Kenn Ricci’s Directional Aviation buys PrivateFly
One Sky, part of Directional Aviation, has acquired online charter broker PrivateFly.
Adam Twidell and his wife Carol Cork (pictured) founded PrivateFly in 2008 by mortgaging their house and created the first real online business jet charter portal. The husband and wife team will stay with the business.
“We are delighted to welcome PrivateFly to the OneSky and the Directional Aviation family,” said Kenn Ricci, Principal of Directional Aviation. “PrivateFly’s co-founders, Adam Twidell and Carol Cork, are true innovators who recognised early on how important mobile capabilities and on-demand digital bookings are in the charter space, and they will continue to play a critical role in the company’s future. Pairing PrivateFly with Skyjet, OneSky’s current digital on-demand charter broker, brings together two unique, innovative companies that are in different geographies to support OneSky’s vision of a world-leading on-demand charter operation.”
Directional Aviation, which is majority owned by Ricci, consists of a broad range of business aviation companies including FlexJet, SkyJet, Sentient Jet, Nextant Aerospace and Constant Aviation.
“We are proud to be joining OneSky, part of Directional Aviation, which incorporates every aspect of the private aviation industry in a way that no other company can,” said Adam Twidell, co-founder and CEO of PrivateFly. “This is a key strategic moment for PrivateFly that opens up new opportunities for our loyal and growing base of globe-spanning users, leveraging the power not only of Skyjet but also of the other OneSky companies.”
Andrew Collins, the President of OneSky’s on-demand private jet charter organisation Skyjet and jet card provider Sentient Jet added: “With this transaction, and the combination of PrivateFly and Skyjet, we are realising the digital part of OneSky’s vision in the on-demand charter space. Nobody provides instant private jet travel at the touch of a button with this degree of expertise, allowing people to travel in the way that best meets their needs.”
