Airlines want to stop ‘travel hack’ JSX from luring rich flyers away

Alex Wilcox’s furious rivals say he’s exploiting a loophole. Wilcox counters that they’re just annoyed he’s treading on their turf. At the heart of their dispute is JSX, a Dallas-based carrier beloved by work travelers for offering convenience like a chartered plane at near business class prices. Wilcox got the idea for the service in what’s possibly the least glamorous business origin story of all time. Combing through US Federal Aviation Administration regulations, he learned that while scheduled flights with more than nine seats have to meet onerous safety and security requirements, on-demand public charters have separate, less stringent rules. Though, they can’t specify flight times or cities or sell single seats. To get around that, Wilcox decided to create two companies that would work together: One would make a flight schedule and sell tickets, and a second would fly the aircraft on specified routes at set times and dates. In reality, though, it’s one entity working behind the scenes. “I spent months without sleep, just looking at all the rules, looking for ways why it couldn’t be done,” he said on a clear February day in a hangar at Dallas Love Field. “Every single person we talked to said, ‘No, you can’t do it.’” Then US regulators signed off on his idea. “So we did it.” In 2015, he founded JetSuiteX, later rebranded to JSX. It allows customers to book tickets online, like a more traditional airline, and flies out of sparse private hangars. In exchange for the amenities of a big airport, passengers get convenience. In lieu of long Transportation Security Administration baggage-screening lines, they get their bags swabbed for explosives and walk through a weapons detector. The experience doesn’t come without pitfalls. If a flight gets delayed, there are only minimal snacks. If it gets canceled, there’s not always an easy rebooking option.<br/>