Global Crossing Airlines Group (JET) Lytham Partners 2026 Industrials & Basic Materials Summit summary

Business model and market positioning

• Operates as a flexible Part 121 charter airline, blending private jet charter and scheduled service models, focusing on full aircraft charters without published schedules or ticket sales.

• Targets underserved and niche markets, including government, sports teams, and supplemental airline capacity, leveraging flexibility to adapt quickly to market shifts.

• Focuses on the U.S. market, which is considered highly underserved for this business model, while maintaining global operational capability.

• Utilizes a lower utilization model for mid-life aircraft, extending asset life and capitalizing on opportunities major carriers overlook.

• Emphasizes customer diversification, growing deeper with existing clients while maintaining a broad base across government, sports, and specialized charters.

Industry trends and operational challenges

• Aircraft delivery delays and aging fleets have shifted bottlenecks to maintenance capacity and reliability, creating opportunities for flexible charter providers.

• Maintenance shortages and longer downtimes for scheduled carriers increase demand for gap-filling services.

• Mid-life narrow-body aircraft have become more valuable due to constrained supply and the ability to extend their operational life in lower-utilization models.

• High lease rates led to a pause in fleet expansion, focusing instead on maximizing efficiency and utilization of existing assets.

Financial strategy and fleet management

• Shifted from an all-leased fleet to a hybrid ownership model, converting leases to purchases and pursuing finance leases to enhance long-term value.

• Owning aircraft improves EBITDA by eliminating maintenance reserve payments and allowing greater control over cash and maintenance planning.

• Incremental profit from new aircraft is expected to flow efficiently to the bottom line due to fixed overhead already being covered.

• Growth in the next 12 months will focus on fleet expansion, with a slight reduction in utilization per aircraft but overall higher incremental profit.