Rick Colson is an American Business Aviation Entrepreneur; the Founder & CEO New Flight Charters, Co-Founder FlightList PRO, and Founder FlightCast Media, who for the last 21 years has created, owned and actively managed aviation businesses serving discerning private fliers with more than 1,400 flights annually for a North American customer base, and separately serving the industry’s top 40 air charter brokerages with a value subscription platform sourcing 15,079 charter aircraft from 3,549 operators worldwide.
Rick has been navigating the skies of business aviation for 25 years, channeling a love of private flying into pilot ratings, aircraft ownership, and a trio of New Flight Solutions; industry-leading aviation businesses serving private jet fliers, charter operators and brokers.
As a ‘Practitioner CEO’ Rick is active in the businesses day-to-day alongside his team, and personally manages charters for select clients including some of the most prominent names in business and entertainment.
Rick Colson discovered aviation in 1981 at the age of 15 in the right seat of a V-tail Beechcraft Bonanza, at the formerly-named, Scottsdale Airpark. An aircraft owner and instrument-rated private pilot with 36 years senior business and operations management experience, 15 of those in Fortune 100 and Fortune 500 companies, Rick has experienced multiple facets of private aviation from the cockpit to the front office. In 2004 New Flight Charters grew out of New Flight Solutions, Inc., the aviation consulting company Rick founded when company clientele needed more cost-effective and flexible and flying options than the traditional charter, fractional ownership and jet card programs of the day.
Rick earned his FAA ratings at Pinnacle Aviation Academy and his Bachelor of Science in Business degree from the renowned W.A. Franke College of Business at Northern Arizona University. A strong supporter of private aviation, Rick Colson has been an actively flying pilot, aircraft owner, and member of the National Business Aircraft Association, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, National Air Transportation Association, Colorado Pilots Association, and Wyoming Pilots Association. Rick is also a private aviation writer and consultant. In 2011 his article, “Five Questions For Your Air Charter Service” was picked up and published by the Air Charter Safety Foundation as an industry resource.
Rick is an Instrument-rated Private Pilot, w/High-Performance Endorsement, experienced in mountain flying. He personally managed and flew a G1000/GFC 700-equipped factory-new Cessna 206H turbocharged high performance single based in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
An aviation industry leader, in 2014 Rick co-founded FlightList Pro, a breakthrough aircraft listing directory and database featuring the complete listing of every certified charter, cargo and ambulance aircraft in the U.S. and 131 countries worldwide, including rotary wing, amphibians and airliners. FlightList Pro includes all 3,432 operators and 16,690 aircraft worldwide. It is the only source for every available aircraft, and more than double those of other services today.
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Rick Colson resides in Jackson Hole, Wyoming with his wife Lora of 30 years. They have four grown children and two grandchildren thus far.
Rick is a private pilot who in 2004 founded New Flight Charters with no investors or start-up capital, and led the company to rank four consecutive years on the Inc. 5000 list of the nation’s fastest growing companies, and named as an Inc. 5000 Honor Roll Company. New Flight Charters is the most-accredited charter brokerage industry-wide, carrying a total of 12 accreditations including both ARGUS® and WYVERN® registered, Rated A+ and Accredited by the BBB®, Approved by the international ACA-The Air Charter Association®, rated Dun and Bradstreet® Gold, named to the Inc. 5000® four consecutive years, and is a registered U.S. Government Contractor. Utilizing the proprietary FlightList PRO charter sourcing platform, New Flight Charters boasts the largest aircraft availability and the industry’s only Best-Price Guarantee for each charter.
The FlightList PRO air charter aircraft sourcing platform supports top-name brokers and operators with the industry’s only 100% full-market air charter sourcing platform at a subscription rate of only $99/month-to-month.
FlightCast Media’s digital & social media marketing drives consumer interest and inquiries for private aviation companies.
Rick Colson is an instrument-rated private pilot, aircraft owner, operator, and manager experienced in all sides of private air charter.
