Oklahoma-based Private Jets expands in Naples

Naples

Private Jets is spreading its wings in Naples, with more planes and more pilots.

The Oklahoma-based charter jet company announced Monday it has signed a five-year lease on a new hangar at Naples Municipal Airport.

The company has added three aircraft to its local fleet and plans to hire up to five more employees, including pilots and support staff.

Asked what prompted the expansion, Eric Wells, president of Private Jets, said: "Primarily it was that a hangar became available. Hangar space is at a premium in Naples. It's hard to come by, so when an opportunity became available, we jumped on it."

The expansion will allow the company to offer "new and more varied options" to its Florida customers, he said.

The response to the service in Naples has been great, Wells said.

With the expansion, Private Jets has four planes based in Naples. It previously had one — a 1979 Citation II, with seven seats and a range of nearly 1,400 miles.

The company has five full-time employees at its Naples hub and plans to hire more.

Private Jets has done business in Naples since 2000. In the late 1990s, the company started managing a plane for a customer in Naples, then started offering it for charter when the owner wasn't using it — and the service "grew from there," Wells said.

More planes in Naples could translate into savings for customers because they'll have a greater chance of avoiding repositioning expenses, which are charged when jets have to be moved from another city before passengers can travel.

Private Jets has a variety of aircraft.

"We have 22 planes in our fleet," Wells said. "We have the capacity to move any of those planes to Naples if warranted."

In addition to Naples, the company offers services from its main base near Oklahoma City as well as from its other locations in St. Augustine and Texas cities San Antonio, Austin and Sugar Land.

Founded in 1987, the original company, known as Oklahoma Executive Jet Charter, has grown to become one of the largest air charter businesses in Oklahoma.

The business was renamed in 2003 to reflect the opening of bases outside Oklahoma.

Private Jets primarily serves destinations in the United States, Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America and South America.

Charter flights are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, year-round, weather and safety permitting.

More:New grocery stores sprouting in Southwest Florida giving shoppers more choices

More:Trio high-rise condo-hotel planned for East Naples Triangle put 'on hold'

More:Dave & Buster's to open at Bell Tower Shops in south Fort Myers in early 2019

Diane Jackson, director of communications and business development for the airport, said Private Jets has a sublease with Hartford Realty, which owns the hangar.

"We are looking forward to the services that they will provide to the public and the benefits to the local economy," she said. "We are very fortunate to have a variety of services here."

The airport is served by a handful of air charter carriers, including ExecAir, Naples Air, Salt Island Seaplanes, Gulfcoast Airways and EliteJets.com, which launched its new on-demand service about a year ago.

More: New charter plane operator chooses Naples as its base

Jack Wert, Collier County's tourism director, welcomes the expanded charter services offered by Private Jets, but he doesn't expect it to boost tourism to the Naples area because it's usually business travelers who use private jets to attend conferences or other meetings, not tourists.

"I do think it's encouraging that there is that demand for private jet service," he said. "So that certainly is a positive sign. I don't think it will be a big impact, but it is certainly good to know we've got more options to get people into Naples."