A company in the private aviation industry is looking to change the way that travelers fly privately. SkyShare is offering a new variety of options to deliver the ultimate flexibility.

SkyShare offers three different ways to fly privately: fractional ownership, flight management, and full ownership. It also charters flights for customers utilizing its large fleet of aircraft. SkyShare offers additional unique opportunities, such as the option for members to utilize smaller aircraft in its fleet if they invested in a larger option. This gives SkyShare owners and clients the ultimate flexibility when flying privately.

15 years of growth

SkyShare was originally founded in 2009 in Ogden, Utah, by Cory Bengtzen. Initially, Bengtzen operated the company as a small aircraft brokerage, selling small piston aircraft out of a small room at Ogden-Hinckley Airport (KOGD). Over the next 15 years, the Founder and current Chief Executive Officer of SkyShare, Cory Bengtzen, has focused on providing the most up-to-date and cost-effective private flight solutions for the company’s customers. In communication with SimpleFlying, Bengtzen stated,

“From its inception, SkyShare exists to listen first and create custom, win-win flight solutions. All of our customers have names – they’re never just numbers to us; we believe that when we start with helping them grow and enrich their lives, we’ll naturally grow as a result.”

Since then, the company has grown to operate out of several other bases. SkyShare is headquartered at Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC) in Utah, but owns and operates a fixed-base operator (FBO) in Ogden, Utah, where it was originally founded, and a separate FBO at Gnoss Field Airport (DVO) in Marin County, California. It also has a base at Scottsdale Airport (SDL).

Photo: SkyShare

The company is focused on clients in the Western United States, specifically west of Colorado to the Pacific Ocean. SkyShare utilizes refurbished aircraft with new paint, interiors, and has low operating times. Let’s take a closer look at how SkyShare is shaking up the private aviation industry.

Flexible ways to fly

As previously mentioned, SkyShare offers travelers three different flight options. These options are offered to assist clients who may be new to flying privately or to clients who want the ultimate flexibility when flying. For example, travelers who fly less than 50 hours per year typically find that chartering aircraft may be the best option due to the cost savings.

Photo: SkyShare

However, as this number increases, fractional ownership becomes a sweet spot. Operators flying between 50 and 150 hours per year find the best cost benefits occur during fractional ownership. As the number of private flight hours increases per year, operators will then move on to complete ownership. In this case, SkyShare can assist the customer in acquiring a plane. SkyShare will then manage the aircraft and charter the aircraft back into the SkyShare fleet to ensure there is demand met for the client’s aircraft, and it continues to drive revenue for the client.

Currently, SkyShare’s largest line of business occurs in fractional ownership. Per Bengtzen,

“Currently, our biggest line of business among the SkyShare family is our fractional division. We have over 70 clients in our fractional program and the average share size is a little over a 1/8th share. Since we operate our own jets, we flew nearly 7,000 total hours in 2023. Our straight-line trajectory in 2024 shows us flying upwards of 8,000 hours, which accounts for all aircraft on our certificate, both fractional and managed.”

Unique opportunity to “fly down”

As stated earlier, SkyShare also presents its customers with what it refers to as a “fly down” option. For customers enrolled in the program’s fractional ownership or complete ownership option, members can utilize other aircraft options in the SkyShare fleet. This unique opportunity lets customers fly smaller planes than the one they have invested in. This provides more cost-effective opportunities for customers who want to fly shorter distances at certain times.

For example, if a client owns a share of a Gulfstream G200, the client has the opportunity to fly any of the smaller options in the SkyShare fleet, including Pilatus PC-12s or Citation Excels. The client can operate these other aircraft in whatever situation the client finds themselves in.

Photo: SkyShare

Bengtzen mentioned that SkyShare does not see a clear trend of clients that fly down. Instead, it sees that its Pilatus PC-12s are used most often, with SkyShare’s current fractional customer base operating the Pilatus PC-12 for half of their overall flights, regardless of what aircraft the customer is a shareholder in. All of SkyShare’s aircraft are mission-specific, so the use of each aircraft depends on what the client wants during their travel.

New SFX+ program

Previously, SkyShare offered a wide range of jets including:

• Pilatus PC-12
• Citation CJ2
• Citation Excel
• Gulfstream G200

Photo: SkyShare

However, the company recently announced a brand-new, cost-effective program for operating heavy jets. This new program, SFX+, allows clients to fly larger aircraft, specifically Gulfstream G450s, for significantly lower costs. For example, Bengtzen has said,

“This program is an addition to all our other fleet options, so now with just one share, customers can fly a G450 non-stop to Hawaii and then, upon return, can fly into a super-remote grass strip with a PC-12. This will open the longer distance market for SkyShare, and with it, a whole new demographic for prospective clients and fliers.”

SFX+ is considered a day-based ownership format. Each share of this program provides twenty total days of flight use over a three-year term. Additionally, monthly management fees, hourly rates, and incidental expenses may be accrued. This flight program offers the ultimate flexibility for owners attempting to fly longer distances.