An Air New England private jet comes in for a landing. (Photo Courtesy of Air New England)
While economic uncertainty is grounding the economy, a family of companies that provide private jet services and service planes at Pease International Tradeport has its eyes on the horizon.
“We doubled revenue and customers in the past year,” says Ashley Allen, charter concierge manager at Air New England in Portsmouth, which provides personalized private flights throughout New England and as far as Nova Scotia and the southern U.S. Air New England provided 150 private flights in 2024.
So how is something most would view as a luxury continuing to grow in this economy? It’s about service and convenience. The cost of most of Air New England’s flights start within the $3,000 to $4,000 range depending on the type of aircraft and the length of the trip.
Air New England has been making the case for private flights by noting passengers are increasingly dissatisfied with the expense and experience of flying commercial.
Allen says Air New England’s clients do not have to arrive at the airport two hours early to deal with long security lines. “You show up 15 minutes ahead, someone parks your car for you, the pilots load your luggage, and you are in Martha’s Vineyard for the day,” she says.
Air New England is also growing its emerging markets, including medical flights and government transportation. About 50% of its clients use the services for tourism while 25% are government and military flights and 25% is business travel, she says. “We are trying to shift to one-third each,” Allen says.
Air New England’s fleet includes a Beechcraft King Air C90 that seats six, a Citation Mustang C510 that seats four and a newly upgraded Beechcraft Baron BE-58 that also seats four.
Air New England is part of a family of companies under the umbrella of Port City Air, a fixed-base operator providing five heated hangars, a passenger terminal, repair stations, a cargo facility, ground support equipment, a refueling fleet, and its own kitchen and catering facility. It also provides jet and helicopter maintenance. Its partner companies include Great Circle Catering, Seacoast Air Cargo, and Symphony Private Jets, an in-house brokerage firm that can source jets to meet the needs of clients when Air New England cannot.
Port City Air and its affiliate companies employ more than 180 people, 40 of whom were added in 2024. For more information, visit airnewengland.com.
