flyExclusive has been certified by the FAA as a repair station operator under Part 145 of the Code of Federal Regulations. The certification authorises flyExclusive to perform maintenance, repair, paint, interior and avionics services on third-party aircraft in addition to its own fleet of 95 jets, and covers its 24/7 MRO division to perform repairs overnight to optimise aircraft uptime. These services will be performed out of the company’s six-hangar MRO facilities that span more than 100,000 sq ft, constructed as part of its Kinston, North Carolina, campus infrastructure expansion plan. They include a 12,000 sq ft electrostatic painting and coating facility and nearly 80,000 sq ft of shop, interiors, avionics and maintenance facilities.

“People who fly with us aren’t just purchasing a premium flight experience, they are purchasing the value of time. Minutes matter to our customers and to us,” says COO Mike Guina. “Part 145 certification is a key component of our vertical integration efforts. Few charter companies can back their word with their own work, and this gives us direct control over the status of our fleet.”

The company has completed phase two of a multi-stage plan to bring 80 per cent of its scheduled aircraft maintenance in-house. To meet this goal, flyExclusive has increased hiring efforts for technicians in the last year. The company has revealed its phase three goals for a new corporate headquarters and ground and flight training space that will house flight simulators, adding approximately 80,000 sq ft of training and office space.

“When someone flies with flyExclusive, we want them to know that our team has obsessed over every detail of their trip, literally down to the stitching of their seat,” says SVP MRO Joe Nelson. “We have one of the most experienced MRO teams in the business, and Part 145 certification will allow us to utilise our facilities to provide the level of precision we currently offer to our passengers to other aircraft owners.”

Part 145 certification make the electrostatic painting and coating facility, along with the company’s entire maintenance support expertise, available to third-party aircraft owners. The paint shop is said to be the first of its kind in the southeastern US and can accommodate aircraft as large as the Gulfstream IV and Falcon 900. Senior paint team members each bring more than 20 years of corporate experience and industry processes to the operation. To date, the team has completed work on Citation, Gulfstream, Hawker, King Air, Falcon and Bombardier aircraft.

flyExclusive is also qualified to provide dealership-certified installations of equipment and has completed installations of SmartSky and Gogo wi-fi systems and specialises in Garmin G5000 upgrades. It has selected Garmin’s Avance platform for installation on 40 aircraft.

“More than ever, our customers expect an inflight connectivity and entertainment experience consistent with what they experience on the ground,” says Guina. “After careful consideration, we are excited to continue to utilise Gogo’s industry-leading Avance platform for connectivity upgrades. As a long-time Gogo customer, we rely on Avance to deliver a great inflight experience for our customers from a proven partner.”

flyExclusive currently has more than 90 aircraft flying with Gogo Avance L3, Avance L5 or Gogo classic ATG systems (ATG 5000, 4000 or 2000) on board. With flyExclusive’s selection of Gogo Avance L3 or Avance L5 for installation on 40 aircraft, Gogo remains its primary provider of inflight connectivity and entertainment fleetwide.

“We’re thrilled to broaden our agreement with flyExclusive to offer its passengers an enhanced inflight entertainment and connectivity solution with an Avance hardware upgrade,” adds Gogo senior vice president of business development Andy Geist. “Avance provides platform-powered flexibility and control along with greater speed, capacity and bandwidth so passengers and crew alike can customise their experience to meet their unique needs.”