As the need for privacy and ultimate luxury continues to increase for affluent high profile travelers, Vista Global remains at the forefront of the private aviation industry.
We spoke with Matteo Atti, Global Chief Marketing Officer of the brand to learn the benefits of private jets, and the future of private aviation.

Atti’s marketing and business experience spans over 20 years working with leading global brands in luxury, fashion, and telecommunications. He started his career in Gucci during the Tom Ford tenure, moved to Finland to lead campaigns and retail communication for Nokia and thousands of shops across 160 countries, then back to fashion with Bottega Veneta, and Paul Smith.

At Vista Global, Atti heads a worldwide team in charge of the entire customer journey, from market research to client acquisition, press, events, advertising and digital, and harnessing insights to introduce innovation programs.

Vista Global was established in 2004 by billionaire Thomas Flohr. It is the largest on demand aviation service in the world, offering subscription and membership-based private jet booking, global flight coverage, and mobility technology-supported services. The company has flown to 207 countries and services 3,000 airports.

VistaJet transports top name celebrities and business leaders all around the world, with the highest levels of safety and security, ensuring the experience is enhanced through culinary partnerships with Michelin star restaurants.

Additionally, their VistaPet is the most comprehensive program for pets in the air; and the 360 Wellness Program provides a relaxing travel experience.

The brand is also expanding its global footprint through sports partnerships, including its involvement in Formula 1 and the Masters Tournament.

HOMBRE: Can you give us an introduction to the world of private jets from the Vista Global perspective?
Matteo Atti: There are several sides to private aviation. Let’s start with the business side. Most people look at it as a way to maximize performance, effectiveness, and speed. That’s a big part of our world.
Then you have the leisure side. Just flying in comfort, that could be for holiday, or time with family, or other activities to meet your passion point. With limited time, successful people need to optimize their timing.
That’s two very different perspectives on what this global infrastructure can deliver.

H: Where is private aviation most popular? 
MA: U.S.A and North America covers over fifty percent of the world of private aviation.
The biggest cities in the country, that’s where the big financial centers are, so you talk about New York,  Miami, Dallas, San Francisco, Los Angeles, etc.
But what ‘s interesting is that they don’t necessarily go to the obvious places because a lot of people would just take a commercial flight if there was the right time, right choice, etc. There are different worlds here.

H: What is Vista Global?
MA: It is the largest on-demand private aviation company in the world.
That means we do more flights than anybody else and we don’t require any purchase. It’s fully on demand. You don’t need to buy a fraction of an aircraft.
You as a customer don’t need to put up any money. You pay only for the hours you need, you negotiate a rate and we fly you anywhere in the world.
We have the largest coverage in the world. We have a fixed rate, with 24 hours notice guaranteed. It’s a pretty sweet type of product.

H: Is it a membership based service?
MA: We call it a membership, the reality is you buy blocks of hours. You say, ‘I want to fly next year, I think I want 100 hours.’ We guarantee you’ll have 100 hours on our fleet, any time anywhere.

H: Is there a minimum amount of hours you have to purchase?
MA: Vista has several options. We have a suite of products.
The core product is the VistaJet program. You buy 50 hours minimum for 3 years. We have clients that buy 6, 7, 800 hours maybe, on multiple aircraft.
We have an option of non guaranteed where we have black-out dates of 25 hours.

And if that’s too much we can go to our XO product. XO is our digital marketplace. There you can find not only the Vista fleet, but 2,000 other aircraft with a safety record, with increased  number of variants, price ranges, etc., That covers every possible need you have. To use XO you download the app and you book a flight

H: Where are these options available?
MA: These three options are available worldwide, South America, Asia, Europe, everywhere.
Consider our market share follows very closely the number of $100 million plus businesses or $50 million plus users.
If you look at our distribution it matches exactly the availability of wealth. Ultimately the price point is the biggest obstacle to adoption. If we all had the means we would all be flying private.  It’s a completely different kind of service.
There are no other limitations, other than do you have a need to fly private and the price point.

H: What can you share about the fleet of planes?
MA: We have the only consistent fleet in the world.  All of our aircraft have a livery that is silver, with a red stripe.
Silver because it goes back to the golden era of flying, and a red stripe for speed. It is the only livery in the world that is deposited and protected.  We want to make sure everyone who sees the aircraft on the tarmac knows what is happening inside.
And what is happening inside is the best possible service, the best food,  the best trained cabin crew, and the best pilots. It’s basically the wrap up of an experience that has no comparison.

