Outcome99
$1.8M later: a corporate contract funded without grounding the rest of the fleet
A private aviation charter operator won a 12-month corporate flight contract with generous volume, but net-60 payment terms meant covering fuel, crew, and hangar costs for two months before the first invoice cleared. Here's how a $1.8M line of credit we mediated closed that gap without touching the rest of their operation.
1. The Challenge
The company operates a small fleet of light jets out of two regional airports in the Northeast, running a mix of on-demand charters and repeat corporate clients. When a Fortune 500 company signed them for a 12-month contract flying executives between three regional offices, it was the biggest single deal in the company's history, guaranteed volume, a fixed monthly flight schedule, and a real step up in revenue.
The catch was payment terms. The client's finance department paid net-60, standard for a company that size, but brutal for an operator that pays fuel, crew wages, and hangar fees weekly. The operator needed roughly two months of contract-related operating cash before the first invoice would even be due, without dipping into the reserves keeping the rest of their charter business running.
2. The Solution
Outcome99 mediated a $1.8M revolving line of credit, sized against the operator's fuel, crew, and operations burn rate for the new contract specifically, so the facility matched the actual cash gap rather than over-borrowing. Because it was structured as a line rather than a lump sum, the operator only drew what each billing cycle required and paid it back down as the corporate client's invoices cleared.
The facility was in place and the first draw funded within 4 business days of application, fast enough that the operator never had to delay the contract's start date or divert cash from its existing charter operations.
3. The Result
The corporate contract launched on schedule and ran without a single missed flight due to cash flow. As invoices from the client came in on their net-60 schedule, the operator paid the line back down, keeping it available for the next billing cycle rather than carrying it as a static balance.
Twelve months in, the client renewed the contract at a higher flight volume, and the operator kept the line of credit in place as a standing buffer for the next large contract that comes with terms like this one.
Waiting on a client's payment terms to catch up to your costs?
Tell us about the contract and the gap, and we'll tell you if a line of credit closes it.