{"id":34718,"date":"2026-08-09T16:03:59","date_gmt":"2026-08-09T11:03:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=34718"},"modified":"2026-08-09T16:03:59","modified_gmt":"2026-08-09T11:03:59","slug":"im-the-founder-of-a-private-jet-company-i-eat-dinner-when-the-locals-do-and-end-most-days-in-my-at-home-bowling-alley","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=34718","title":{"rendered":"I&#8217;m the founder of a private jet company. I eat dinner when the locals do and end most days in my at-home bowling alley."},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-article-body=\"true\" data-body-type=\"bodyblocks\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><em>This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Thomas Flohr, the 65-year-old founder, chairman, and CEO of <\/em><a data-ylk=\"slk:VistaJet,;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;link&quot;,&quot;yLinkElementType&quot;:&quot;article_link&quot;}\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vistajet.com\/en\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\"><em>VistaJet,<\/em><\/a><em> based in St. Moritz, Switzerland, about his daily routine. It&#8217;s been edited for length and clarity.<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">I started my career at a Chicago-based technology firm in 1985 and rose through the ranks. I later acquired most of the company&#8217;s European operations through my company, Comprendium Investment.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">My frequent business travel in the early 2000s exposed me to the shortcomings of private aviation. At the time, I found the <a data-ylk=\"slk:private jet experience;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;link&quot;,&quot;yLinkElementType&quot;:&quot;article_link&quot;}\" href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/i-run-four-seasons-private-jet-around-the-world-trips-2025-7?utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_source=yahoocom&amp;utm_medium=syndication&amp;utm_source=yahoo\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">private jet experience<\/a> to be inconsistent and underwhelming. The service quality didn&#8217;t match the level of luxury that clients paying $10,000 to $15,000 an hour expected. I didn&#8217;t see a good solution in the market and initially thought about paying for fractional jet ownership before deciding against it.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Business Insider&#8217;s <a data-ylk=\"slk:Power Hours;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;link&quot;,&quot;yLinkElementType&quot;:&quot;article_link&quot;}\" href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/power-hours-day-in-the-life-successful-business-leaders-2025-7?utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_source=yahoocom&amp;utm_medium=syndication&amp;utm_source=yahoo\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Power Hours<\/a> series gives readers an inside look at how powerful leaders in business structure their workday. Reach out to editor <a data-ylk=\"slk:Lauryn Haas;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;link&quot;,&quot;yLinkElementType&quot;:&quot;article_link&quot;}\" href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/author\/lauryn-haas?utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_source=yahoocom&amp;utm_medium=syndication&amp;utm_source=yahoo\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Lauryn Haas<\/a> to share your daily routine.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">After exploring all other options, I bought a Learjet 60 in 2003, and that plane became the foundation for starting <a data-ylk=\"slk:VistaJet;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;link&quot;,&quot;yLinkElementType&quot;:&quot;article_link&quot;}\" href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/inside-private-jet-travel-boom-2026-5?utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_source=yahoocom&amp;utm_medium=syndication&amp;utm_source=yahoo\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">VistaJet<\/a> in 2004. Vista is a private aviation subscription service that provides access to over 270 customized business jets for clients in 187 countries.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">My primary job is building client relationships and setting the company&#8217;s strategic direction. Here&#8217;s what a typical day in my life looks like.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"mb-4 text-xl font-bold md:text-2xl\"><strong>8 a.m. \u2014 Coffee, quiet time, and clearing my inbox<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><a data-ylk=\"slk:Our company;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;link&quot;,&quot;yLinkElementType&quot;:&quot;article_link&quot;}\" href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/private-jet-industry-recession-vistajet-thomas-flohr-interview-2019-9?utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_source=yahoocom&amp;utm_medium=syndication&amp;utm_source=yahoo\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Our company<\/a> is headquartered in Dubai, but I travel frequently and usually work from any of our 25 offices worldwide, including my home office in St. Moritz. I wake up at different times, depending on where I am. If I&#8217;m in America, I start earlier to sync with Europe. In the Middle East, I work late into the night to overlap with American and European business hours.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">In St. Moritz, my mornings start around 8 a.m. I shower, grab coffee, and ease into the day. I don&#8217;t eat breakfast.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">I prefer not to reach for my phone right away. About 45 minutes after my coffee, I&#8217;ll respond to overnight emails and messages before diving into the day&#8217;s activities.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"mb-4 text-xl font-bold md:text-2xl\"><strong>9 a.m. \u2014 Home, office, hotel, or en route<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">I maintain several offices in different locations so my executives can use them when I&#8217;m not around. If I&#8217;m home, I&#8217;ll work from my home office. If I&#8217;m on the road, I&#8217;ll work on the plane or at my destination.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Sometimes, I work from the hotel in the morning and knock out key business tasks. If I&#8217;m in Dubai, London, New York, or a city with a VistaJet office, I&#8217;ll head there in the afternoon for team and client meetings.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">I often sit where the action is with the team or join executive committee members in their offices.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"mb-4 text-xl font-bold md:text-2xl\"><strong>10 a.m. \u2014 Clients, above all else<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">I prioritize client meetings before internal ones and don&#8217;t believe internal meetings should take more than 20 to 30 minutes unless there&#8217;s a compelling reason.