A Palm Beach businessman with an extensive resume in hospitality and a longtime executive security expert have partnered to launch white-glove private jet flights to Venezuela.
The Aegis Air service is set to launch from a South Florida airfieldto Caracas' main airport on Oct. 20. It will start with two roundtrip flights per week to and from the South American country.
A principal investor in the venture is Frank Ornstein, chairman of Palm Beach-based Hospitality Investors Group, who as an executive at the Four SeasonsHotels helped originate and develop the global brand. Aegis is led by Ross Thompson, founder and CEO of COVAC GLOBAL, an intelligence, security and crisis management company.
In interviews with The Palm Beach Post, Ornstein and Thompson
said Aegis Air will fit a burgeoning niche — secure and convenient travel to Caracas as the country's commercial links with the United States expand in the aftermath of the military raid that removed Nicolás Maduro in January.
"The reason we did this is because there's a lot of business growth. There's a lot of diplomatic activity. There's a lot of things going into Venezuela," said Thompson.
The activity includes major oil deals announced by the Trump administration plus significant infrastructure work in the wake of a devastating earthquake in August.
In fact, Thompson said the natural disaster damaged the international terminal Simón Bolívar International Airport in Caracas, and two months later customs and immigration facilities there continue to suffer disruptions.
Ornstein said he was interested in investing after Thompson brought the idea to him. The two have known each other for years, Ornstein added, and "we're looking at" potential hospitality transactions in Latin America, including acquiring a hotel in Caracas.
"We've had a long history in going into areas that may look a little dicey at one point in time," Ornstein said of his career at the Four Seasons, "but over a 25-year period, you know, they tend to be very successful."
Papaya mimosas and visa assistance: Founders tout complete service
The Aegis service, Thompson said, can assist with all entry requirements, including applicable visas, and ushers passengers into their own comfortable air-conditioned terminal without delays, with luggage handling and access to ground transportation. The flights on the 16-passenger aircrafts offer chef-curated meals, and a full bar, too, with avocado toast, charcuterie boards and papaya mimosa options.
"You only need to show up about 20 minutes before your flight," Thompson said. "It's all business class. So everybody gets very personalized attention."
Roundtrip fares cost $7,500 ($3,200 one way) from Miami–Opa Locka Executive Airport in northern Miami-Dade County. The service is being pitched to oil and gas industry executives in particular, as well as international attorneys and others.
"We've done a lot of security aviation," Thompson added. "And when Venezuela opened up, there was a lot of requests for secure aviation down there, especially bearing in mind our experience in transporting executives in and out of hostile environments. This was kind of a natural fit for us."
Ornstein added the service will also be in both countries' economic interests.
"This is something that is beneficial to the U.S. and to Venezuela. We're not doing something that's against anybody's interest," he said. "Venezuela needs the kind of travel that we're providing. They need the people who need this service, and the U.S. would like to encourage that because they're got a major stake in it. We're creating something that should fit with both countries' interest."
Antonio Fins is a politics and business editor at The Palm Beach Post,part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at afins@pbpost.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Palm Beach hotel exec invests in Venezuela private jet | Exclusive
