Affinity Aviation Group Takes Stake in AeronautX UK, Reports 22% Revenue Rise and Names Christian Jones Sales Director
Why It MattersPairing a brokerage and charter group with a type-rating training provider points to business aviation firms tying transaction, membership and pilot-training services together, a move that favours integrated operators over single-service players.
What happened
Affinity Aviation Group (AAG), a provider of business aircraft sales, acquisitions and charter solutions, has entered a strategic collaboration with Austria's AeronautX. Under the partnership, AAG is taking a significant shareholding in AeronautX UK Ltd, and AeronautX UK has established operations within AAG's headquarters at Farnborough Airport.
AeronautX plans to open a new pilot academy near Amsterdam Airport Schiphol next spring. According to AeronautX Founder and CEO Jörg Oberhofer, the training centre opens in Q1 2027 with Bombardier Challenger 350/3500 and Challenger 650 full flight simulators, all UK CAA certified. AeronautX already holds Base Training approvals for Embraer and Gulfstream aircraft. AAG Founding CEO Andrew Hoy previously worked with Niall Olver, Group Chairman of AX Aero, AeronautX's parent company, at ExecuJet between 2007 and 2014.
AAG is in its 12th year of operation. Its third quarter delivered record aircraft sales and acquisition activity, driven largely by clients seeking discreet off-market transactions. The number of completed transactions remained in line with 2025, while revenue rose 22% year over year. AAG has built a reputation in the pre-owned Bombardier Global market, with activity spanning Asia, North America, South America and the Indian subcontinent. Hoy serves as a Training Captain on the Bombardier Global 7500 and a Type Rating Instructor across the Global family.
flyAffinity, the Group's fixed-fee private jet charter membership programme, saw turnover double to £2 million in 2026, with 12 new members added and a 100% client retention rate. Its membership base now extends across Europe, the United States and the Middle East. AAG has also appointed Christian Jones to the newly created post of Sales and Business Development Director. Jones was previously Charter Sales Manager and General Manager at Jersey-based AOC operator Ortac, and holds Form 4 approvals in the UK, Malta and Guernsey.
Industry impact & what to watch
A brokerage and charter group taking equity in a type-rating and base-training provider shows how business aviation firms are widening what they sell. Aircraft sales, charter membership and pilot training have traditionally sat with separate companies; here they are being connected through shared ownership and a shared Farnborough address. For a group whose transaction count is flat while revenue grows, adding adjacent services is one way to build income that does not depend on deal volume alone.
The training side matters because type-rating capacity on specific airframes is a bottleneck that follows aircraft sales. A buyer of a pre-owned Bombardier Global or Challenger needs qualified crews, and a provider offering UK CAA certified Challenger simulators sits close to that demand. The Embraer and Gulfstream Base Training approvals AeronautX already holds extend that reach beyond a single manufacturer.
The dated milestone is the Q1 2027 opening of the Schiphol-area academy, which will show whether the simulator line-up is delivered as described. The new sales and business development post under Christian Jones is the other thing to follow, since it indicates where AAG intends to push growth in charter and membership sales.
