Citation Bravo, and standard HondaJet HA-420 from its Part 135 fleet, marking a significant shift in the company’s fleet strategy. The retirements are part of a broader restructuring effort as the operator looks to streamline its operations.
The Gulfstream G280, N280CX (msn 2282), was the first of four G280s that Volato had initially planned to add to its fleet by 2025 as part of a diversification strategy. However, after being ferried to Kinston on August 30, 2024, the aircraft underwent a test flight on September 26 but has not been active since. By early October, the G280 was removed from Volato’s Part 135-certified fleet.
The operator’s only Citation Bravo, N904MA (msn 550-1104), was last in operation on November 8, 2024, flying from Austin-Bergstrom International to Orlando Executive and then Tampa International under Volato’s ‘TMB’ code.
None of the retired aircraft have been added to another operator’s Part 135 fleet as of yet.
Volato’s current Part 135 fleet now consists of one King Air B200GT, one Hawker 750, and fifteen HondaJets in APMG, Elite II, Elite S, and (Elite S) variants.
In a separate move, Volato reached a settlement with Sunpeak Holdings Corporation on November 4, 2024, agreeing to exchange USD4.7 million in outstanding payables for common shares of Volato. Volato will also issue 100,000 freely tradeable shares to Sunpeak as part of the agreement.
As part of its restructuring, Volato has also sold the management of its fleet to FlyExclusive (JRE, Kinston). On November 7, 2024, empty leg flights offered via Volato’s in-house broker app, Vaunt, became available on FlyExclusive platforms. This change is part of Volato’s broader strategy to adapt and realign its operations for improved efficiency moving forward.
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Sources: AirGuide Business airguide.info, bing.com, ch-aviation.com