đź”’Worcester entrepreneurs expand private jet business to include luxury vacations
A moai figure on Easter Island, one of the travel destinations for Magellan Journeys: Curated by Czerlonka. IMAGE COURTESY OF AURBINA VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
Magellan is partnering with Czerlonka Event Design & Management in Boston to offer trip packages to Chile, France, Norway, and the American West, featuring curated luxury itineraries such as a trip to Easter Island.
Magellan Jets, a Quincy-based private jet firm founded by two Worcester natives and known for its partnership with New England Patriots Head Coach Mike Vrabel, is expanding its operations to offer curated luxury vacations to unique destinations.Magellan is partnering with Czerlonka Event Design & Management in Boston to offer trip packages to Chile, France, Norway, and the American West, featuring curated luxury itineraries such as a trip to Easter Island, according to a joint press release by the two firms issued Tuesday.Magellan Jets was founded by Joshua Hebert and Anthony Tivnan, with fellow Worcester native Greg Belezerian serving as the firm’s executive vice president. Hebertis Tivnan’s cousin, while Belezerian grew up a few houses down from Joshua in Worcester, Tivnan said. The trio reconnected in the early 2000s through their involvement in the private aviation space, later going to start Magellan Jets in 2008.Magellan Jets has grown to around 100 employees, Tivnan said. The firm is the official private aviation sponsor of the Boston Red Sox. Vrabel, from the Patriots, is a brand ambassador for the company. Tivnan said the partnership with Vrabel dates back to his time as the head coach of the Tennessee Titans, but Vrabel’s stock has risen as of late, leading the Patriots on Sunday back to the AFL Championship for the first time since 2019.“He's done things like motivational talks to our employees about teamwork, and bringing some of his coaching expertise to the corporate world.” Tivnan said. “There's obviously a great correlation between how teams perform on the field and how teams perform in the conference room.”Magellan’s corporate headquarters is in Quincy, and it uses Laurence G. Hanscom Field in Bedford as its main passenger terminal. Its business model sees it connect travelers with those in its vetted network of aircraft and crews.Magellan executives from Worcester include (left-to-right) Founder and President Anthony Tivnan, Founder and CEO Joshua Hebert, and EVP Gregory Belezerian. PHOTOS COURTESY OF MAGELLAN JETS“Our model is to provide access and a lot of the benefits of aircraft ownership, without having to own the aircraft.” Tivnan said. “We utilize underutilized assets.”Magellan Jets’ partnership with Czerlonka Event Design & Management, dubbed Magellan Journeys: Curated by Czerlonka, involves four initial trip itineraries. A trip to Chile involves a stint at Easter Island, the remote Pacific destination known for its massive stone statues, as well as a visit to the country’s capital of Santiago.Its trip to Norway includes a cruise through the country’s fjords, while its Paris trip involves exploring the city’s museums and villas. The American West trip includes exploration of Yellowstone National Park.Up until now, Czerlonka Event Design & Management has largely focused on corporate events, but CEO Eric Czerlonka said branching out into private travel packages was a logical next step for the firm.“This is a pretty easy transition for us,” Czerlonka said. “We're passionate about it, and it's going to open up a whole world of locations and options we can do, that you can't do with 150 people.”The initial meeting with the Magellan Jets team made it clear they were the right company to partner with, Czerlonka said.“The meeting was originally scheduled for 45 minutes, and it might have gone an hour and a half or more, because it was just a great energy that developed around the table,” Czerlonka said.Eric Casey is the managing editor at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the real estate and banking & finance industries.