Swiss startup PeakJet launches semi-private flight service in Europe

A new Swiss company called PeakJet has entered the semi-private aviation market, aiming to replicate a business model already established in the United States by operators offering a hybrid between commercial and executive flying. The company completed its inaugural flight between Zurich and Palma de Mallorca on August 1, 2026, a date coinciding with Switzerland's national holiday.

PeakJet does not hold its own air operator certificate. Instead, the flight was operated on its behalf by the German arm of VistaJet, using an Embraer Legacy 650 business jet. According to the company, this asset-light structure is central to its business model, allowing it to act as a platform that defines routes and service standards while contracting capacity from operators according to demand.

The venture was founded by Gianni Tronza, a Swiss aviation executive with prior senior roles at Etihad Airways, American Airlines, British Airways and Crossair. He is joined by Peter Baumgartner, former chief executive of Etihad Airways, who is also involved in several other business ventures in Switzerland.

According to the founders, PeakJet is designed to be flexible and scalable, allowing capacity to be deployed to markets where demand for a premium travel experience exists at a price point closer to business class fares than to traditional private charter costs. The company points to the growth of similar semi-private carriers in the United States as evidence that a comparable market opportunity exists in Europe.