SkyShare (CBC, Ogden) is looking to acquire a business charter operator with a fleet of seven to 15 aircraft by the end of 2025 to accelerate its growth in the fractional ownership segment, chief executive officer Cory Bengtzen told ch-aviation in an exclusive interview. The Utah-based operator focuses on fleet versatility and synergy between its fractional and managed fleets to keep costs low and attract new customers.

Following the first acquisition planned in 2025, which will be funded from its own pocket, SkyShare then aims to tap into external funding to buy a much larger fractional ownership operator in 2026.

"We've got a really great foundation with a great team, and we're ready to bolt on more airplanes. That's the goal for this year, and then next year, as we continue growing, we really want to look for that large strategic acquisition of someone else in the fractional space. Hopefully, at that point in time, we'll be able to take our programme nationwide," Bengtzen said.

SkyShare has "a few operators in mind" as targets for the first acquisition but has not decided yet. The ideal partner would be a company based in the western United States whose owners are ready to exit the business. While the operator will look for another company that operates similar types, it does not have to match exactly.

"It wouldn't have to be exactly a Citation Jet 2 or Citation Jet 3, but if it was Phenoms or other light jets, that makes sense as long as it complements it and would support the fractional programme."

Once that acquisition is "digested" and new customers are onboarded, SkyShare will seek private equity or other external funding for the second transaction.

SkyShare will need "to be able to go and find that right fractional operator, someone that's operating similar models. There are four or five companies out there that would fit that model. And just hopefully we find a win-win agreement so we can be, within five years, a top-10 operator by hours flown in the US," Bengtzen outlined.

Fractional, charter, management

Bengtzen recalled that SkyShare evolved from an aircraft trading company into a fractional ownership specialist, capitalising on the market gap. "PlaneSense does a really great job in the east, Airshare is in the central US, but there really wasn't anybody in the western US besides the big ones, like NetJets Aviation and Flexjet, but focusing on the smaller, mid-tier aircraft," he explained.

Fractional ownership remains the core of SkyShare's business but is now supported by charter and aircraft management. "Everything that we do really helps us grow the fractional programme. The charter helps when the assets are sitting on the ground. We like to charter the empty legs, of course." The growth of the managed fleet goes in tandem with the expansion of the fractional fleet, allowing SkyShare to avoid costly off-fleet charters. Bengtzen said that in 2024 the company operated 98% of its flights on its own fleet.

After starting its fractional and charter business with PC-12s, SkyShare has been gradually expanding to cover a wider range of aircraft sizes and thus provide a better offer to customers with different preferences. As the expansion continued, the operator decided to split its single fractional scheme into three tiers last year: SFX-12, which includes only the PC-12s; SFX-Jet, which also includes the Citation Jet 2s, the Citation Excels, and the G200; and the newly launched SFX+, which will include the G450.

Fleet plan

The ch-aviation fleets module shows that SkyShare's Part 135-certified fleet currently includes six PC-12s, three Citation Jet 2s, one Citation M2 Gen2, two Citation Excels, two G200s, and one Phenom 300E. The operator has also just inducted its first G450, N787JS (msn 4189). This aircraft was previously under management and will now be available for charter. SkyShare is negotiating the acquisition of its own G450, which will become the first unit of the type available for fractional ownership.

"We want to have one managed airplane of a similar type for every fractioned-out aircraft we have," Bengtzen explained. "The G450 that we currently have will act as support to the one we buy."

SkyShare has additional aircraft under Part 91 management, Bengtzen said, and their operations are set up "for exactly how owners want it."

Bengtzen highlighted that the versatility of the fleet means that customers who would usually need a larger jet can also easily access a PC-12 for a flight to a smaller airstrip. SkyShare aims to keep its fractional ownership relatively affordable, lowering the entry barrier to the market and thus carving its own niche. It has no plans to add any more aircraft types in the near term, as the range from the PC-12 to the G450 covers the "whole gamut." It also does not target new aircraft as these would substantially raise the cost.

The company recently adopted Part 91-K FAA regulations for its fractional business, allowing participants to avoid the 7.5% federal excise tax (FET) on their shares applied under Part 135 regulations.

SkyShare owns one of its G200s, using it to support the fractional programme, but Bengtzen said that the strategy has been to keep the operator "asset light". It would own aircraft on an interim basis between delivery and induction into fractional ownership, but not permanently.

Going forward, SkyShare may exit the G200 type in the next few years and replace it with Challenger 300s or Challenger 350s, Bengtzen revealed. If the two planned acquisitions materialise, SkyShare aims to have a fleet of "well over 100 aircraft" in the next five years. The PC-12s will constitute around 40% of the fleet, and the rest will be jets.

Market growth

Although the overall charter market in the United States has been, at best, flat over the last year, SkyShare says it is beating the trend and "experiencing a tonne of growth." The operator's start to 2025 has been the best in its history, and Bengtzen attributes this, in part, to the company's diversified business.

"We're not reliant only on charter, fractional ownership, or aircraft sales. One of the departments is always doing really well, and so it just keeps the company moving forward," he said.

The operator's market in Utah and the mountain states region is also growing quickly, benefiting the operator. Bengtzen conceded that historically the coasts were the strongest markets for business aviation in the US, but the influx of wealthy residents with second or third homes in Utah, Montana, or Idaho during the COVID-19 pandemic balanced this out. There are new high-end resorts under construction in the region, and Utah's economy is among the fastest-growing in the country.