Sentient Jet's New Chief Revenue Officer Alan Hawley Targets Community-Level Sales and B2B Growth
Why It MattersThe move signals jet card providers leaning harder on granular customer data and B2B channel partnerships to sustain growth as premium categories like super-midsize see rising demand.
Sentient Jet has appointed Alan Hawley as Chief Revenue Officer. Hawley spent 25 years in B2B software sales and previously worked at the jet card unit of Directional Aviation's Flexjet, Inc.; before his technology career he was a professional rugby player and a pilot-cadet with British Airways, a path he said changed course after the September 11 attacks.
Hawley joined Sentient Jet in January and has spent roughly eight months speaking with customers. He outlined priorities including a shift to regional sales territories, expanded B2B partnerships with wealth managers and partners such as Exclusive Resorts, and using Sentient's 26-year customer dataset covering approximately 7,000 active customers to develop more tailored jet card products.
Hawley said the company has identified hyper-local customer concentrations as a key opportunity, citing 39 customers found within a single gated community in Naples, Florida, which prompted a shift toward community-level engagement rather than city-wide marketing.
On demand, Hawley said Sentient's average card value is up more than 15% year over year year-to-date, and super-midsize aircraft bookings have risen approximately 25% year over year, driven by longer stage lengths and returning business travel. The company reported revenues of $550 million in the prior year, and Hawley said revenue is continuing to grow in 2026, with productivity per salesperson increasing rather than headcount alone.
Hawley noted Sentient added cryptocurrency payment options last year, citing particular interest from younger, technology-sector customers, and said the company's phone response time averages around 15 seconds with customer satisfaction at approximately 97%. Sentient Jet is a subsidiary of Directional Aviation, which also owns Flexjet and FXAir, and Hawley said this allows the company to direct customers toward fractional or charter alternatives when a jet card is not the optimal solution.
