flyExclusive has secured a $30 million grant from the State of North Carolina to expand its aircraft maintenance and repair operation and develop a pilot training facility at the North Carolina Global TransPark in Kinston.
The project is expected to create more than 100 aviation jobs in Lenoir County while allowing flyExclusive to move a substantial portion of its outsourced training and maintenance spending back to North Carolina. The company plans to begin construction as soon as possible, subject to the completion of required agreements and other development conditions.
The North Carolina Global TransPark Authority will own the facility, which flyExclusive will operate through a long-term lease. The company will also make a significant private investment alongside the state funding.
flyExclusive currently pays more than $5 million annually to pilot training providers outside North Carolina. Its pilots also generate more than 8,000 hotel room nights each year while attending external training programs. Moving those activities to Kinston could retain more spending in the local economy and reduce travel-related costs.
The planned training center will include flight simulators valued at approximately $12 million each, creating an additional source of local property tax revenue. An internal pilot training pipeline is also intended to provide flyExclusive with a more consistent source of aviators trained to the company’s operational and safety standards.
The maintenance expansion will add paint, avionics and aircraft refurbishment capabilities while increasing the amount of scheduled and unscheduled work completed internally. flyExclusive currently spends more than $75 million annually on maintenance, with most of that spending occurring outside North Carolina.
Bringing more maintenance activity in-house could reduce reliance on third-party capacity, improve aircraft availability and create additional revenue opportunities from outside customers. The company plans to use the expanded operation to attract third-party maintenance work in addition to servicing its own fleet.
The project advances flyExclusive’s vertically integrated operating model, through which the company owns or controls more of the infrastructure required to operate its private jet fleet. The company believes internal maintenance and pilot training can improve operating efficiency, reliability and scalability while reducing exposure to industrywide shortages of qualified pilots and maintenance capacity.
The grant was authorized through North Carolina Senate Bill 257, which was signed into law on July 7, 2026. The investment follows other 2026 growth initiatives at flyExclusive, including fleet expansion, increased Jet Club membership and the opening of a corporate office in Raleigh.
KEY QUOTE:
“Our people are what set flyExclusive apart, and this facility lets us develop the next generation of world-class pilots and create hundreds of high-quality aviation careers for the talented men and women who will help us keep growing here in North Carolina. These new facilities substantially expand our footprint at the North Carolina Global TransPark and substantially strengthen our already strong relationship with the Global TransPark.”
“We are excited about continuing to invest and grow at the Global TransPark, and we look forward to breaking ground as soon as possible.”
Jim Segrave, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of flyExclusive
