PlaneSense, a fractional ownership airline company headquartered at the Portsmouth International Airport at Pease, has announced its clients can use their flight hours with Jetfly, a fractional airline company based in Luxembourg. (Courtesy photo)
Owners of flight hours on a fractional airline based in Portsmouth can now use their air time over the skies of Europe.
PlaneSense, headquartered at the Portsmouth International Airport at Pease, announced that beginning April 1 its clients can use their flight hours with Jetfly, a fractional airline company based in Luxembourg.
It is a reciprocal collaboration, according to company officials. Jetfly clients can use their air hours on PlaneSense aircraft, which range nationally as far as the West Coast.
“This collaboration is a tremendous value-add for our clients,” George Antoniadis, PlaneSense president and CEO, said in the announcement.
“Enhancing our program with distinctive benefits such as this is aligned with our constant drive over the last 30 years to improve our service,” he added. “We have come to know Jetfly well over the years and we share the same values on safety, service and aircraft maintenance. I am confident PlaneSense share owners will be in good hands while traveling in Europe.”
PlaneSense and Jetfly share a common plane supplier: Pilatus.
PlaneSense has 46 Pilatus PC-12 turboprops and 16 PC-24 jets, with 256 pilots serving the continental U.S., Canada, Bermuda, the Bahamas, the Caribbean, Central America and Mexico.
Jetfly has a fractional fleet of 26 PC-12 turboprops and 13 PC-24 jets, with 250 pilots, accessing more than 3,000 airports and airfields across Europe.
“This partnership marks the beginning of a new chapter in the exceptional experiences we aim to offer to our owners, while maintaining the same high standards. We look forward to the mutual success ahead,” said Jetfly CEO Cédric Lescop.
According to the announcement, the collaboration between the two programs will provide clients with a seamless process for using their fractional hours to fly on the other side of the Atlantic. To simplify and streamline the process for clients, flight reservations and billing processes will remain with their respective programs.
PlaneSense is the second oldest and third largest fractional operator in the United States.
Fractional airplane ownership is essentially a timeshare for flying. You purchase a portion of an aircraft and have access to it for a specified number of hours per year, similar to how a timeshare gives you access to a vacation property for a set period each year.
PlaneSense was founded by Antoniadis in 1992 as Alpha Flying Inc., changing its name in 2012 to PlaneSense. Originally based in Norwood, Mass., it provided rental and management of high performance piston- and turbine-powered general aviation aircraft. In 1995, the PlaneSense program of fractional ownership was founded with the first Pilatus PC-12 planes delivered in 1995. It also used Nextant 400XTi jets over the years.
In 1998, the company moved to a facility at Nashua Airport, then in 2000 it relocated to a facility at Manchester-Boston Regional Airport. In 2007, it moved to a new custom-built facility at the Tradeport 115 Flightline Road, along the airfield apron of the airport at the Pease International Tradeport with a 40,000-square-foot hangar and 62,000 square feet of corporate space that includes pilot training and flight operations.
“The PC-24 raises the bar in private jet travel and perfectly embodies our principles of comfort and service,” Antoniadis said when the PC-24 made its debut in February 2018. “This intelligent aircraft is an incredible addition to the fleet, providing our clients a unique opportunity for fractional ownership.”
In March of last year, it eliminated so-called “out of area fees” so that its fractional flyers could get west of the Rocky Mountains without incurring extra expense.
The company’s reach was extended in 2018 when it took delivery of its PC-24 jets in 2018. In October 2023, Pilatus announced enhancements to the PC-24, improving its maximum range with six passengers to about 2,300 miles (2,000 nautical miles or 3,704 kilometers). PlaneSense took delivery of its first improved PC-24 in December 2023.
In anticipation of its westward move, PlaneSense, Inc. established a state-of-the-art maintenance facility in Boulder City, Nevada, in 2021, and expanded it significantly in 2023.
Pilatus Aircraft Ltd. is an aerospace manufacturer located in Stans, Switzerland.
Antoniadis has hailed the aircraft’s short runway capabilities, which allow clients to get closer to their destinations in varying weather conditions.
PlaneSense has the largest commercial fleet of Pilatus aircraft in the country.
