Aviation MRO company Flying Colours Corp is joining the Flexjet family of companies. The move further expands Flexjet’s maintenance and product support network, with facilities in the USA, Canada and Europe supporting its growing fleet.
“Bringing the capabilities of Constant Aviation, which Flexjet bought earlier this year, and now Flying Colours in-house enables us to ensure both the highest possible service quality and the maximum availability of aircraft for our Owners,” said Kenn Ricci, Flexjet chairman. “Unlike other companies in our space that rely on third-party providers for their MRO needs, Flexjet now fully controls its maintenance and product support needs, and this aligns with our strategic vision of differentiating ourselves from the competition at every level and in every way. We’re thrilled to welcome the talented Flying Colours team to Flexjet with their 40+ year history of excellence as a global leader in aircraft completions.”
Flying Colours, headquartered in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, offers not only a full range of MRO services but also a comprehensive set of additional capabilities specifically focused on aircraft interior completions and refurbishments, as well as custom aircraft painting.
Flying Colours recently opened paint and completions hangars at its facility at Peterborough Airport. The primary 40,000ft² paint hangar can handle any size business aircraft as well as airliner category aircraft (with a secondary facility that can handle any Gulfstream aircraft up to a G650). At 61,000ft², the new completions hangar enables Flying Colours to handle multiple aircraft simultaneously.
“One of the qualities most associated with Flexjet is our superior cabin experience, as exemplified by the more than 40 unique interiors in our LXi Cabin Collection,” said Jay Heublein, Flexjet senior vice president of maintenance. “Flying Colours is renowned for the excellence of its paint and completion work, and this ensures that the interiors of our aircraft meet the world’s highest standards. This acquisition ensures that we can deliver on the commitment we made to our Owners to provide the best possible cabin experience.”
“Flying Colours’ relationship with Flexjet spans decades and we are looking forward to joining the Flexjet family,” said John Gillespie, Flying Colours’ president and CEO. “Our culture and focus on quality aligns perfectly and we look forward to expanding on a vision that is unlike anything I have seen before in business aviation.”
Upon completion of the transaction, Gillespie will take a lead role overseeing completions strategy within the global Flexjet network.
Flexjet’s global maintenance facility footprint now includes 12 primary maintenance facilities and 30 geographically strategic AOG teams to provide field support to the fleet. This includes the new Flying Colours facilities at Peterborough Airport and at Spirit of St Louis Airport (located west of St Louis, Missouri).
Approximately 250 Flying Colours team members will join Flexjet. In addition, Flexjet is actively in the process of hiring nearly 200 core technicians during the current year.
Flexjet first entered the fractional jet ownership market in 1995. It offers fractional jet ownership and leasing. Red Label by Flexjet features a modern fleet, flight crews dedicated to a single aircraft and the LXi Cabin Collection of interiors. To date there are more than 40 different interior designs across its fleet.
Flexjet’s fleet is comprised of the Embraer Phenom 300 and Praetor 500 and 600; Bombardier Challenger 350 and 3500; and the Gulfstream G450 and G650. Its European fleet includes the Embraer Praetor 600 and Gulfstream G650. Flexjet’s helicopter division sells fractional, lease and on-demand charter access to its fleet of owned, operated and maintained Sikorsky S-76 helicopters. Flexjet is a member of the Directional Aviation family of companies.