H: Can you explain the XO service further, it’s the most accessible and can serve as an introduction to the platform?
MA: XO is a digital marketplace. People are so used to speed.
Most people would think private aviation is about saving time but when they go through the experience of booking a flight they discover it can be a time consuming exercise. For most aircraft you need to go through a booker, and the broker needs to get an owner’s release,  you need approval.
XO is the first and only platform where you have instant booking.
If you have a deposit with us you can book in as little as 30 seconds, like booking a commercial flight.
What happens behind the scenes with every flight is unique, so that’s why nobody else has been able to achieve such a feat.

H: What are some benefits of booking often?
MA: When you start flying often we have membership options which means you get a discount on our fleet.
It’s pretty unique. You still have 24/7 service but it’s made for speed and variety of offerings because we have multiple types of aircraft where you can find the perfect plane for your mission.

H: What makes service on Vista Global special?
MA: When you step into a Vista flight you enter into the upper echelon of hospitality in the air.
We have around 7,000 food and restaurant partners alone because we fly to almost 3,000 different airports in the world.
We collaborate with 20 of the most remarkable culinary geniuses of our time and many of them create special dishes for us. We did research, wrote about how taste is delivered in the air, but also about how to deliver a plate with the limited amount of technology that’s available in a small galley inside an airplane.
When it comes to service our cabin hosts are trained by the British Butler Institute in white glove service. Our staff is trained on wines, servicing children, dealing with pet dynamics. The level of knowledge of our cabin team is incredible.
Our pilots only fly one type of aircraft to increase the number of hours and familiarity and make sure they have the fastest reaction time in the world.

H: What about the needs of corporate clients?
MA: When it comes to business we have the fastest Wi-Fi available, and we can provide services for business meetings. So again, depending on what you need in cabin service there is no comparable.
We also launched a wellness program last year which takes care of sound, pressure, and hydration so we can support you to feel better when you land than when you departed.

H: That’s kind of unique?
MA: It’s the most premium service you can find in the air. There’s no doubt.

H: Vista Global must be popular with celebrities.
MA: We have several official ambassadors. For example we have been a partner of Ferrari for the past five years. You can imagine the schedule of a Ferrari driver. There is no other option for them besides to fly private. If they arrive and they’re tired it affects their performance. They fly with their own dietician, their own team; we learn what they need and we adapt those needs in the cabin. Departure, sleeping, food, anything they need, even a gym so they can exercise on the plane.

Phil Mickelson

H: Sounds ideal for other high profile athletes and musicians.
MA: Yes, we are in Augusta. We just announced an ambassadorship with Gary Player who’s going to do a tee off with our members, so if you’re a member you can play with him.
We have Jon Rahm and Phil Mickelson flying with us. Phil sold his plane and started flying with us.
Similarly, in music you are in a different city every day. There’s no other way to do it than flying in private jets.
Why not do it with the best possible service. It helps to reduce the stress, you don’t need to think about it, you can really take care of yourself.

Some musicians love our Global 7500 which is a plane that flies up to 17 hours non-stop and has a permanent bedroom in the back. You have 4 different zones, all  private and you can have different people without being on top of the other. It’s a unique feat and we have the largest fleet in the world of this type of aircraft.

H: What about other sports partnerships?
MA: We have done polo partnerships, we have done tennis Grand Slams, we have done sailing competitions. We have our own racing team called Vista AF Corse, it races in the world endurance championship, the 24 hours Le Mans. It’s great because we can have hospitality for our members.

H: What does the future hold in the world of private aviation?
MA: There’s two sides again. The first is that in the current scenario a lot of people who used to own a private jet are selling them because of the cost of maintenance, the difficulty in sourcing parts, retaining the crew, etc. It has become a big issue. A lot more people are going to the shared model we offer, which is much more agile. Why have $5 to $75 million of capital on your books when you can simply pay as you need.
I think a lot of people see the logic.
The second thing we’re seeing is that there is a change in dynamic in terms of privacy. With social media and constant scrutiny flying private has become a necessity for people with a high profile. We see a lot more public figures preferring to go on our private jets. They prefer to go on a fleet where nobody knows who’s flying, rather than owning their own jet which otherwise can be followed.
It increases the safety of these individuals.

H: How did you come to Vista Global?
MA: It was by chance. I was in luxury all my life. I was invited to come in to talk by the owner who wanted to create something completely new. He wanted to create not just a commodity product going from A to B, but he had the vision of a luxury product that was fitting into the lifestyle of people who would book a penthouse at The Peninsula for 25 thousand dollars a night. Why would I pay that for a night but when I get on a plane I have to prepare my own coffee and drink in Styrofoam cups? It makes no sense. Can we look at a different way to serve people with the service level guaranteed?
And now here we are.