Magnifica Air Doubles Down on Private-Class A220s, Pushing Launch to Early 2028

A Florida startup with an unusual pitch has quietly become one of Airbus Corporate Jets' bigger customers. Magnifica Air has been confirmed as the unnamed buyer of ten ACJ220-300s — the corporate jet version of the A220-300 — taking its planned fleet to 17 aircraft: 14 of the smaller jets plus three ACJ321neos. Production of its first A220-300 is reportedly already underway, though delivery dates haven't been announced.

The concept is called "Private Class," and the numbers explain it: where a normal A220-300 carries roughly 150 passengers, Magnifica will fit just 54 seats per aircraft, including a single private suite (the original 2025 design had two). The rest of the cabin is pitched as a premium business-class experience with more space than usual. Extras are baked into the ticket: a chauffeured car from home or office, checked bags returned within 10 to 15 minutes of landing, and fine dining onboard.

There's a membership angle too. "The Seven Club" starts at $14,950 for families and $29,950 for corporates, while top tiers demand deposits of $500,000 and $1 million in exchange for fixed pricing, upgrades and priority access to the private suite. Fleet operations will run on Airbus's Skywise data platform for planning, crew management and daily ops.

Anyone hoping to fly soon will need patience. Launch has slipped from 2027 to early 2028. The first route links New York with South Florida, with Los Angeles, San Jose, Dallas and Houston under consideration, plus special services around events like The Masters, Formula One and the Super Bowl. Fares are expected to sit at roughly 1.5 to two times an average first-class ticket.

It's a crowded graveyard, this niche. Eos, MAXjet and Silverjet all tried business-class-only flying between New York and London and folded. La Compagnie has lasted longer, running 76-seat all-business A321neos from Newark since 2014, and the Maldives' Beond is another all-premium operator. Whether 54 ultra-premium seats on a narrowbody can succeed where others failed is the multi-million-dollar question.