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Orange County is one of JSX’s largest markets, says co-founder and CEO Alex Wilcox. That, along with the fact that the public charter service was founded in Irvine in 2016, helped drive the company’s recent decision to move to a new location at John Wayne Airport (JWA).
After three years of planning, JSX relocated from its previous home under fixed base operator (FBO) ACI Jet to a new facility run by Jay’s Aircraft Maintenance. “There’s huge demand here.
There’s limited destinations served by the major airlines, and we can fly to a lot of places no one else can or wants to,” Wilcox told the Business Journal.
Approved by the Orange County board of supervisors, the Dallas-based public charter jet operator now operates from a new base at 3000 Airway Ave. that opened at the end of April.
Back in 2020, ACI Jet and Clay Lacy Aviation were approved for 35-year lease terms as FBOs at John Wayne Airport with Jay’s selected as a limited-service FBO. As a result, JSX was almost removed from the general aviation portion of the airport due to a provision that banned regularly scheduled commercial flight operations.
A federal judge overturned the ban in 2021, after JSX filed a lawsuit, and the company was allowed to stay.
The new facility is meant to provide easier access to its flights. JSX counts eight to 10 routes out of the Orange County airport and has operated at JWA since 2018. Its newest public charter flights to Salt Lake City (SLC) and Napa County Airport (APC) will begin on July 3 with additional routes planned for later this year. Wilcox said he aims to add more places that only JSX will fly to from Orange County. He also hopes to add international flights in the future. John Wayne Airport reported 11.1 million total passengers in 2024, down 5.6% from the year before, while total aircraft operations grew 22.5% to 334,554.
Orange County First
John Wayne Airport is also a key market for JSX’s plans to provide sustainable regional air travel. The carrier currently operates 47 of the 30-seat Embraer 145 aircraft for travel, which are the quietest passenger jets operating at the airport, according to JSX.
JSX is set to acquire up to 332 hybrid-electric aircraft from manufacturers Electra, Aura Aero and Heart Aerospace—the world’s largest order intent, according to the company.
“We do share common values with the people of Orange County and John Wayne Airport—convenience, safety and the environment,” Wilcox said at the reopening event. “We’re investing in what will be the quietest airplanes in the industry. We are the first air carrier to debut an order for up to 332 hybrid-electric airplanes.”
JSX signed letters of intent to acquire up to 82 of the 9-seat Electra eSTOL (electric short takeoff and landing) aircraft, up to 150 of the 19-seat Aura Aero Era and up to 100 of the 30-seat Heart Aerospace ES-30.
Each model is currently in development. The Aura Aero Era uses all-electric propulsion for takeoff to reduce its noise footprint while the Electra has batteries that recharge in-flight to eliminate the building of new ground infrastructure.
“These airplanes will be virtually noiseless on take-off and landing and consume far less energy than airplanes today,” Wilcox said.
Delivery is expected to begin in 2028. With these hybrid planes, JSX said it can lower the cost of its service and even open new flight options at over 2,000 U.S. airports. Currently, it provides up to 130 public charter flights daily to 26 different destinations in the U.S. and employs over 1,000 people.
“We’ll get the first one certified probably in the next three years, and I’d love to have that flight (in) Orange County first on a commercial basis,” he added. “I hope someday we can all reconvene here maybe in three to four years for the first hybrid-electric airplane take-off.”