US Start-Up Aegis Air Launches By-the-Seat Charter Flights Between Miami and Caracas
CARACAS — US virtual carrier start-up Aegis Air launched by-the-seat services between Miami and Caracas on October 20. The flights link Miami Opa-Locka Executive Airport with Caracas Simón Bolívar International Airport aboard a 16-seat Embraer E135 wet-leased from Aero, operating initially as two round trips a week under Part 380 public charter rules between private terminals (FBOs), according to ch-aviation.
Aegis Air CEO Ross Thompson said the service targets bankers, business executives, diplomats, lawyers and affluent members of the Venezuelan diaspora. Seats cost $3,750 each way or $7,500 round trip, with southbound departures at 9 a.m. and returns at 2 p.m., a flight time of just over three hours, and check-in about 20 minutes before departure. The company expects to launch a Caracas route from Houston soon, followed by Washington, D.C.
Thompson said the service fills a gap as Venezuela's commercial links with the United States expand, including major oil deals announced by the Trump administration. He noted that the June earthquake damaged the international terminal at Simón Bolívar airport, with customs and immigration facilities still disrupted two months later.
Aegis Air was co-founded by Thompson, founder of medical repatriation provider Covac Global, and Frank Ornstein of Hospitality Investors Group. The company aims to become "the JSX of Latin America and the Caribbean" and is in discussions with other operators, with long-term plans to own aircraft.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: Embraer E135 支线客机（资料图）。图片：Adrian Pingstone / 公共领域，Wikimedia Commons
