The VIP Seat: Private Aviation News

An anonymous, but infamous, aircraft owner known as XPlusLuxe joins The VIP Seat Podcast for one of our most fascinating conversations yet.

Known online for his legendary aircraft collection and viral aviation content, “Mr. T” shares what he’s learned after building a fleet of private jets—and why he believes most owners, operators, and even manufacturers misunderstand the economics of business aviation.
In this exclusive interview we discuss:

✈️ How a hedge fund manager became obsessed with private aviation
📊 Why data—not emotion—should drive aircraft purchases
💰 The hidden costs of aircraft ownership and management
🛩️ Citation X+ Versus Everything Else
📈 Why most Part 135 operators leave money on the table
🔧 The importance of maintenance (MX) over almost everything else
🚀 Speed, fuel burn, Starlink, AI, and the future of business aviation
💼 Can charter companies actually become great businesses?
📉 The biggest mistakes aircraft owners make

If you’re interested in private jets, business aviation, Part 135 charter, aircraft ownership, fleet strategy, aviation investing, Gulfstream, Bombardier, Textron, NetJets, Flexjet, or private aviation economics, this episode is packed with insights you won’t hear anywhere else.

🎙️ Hosted by Jessie Naor and Preston Holland.
👍 Like, subscribe, and turn on notifications for more conversations with the people shaping private aviation.

#PrivateJets #BusinessAviation #CitationX #Gulfstream #Bombardier #PrivateJet #Part135 #NetJets #Flexjet #Aviation #AircraftOwnership #CorporateAviation #TheVIPSeat

Saudi Arabia’s The Helicopter Company, backed by the PIF, signs a Farnborough LOI with Bombardier for a firm order of 12 Challenger and Global jets plus options that could take the deal to around $2.8–3B and up to 60 aircraft. We break down FlyExclusive’s latest Jet Club press release, with record flight hours, an average $190K deposit per new member, and a 32% year‑over‑year jump in May deposits—and ask whether those prepaid hours will translate into profitable margins when earnings drop. Jessie and Preston unpack new NTSB documents on the Hudson River sightseeing helicopter crash, where Smithsonian feather lab analysis points to multiple large bird strikes, including Canada geese, as a likely driver of the in‑flight breakup. We hit Dassault’s latest Falcon 10X certification delay and what it means in the arms race against Gulfstream and Bombardier, dive into the FAA’s new Mobile Clearance system that lets GA and bizav pilots pull IFR departure clearances via ForeFlight/Garmin instead of phones and radios, and revisit the long‑running fight over crew rest and duty rules for cargo and Part 135. Plus: Mile High Madness with “Chad” flying to Nantucket on a PC‑12, Detailer Guy, and why cheap gimmicks and influencer‑bait content are hurting the industry’s credibility.

This week, Preston joins live from EAA AirVenture Oshkosh with news on Emily Deaton's move to NBAA and show updates. Then: a 14-year-old bush pilot case out of Alaska heads to the U.S. Supreme Court over a six-pack of beer and a seized Cessna, a viral air traffic control exchange reignites the cockpit-professionalism debate, and two market reports land the same week — one on the private aircraft MRO boom, one on the ultra-wealthy buyers reshaping the business jet market. Plus: Textron's new Pipistrel Voyager trainer arrives right as the FAA's MOSAIC rule takes effect, Gianni Infantino's Gulfstream G650 racks up more miles than most fleets fly in a year, and Preston explains how he ended up quoted — and slightly cornered — in a story about AI wealth flooding into private aviation.

This week’s episode of The VIP Seat hits all the major pressure points in business aviation: connectivity, new aircraft, regulation, legal risk, and AI‑driven fraud. Jessie and Preston start with Starlink’s latest aviation pricing changes, breaking down “Elonomics” at altitude—regional Aviation Unlimited rising to $12,500 per month with a 500 Mbps cap, the 25 GB plan doubling from $2,000 to $4,000, and a worldwide 1 Gbps unlimited tier now at $20,000 per month. They walk through what this means for new Gulfstreams, charter fleets, and other private jets that already require $300,000–$500,000 of Starlink hardware, and why some operators’ annual Wi‑Fi bills could approach 10% of the airplane’s value.

On the hardware side, Embraer’s new Phenom 300EV takes center stage. The episode covers Autoland for single‑pilot and owner‑flown operations, the multi‑purpose electronic controller (MEC) that brings rudder‑by‑wire and auto‑brake into a fly‑by‑wire system, cabin refinements including a vacuum lav, and planned LEO connectivity. Jessie and Preston dig into the roughly $13.99 million list price, long lead times into 2027, and hefty deposits and pre‑delivery payments that reshape the math for buyers weighing the Phenom 300EV against CJ4s, PC‑24s, and other light jets.

Regulatory and legal stories add more fuel. They unpack FAA vs. California over crew rest and meal‑break rules, including the Ninth Circuit’s decision extending California’s 30‑minute break requirements to flight attendants even on interstate flying, and why many aviation employers avoid basing staff in California. They also explore a lawsuit involving Peter Thiel’s husband, a Solairus‑operated flight, and allegations that a cabin cooler strike injured a flight attendant—raising questions about principal vs. management company liability and cabin safety in tight business jet interiors.

Finally, Jessie and Preston tackle a move under the Trump administration to study tariffs on aerospace products and jet engine parts in the name of national security, plus NBAA’s warning about AI‑enhanced scams targeting private jet sales, charter deals, and aviation M&A. They lay out how AI can spoof voices, emails, and texts inside multimillion‑dollar transactions, and why escrow agents, charter ops teams, MROs, and brokers need stronger authentication and training. Mile High Madness brings levity with animal rescue flights, while sponsors AB Jets and RealJet ground the conversation in the realities of operating and chartering modern business jets.

This week on The VIP Seat, we’re covering one of the strangest weeks in aviation news yet.

The FAA moves one step closer to allowing civilian supersonic flight over the United States, and what that could mean for Boom Supersonic and the future of business aviation.

Plus:
Canada’s bizarre battle between Billy Bishop Airport expansion and a historic nudist beach.
China grounds virtually all general aviation around Beijing after a small aircraft crashes into a skyscraper.
Inside the Sun Valley billionaires conference, where hundreds of Gulfstreams, Globals and Falcons descend on Idaho.
A Delta airliner is struck by fireworks during Fourth of July celebrations.
Jared Isaacman flies for Freedom 250 in his F-5 despite FAA objections.
A hard Hudson River landing involving a Blade-booked Kodiak 100 seaplane.
Why Part 145 repair stations are becoming one of the hottest M&A sectors in aviation.

Plus another round of Mile High Madness, including a barefoot helicopter pilot landing on a fishing vessel.

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Sponsored by AB Jets & RealJet
#BusinessAviation #PrivateJets #BoomSupersonic #FAA #AviationNews #BillyBishop #SunValley #Kodiak100 #GeneralAviation #TheVIPSeat