The Riverside Press-Enterprise
JSX’S practices are rankling bigger rivals
Company that got its start in Irvine found what critics call a loophole to skirt more rigorous safety protocols
Alex Wilcox’s furious rivals say he’s exploiting a loophole. Wilcox counters that they’re just annoyed he’s treading on their turf.
At the heart of their dispute is JSX, a Dallas-based carrier that got its start in Irvine, beloved by work travelers for offering convenience like a chartered plane at near businessclass prices.
Wilcox got the idea for the service in what’s possibly the least glamorous business origin story of all time. Combing through Federal Aviation Administration regulations, he learned that though scheduled flights with more than nine seats have to meet onerous safety and security requirements, on-demand public charters have separate, less stringent rules. But they can’t specify flight times or cities or sell single seats.
To get around that, Wilcox decided to create two companies that would work together: One would make a flight schedule and sell tickets, and a second would fly the aircraft on specified routes at set times and dates. In reality, though, it’s one entity working behind the scenes.
“I spent months without sleep, just looking at all the rules, looking for ways why it couldn’t be done,” he said on a clear February day in a hangar at Dallas Love Field. “Every single person we talked to said, ‘No, you can’t do it.’ ” Then U.S. regulators signed off on his idea. “So we did it.”
In 2015, he founded Jetsuitex,
later rebranded to JSX. It lets customers book tickets online, like a more traditional airline, and flies out of sparse private hangars. In exchange for the amenities of a big airport, passengers get convenience. In lieu of long Transportation Security Administration baggagescreening lines, they get their bags swabbed for explosives and walk through a weapons detector.
The experience doesn’t come without pitfalls. If a flight gets delayed, there are only minimal snacks. If it gets canceled, there’s not always an easy rebooking option.
Bringing that ease of travel at a lower price point than a private jet has fueled growth so rapid that competitors are lobbying against it and U.S. regulators are reviewing its practices. Potential rule changes by the U.S. Transportation Security Administration and the FAA could make flying with JSX much more onerous, potentially ruining its appeal.
Nigel Gorbold takes JSX as often as five times a month for client meetings because he can pack more into the trip. “I can have one or two more meetings in downtown Dallas, and still make a 6:30 flight,” he said.
In less than a decade, JSX has gone from operating just 641 flights over six routes to almost 35,000 over 48. Within the next 10 years, Wilcox plans to add hundreds more planes — the vast majority hybrid electric, he said — and new offerings between the Northeast and Florida, along the West Coast and possibly to Mexico. At the current pace, annual revenue will hit $1 billion by 2028, he said.