Clearwater private air service firm nearly doubles revenue, to $40M

New customers are great. But repeat, dedicated customers are even better. 

That’s why Clearwater-based luxury private-flight company FlyUSA recently launched its newly elevated membership program called the Ascend Club. Members get perks like preferred pricing, a dedicated Ascend Club travel advisor and a 2% cash-back rebate on travel. 

“We always have new customers coming in,” says Barry Shevlin, co-founder and CEO of FlyUSA. “But the majority of our business is from repeat customers. So as long as we continue to meet our customers’ expectations, we expect they’ll continue to fly with us.”

FlyUSA has been on an upward trajectory since its 2020 founding. The pandemic helped fuel its initial growth, but it’s remained on the ascent ever since then, finishing 2023 with about $23 million in revenue. The company expects to end 2024 with more than $40 million in revenue and hit about $60 million in 2025. 

It’s continued its pace of adding 10 to 15 new clients every week and currently has about 1,200 customers. The Ascend Club is intended to help make that customer journey even more enticing.

Members who join at the Ascend Gold level pay a $4,995 membership fee and then get the previously mentioned perks plus additional benefits like a $1,000-per-flight discount at time of booking. Members who opt for Ascend Platinum status pay a $2,495 membership fee and a minimum $100,000 deposit and receive additional perks like up to a $250 catering credit per flight, priority booking on peak days and guaranteed availability with a 72-hour callout.

“We should reward people for flying with us,” says Shevlin, 53. “Our program’s unique in that we provide a rebate. They get savings on the front end when they book and then the 2% rebate, which we’re finding to be pretty sticky.” 

About 10% of FlyUSA’s customer base has joined the loyalty program so far. To get that number higher, the company will keep educating its customers on the value proposition of the club. “But the ones that are using it really like it,” says Shevlin.

Digital marketing has played a major role in customer acquisition for the company, and it’s a realm Shevlin has a lot of past experience in through his previous work. He founded Tampa-based managed IT, cloud and security services firm Vology in 2002. He left that company in 2019 and founded CAVU Capital in 2020, an investment bank focused on emerging and mid-market technology companies.

“Every day, I probably reach into the experience bucket to think about how to deal with situations,” says Shevlin. “I like to tell people it’s unlikely we’re going to encounter a problem I haven’t run into at least once before.”

He uses the Entrepreneurial Operating System, a series of concepts and tools founded by consultant and author Gino Wickman, as a framework to run FlyUSA. That’s similar to how he ran Vology. “Having that framework in place really helps with employee alignment, employee communication and employee prioritization,” he says. “And I think that’s paid huge dividends for us.”

Private aviation is a very high-touch business, says Shevlin, which makes keeping customers happy a constant focus. “If the caterer gets the catering order wrong, that has a negative impact on our customer and their flight experience,” he says. “So it’s just putting much better rigor around the way we work with and vet and qualify and manage those other business partners that are so instrumental in the customer experience on the trip. That’s definitely been a heavier lift than I expected.”

Photo by Mark Wemple

FlyUSA now has 20 privately managed aircraft along with access to an extended network of about 100 other operators that have been fully vetted. The company operates out of facilities at Tampa International Airport and St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport and will add a new site at Sarasota Bradenton International Airport in mid-September. “We’ve got a lot of customers in the Sarasota region, and we really felt that it was going to be important for us to have a presence and a location on the airfield there,” says Shevlin.

The company recently brought maintenance of its fleet in-house by taking on a 20,000-square-foot hangar at Tampa International to do that work itself. “Our clients are a top priority, and when we were outsourcing to other shops, we weren’t necessarily the top priority,” says Shevlin. “It gives us more control, and it does result in some savings.”

Staff numbers are up to around 60 people, with about half of those pilots and the other half in supporting roles like client advisors and maintenance staff. The nationwide pilot shortage can cause challenges, but some recent accolades help draw potential employees to FlyUSA. The company was recently ranked No. 45 on the 2024 Inc. 5000 list of the fastest-growing privately held companies in the United States.

“People want to work for growing organizations,” says Shevlin. “That’s where some of this recognition helps. We’re being perceived a little bit more as a destination employer now…And that’s certainly a great feeling to hear that people want to come work here.”