Flyte bets on Cirrus Vision Jet for on-demand charter network
The New York start-up is pursuing a high-frequency, small-jet model that failed for predecessors two decades ago, but founder Marc Sellouk says he will grow smartly rather than over-leveraging.
Flyte, a New York-based start-up, is establishing an on-demand charter network built around the Cirrus SF50 Vision Jet, according to FlightGlobal. The strategy resurrects a model that dominated aviation headlines two decades ago before nearly all participants failed.
FlightGlobal reports that the Vision Jet is the market's sole certificated single-engine jet. The aircraft is more commonly associated with owner-flyers than with Part 135 charter operators, a mismatch Flyte is positioning itself to address.
The very-light-jet era and its collapse
In the mid-2000s, DayJet and a wave of start-ups announced plans for regional air taxi networks using new very-light jets (VLJs) such as the Eclipse 500 and Cessna Mustang. FlightGlobal notes that manufacturers from Diamond to Piper developed their own VLJ concepts, and the movement appeared poised to disrupt US Part 135 aviation with lower operating costs than traditional charter jets.
Two decades on, that era is nearly extinct. FlightGlobal reports that DayJet and most VLJ operators have shut down, with more than half a dozen VLJ launches abandoned. Only the Cirrus SF50 Vision Jet and Embraer Phenom 100EX remain in production from the cohort.
Flyte's approach: controlled growth
FlightGlobal quotes Marc Sellouk, founder and chief executive of Flyte, as saying: "You can't have a 'build it and they will come' approach. You have to treat it like any normal business." Sellouk describes this as a departure from the approach that saw earlier entrants collapse.
FlightGlobal reports that Sellouk has committed to avoiding the heavy leverage that broke DayJet and its peers. Rather than placing hundreds of orders, Flyte intends to grow "smartly and profitably" from its current fleet of five Vision Jets.
Sellouk's background differs from the industry newcomers who led earlier VLJ ventures. FlightGlobal reports that Sellouk began as a telecoms entrepreneur while at college, selling his business Transbeam in 2017 after 22 years in operation. He then bought his own aircraft and launched the forerunner of Flyte.
Sources
Flyte takes a different path to air taxi market · Accessed 2026-10-18T22:32:48+00:00