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">When clients call me directly, it&#8217;s usually because they&#8217;re about to make a significant decision, like buying a plane or finalizing a global flight plan. I also work on product development, brainstorming new services and product feature updates between calls and meetings.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">As a founder, I&#8217;m still very hands-on, and I&#8217;m in constant communication with my finance and operations teams.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"mb-4 text-xl font-bold md:text-2xl\"><strong>12:30 p.m. \u2014 Light and simple healthy lunch<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">For lunch, I keep it very light and healthy. I usually eat vegetable soup, a fruit platter, or a light Japanese sashimi dish.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">If I&#8217;m having a client lunch meeting, I prefer to eat at restaurants that use high-quality ingredients. Some of my favorite restaurants include <a data-ylk=\"slk:Scott's in Mayfair;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;link&quot;,&quot;yLinkElementType&quot;:&quot;article_link&quot;}\" href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/where-to-eat-in-london-best-restaurants?utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_source=yahoocom&amp;utm_medium=syndication&amp;utm_source=yahoo\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Scott&#8217;s in Mayfair<\/a>, London, and Gaia in Dubai. When I eat out, I mostly get grilled seafood and boiled potatoes \u2014 nothing fancy.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"mb-4 text-xl font-bold md:text-2xl\"><strong>2 p.m. \u2014 Creative solutions to global logistics challenges<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The afternoon often means syncing with our US and European teams. In our business, there&#8217;s no shortage of unusual requests that require creative solutions. One memorable request involved helping a client run three marathons on three continents in one week. It was a significant logistical undertaking, but we successfully pulled it off for the client.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Another request involved helping a corporate client coordinate the flight of executives from four continents to a board meeting in India, ensuring they all arrived precisely on time and returned home safely afterward.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"mb-4 text-xl font-bold md:text-2xl\"><strong>4:30 p.m. \u2014 A brief break to recharge<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">If there&#8217;s a gap between meetings, I&#8217;ll take a 10-15-minute break to walk outside and get some fresh air. I try to prioritize these short breaks to clear my head and reset, but most of the time, the day runs nonstop.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"mb-4 text-xl font-bold md:text-2xl\"><strong>6 p.m. \u2014 Daily exercise as business preparation<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">By 6 or 6:30 p.m., I head to the gym and spend an hour training. Once I&#8217;m done working out, I hit the steam room for 15 to 20 minutes to relax and recover. Staying fit keeps me sharp.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">I&#8217;m a firm believer in an integrated life. I don&#8217;t view work and life as separate entities that need to be balanced against each other. Instead, I see everything in life as one endurance effort, whether in business or sports like car racing.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"mb-4 text-xl font-bold md:text-2xl\"><strong>8:30 p.m. \u2014 Dinner and a little bowling<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The time I eat dinner varies depending on my location. In some countries, I eat at 7 p.m.; in others, at 9 or 9:30 p.m. I adapt to the time zone and cultural norms. When I&#8217;m home, I eat dinner around 8:30 p.m., but I&#8217;m always available for client calls if needed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">I enjoy cooking and dining with friends and family. I have a bowling alley in my home, so we head downstairs for a few rounds after dinner. It&#8217;s a great way to unwind and stir up friendly competition.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"mb-4 text-xl font-bold md:text-2xl\"><strong>11 p.m. \u2014 Winding down with classical music or late &#8217;70s and early &#8217;80s rock<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">With so much digital stimulation during the day, I avoid screens at night. I don&#8217;t watch TV, but I listen to classical music or rock from the late &#8217;70s and early &#8217;80s before bed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">I usually fall asleep around 11:30 p.m., sleeping seven hours on weeknights and nine on weekends.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"mb-4 text-xl font-bold md:text-2xl\"><strong>Weekends \u2014 Markets and nature<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Despite flying around 500 hours annually, I make time for things I enjoy. I&#8217;m a big fan of simple living and doing things in nature, like walking, hiking, and shopping at my local market for fruits and vegetables.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">If you enjoyed this story, be sure to follow <a data-ylk=\"slk:Business Insider;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;link&quot;,&quot;yLinkElementType&quot;:&quot;article_link&quot;}\" href=\"https:\/\/profiles.yahoo.com\/brands\/business-insider\/\">Business Insider<\/a> on Yahoo.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Thomas Flohr, the 65-year-old founder, chairman, and CEO of VistaJet, based in St. Moritz, Switzerland, about his daily routine. It&#8217;s been edited for length and clarity. I started my career at a Chicago-based technology firm in 1985 and rose through the ranks. I later acquired most&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":34719,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/lo\/mysterio\/api\/7aa7bfdb9e70b1a261a56d818d5b6b41f231bb5b2ea434170157411386910b5c\/lightyear_networkapi\/resizefill_w1200%3Bquality_80%3Bformat_jpg\/https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.zenfs.com%2Fen%2Fbusiness_insider_consolidated_articles_886%2F505b1993b8ec642c347490b7f91b74ba","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34718","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-real-trending-viral-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34718","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=34718"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34718\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/34719"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=34718"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=34718"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=34718"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}