Qatar Airways, the national
airline of the State of Qatar, has taken a minority stake in leading U.S.
private aviation company JetSuite, Inc., and indirectly in JetSuiteX, Inc.
The announcement on Tuesday
(10th April) was made in the presence of the Qatari Minister of Finance and
Chairman of Qatar Airways, His
Excellency Mr Ali Sharif Al Emadi.
Qatar Airways joins JetBlue Airways, which will be increasing its investment,
and a number of private investors as stakeholders in both JetSuite and JetSuiteX.
With this investment, Qatar
Airways will help fuel the growth of JetSuite’s private aviation business, which
currently focuses on light and very light jets. The investment extends to
JetSuiteX, the sibling company to JetSuite, further accelerating the expansion
of its acclaimed semi-private air service on the U.S. West Coast and beyond.
JetSuiteX fills a niche in
underserved short haul markets and small airports, and enjoys a Net Promoter
Score over 90, higher than the major U.S. airlines. JetSuiteX operates its fleet
of Embraer 135 aircraft from private terminals in California and Nevada, with no
lines, no waiting and no stress, at a price competitive with commercial travel.
The Qatar Airways investment will enable faster expansion of this fleet and the
ability to reach new destinations, including the potential to bring the
semi-private model to additional U.S. regions.
Qatar Airways Group Chief
Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al
Baker said, “We are delighted to have
the opportunity to invest in such unique business as JetSuite and JetSuiteX; we
believe that both businesses are complimentary to Qatar Airways business and
maintain the core values and customer focus of our own business. We believe that
JetSuite and JetSuiteX deliver a truly class-leading service to the U.S. market
with a huge potential for development, and we are very excited to invest in this
opportunity alongside JetBlue and the other investors.”
“As an innovator in private
aviation, we are proud to have attracted the attention of one of the world’s
highest rated and fastest growing airlines,” said
Alex Wilcox,
Founder and CEO of JetSuite and JetSuiteX. “Qatar Airways shares our focus on
customers and product. JetBlue and Qatar Airways together are a dream team of
investors, and they will allow us to execute our vision of offering a superior
service to the forgotten short haul U.S. air market even more quickly.”
“JetSuite’s innovative
JetSuiteX service and customer-focused approach aligns perfectly with our values
at JetBlue, which is why we are so pleased that our partners at Qatar Airways
are joining us in supporting this venture,” said
Robin Hayes,
President and CEO, JetBlue. “We look forward to seeing JetSuite further grow on
the West Coast and beyond to bring additional air travel choices to customers in
underserved markets.”
This investment further supports
Qatar Airways investment strategy, which already includes minority investments
in several other international carriers, such as International Airlines Group,
LATAM Airlines Group, Cathay Pacific and Air Italy.
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