October 2025 saw the unveiling of Magnifica Air, a new premium airline project for the United States.
The proposed new carrier, expected to launch no sooner than Q3 2027, aims to ride the growing popularity of luxury leisure travel in the US.
As yet, not much is known about Magnifica other than the type of aircraft it plans to operate, namely ACJ220-300 and ACJ321neos, the executive version of these popular airliner models. The aircraft are to be fitted with custom-designed high-end interiors by vertically integrated executive aviation group Comlux.
A case in point, in Q4 2025, Delta Air Lines reported, for the first time in its 100 years history, that revenue from first and business class travelers traveling at the front of the cabin surpassed that generated by those traveling on the main cabin (economy class).
This is hardly an anecdote, since all over the world carriers are rushing to up-gauge and renew their First and Business Class cabins to cater to this segment of the market, all while executive jet operators and manufacturers are also on historical maximums.
So, what is Magnifica Air’s value proposition in this truly dynamic context?
Recently, AeroTime spoke with Wade Black, co-founder and CEO of Magnifica Air, to find out a few more details about this project and the vision that has inspired it.
Black is an aviation veteran with a career of over 35 years in the industry. In fact, he is the scion of a Texan family which has operated aviation businesses since the 1940s.
SevenBar Flying Service, the Black family business, started as a flight training operation, but over the following decades it diversified into aircraft sales, private air charters, maintenance, air ambulance services and the management of fixed base operators (FBO) for executive aviation operators.
Since 2008, though, Black has progressively divested most of these businesses. While selling them on to other operators, he started to think about this next aviation venture.
“There’s a white space between first class and executive flying,” Black told AeroTime during a phone conversation. “A domestic first-class ticket in the US may cost something like $1,000, while chartering a jet may cost you in the order of $20,000-25,000. This is a huge gap!”
He explained that Magnifica Air is aiming to bridge that gap. It will provide a more elevated experience than regular First Class at two or three times the price, while remaining about one tenth of the typical private jet fare.
Here is where the choice of aircraft comes into play. Black explained how aircraft like the Airbus A220 can be fitted to provide the same amount of space – in some cases, even more – that you would only find onboard the top tier of custom-made business jets.
In this regard, Black drew a comparison with the so-called semi-private charter operators that have been expanding in the last few years in the US. He was referring to airlines such as JSX and Aero that operate a service akin to a hybrid between commercial and private aviation, with shared cabins and regular schedules, while aiming to provide a premium, concierge-like experience.
Since these operators fly small planes, Black explained, they are quite limited in the sort of onboard experience and range they can offer [JSX operates Embraer E135 and E145 aircraft and has recently added ATR42 turboprops, while Aero flies Embraer E135s].
According to Black, flying on Magnifica Air is not just going to be about time savings, but also the experience itself.
“It used to be an event to go flying,” he said during the conversation, evoking the time when flying was a rather exclusive affair.
However, Magnifica Air aims to provide an all-encompassing experience, not just in the air.
While it plans to target some major US markets, such as New York City to Florida, one of the factors that will differentiate it from the mainstream airlines is Magnifica’s use of private TSA-approved terminals at smaller airports, like Teterboro, New Jersey, a usual gateway for the NYC private jet crowd. This way, the new carrier will be able to provide check-in 30 minutes before departure, high end dining experiences and concierge-style baggage handling.
Black sees his airline at the core of an exclusive community which will be named ‘the Seven Club’, in homage to SevenBar, the Black family’s original aviation business.
The Seven Club will be a lifestyle brand, offering its members not only guaranteed fixed prices for certain trips, but also a sense of elite belonging and access to a whole range of curated services and experiences. “A bit like what SoHo House represented in its beginnings,” Black explained.
Potentially, then, how big could the market be for Magnifica Air’s proposition?
Black reckons it is realistic to get to a fleet of six to ten aircraft within the three years after launch, potentially acquiring to 25 to 40 aircraft over the longer term.
“We are bringing back the golden days of air travel,” Black said.