New Flexjet-Ferretti Cabin Celebrates La Dolce Vita

Fractional jet operator Flexjet and Ferretti Group, the Italian yacht maker whose Riva powerboats epitomize “la dolce vita,” have partnered on a new interior design for Flexjet’s Gulfstream G650 twinjet and Sikorsky S-76 helicopters.

The Riva Volare cabin is the latest addition to Flexjet’s LXi Cabin Collection of refurbished interiors, now numbering some 50 unique designs. A lavish rollout at Milan’s Linate Prime Airport in June of 2025 was staged to highlight Flexjet’s elevated onboard experience as much as the new interior.

“Delivering luxury aviation is very difficult,” says Kenn Ricci, Flexjet chairman and principal of Cleveland-based Directional Aviation Capital, which owns Flexjet and other private aviation services. “I can’t control the weather, I can’t control [air] traffic control, so control of the environment became the opportunity.”

The collaboration with Riva provides an ideal platform. Though announced in May 2024, the seed was planted 20 years ago when Ferretti Group CEO Alberto Galassi, then CEO of Piaggio Aero Industries (Baykar Piaggio Aerospace today), tried unsuccessfully to sell P.180 Avanti twin turboprops to Ricci for his first fractional company, Flight Options.

“Two of my greatest loves, aviation and the beauty of the boats, are finally together,” Galassi said, adding that while Riva lounges are found at exclusive marinas around the Mediterranean, “this is the only Riva lounge in the sky.”

Joining Galassi at the podium, Ricci called the project “a bold statement of where we’re going—defining the standard for what it means to be a modern luxury brand.” 

Flexjet CEO Kenn Ricci and Ferretti Group CEO Alberto Galassi at the ribbon cutting.

The cabins feature the signature “Blu Sera” leather with aquamarine piping and the mahogany and maple trim of Riva’s fabled Aquarama powerboat, along with elegant touches borrowed from its contemporary fiberglass Aquariva motor yacht. Riva logos and polished metallic fittings add to the upscale nautical ambiance, while the dappled pattern of the silk carpet suggests cruising over a sun-drenched seafloor. Pop-up kibitzer social seating on the G650 sports classic maritime striping in blue and white.

With a storied history going back more than a century, Riva’s powerboats have been celebrated since the 1950s for their beauty, craftsmanship, and champion racing heritage. Treasured possessions of the rich and famous, they are stars in their own right, featured in films from arthouse classics to James Bond movies.

The Riva team handled most of the cabin design, and Flexjet took on the build and installation, which included acquiring tooling to create and mold the one-piece mahogany veneers gracing the sides of the Gulfstream’s seats.

One Europe-based G650 is outfitted with the Riva Volare interior, as are two S-76s; one of the rotorcraft is for a new Flexjet helicopter operation serving Italy and the south of France during the summer months, and the second is based in Florida.

Fractional customers in any program own a share of a specific aircraft, but they rarely fly aboard that tail number due to the logistics of fleet scheduling. So rather than promising access to a particular jet—or preferred interior design—Flexjet “sells the fleet,” emphasizing the unique story and character of each themed cabin.

The LXi Collection is part of Flexjet’s Red Label aircraft program, launched in 2015 for super-midsize and larger aircraft in its fleet, which features dedicated crews assigned to each jet, and upgraded, better-than-factory interiors on new aircraft.

Flexjet’s focus on the onboard experience is underscored by individuals who are usually called flight attendants, though at Flexjet, they are “cabin servers.” To ensure they deliver what their ultra-high-net-worth charges expect, Flexjet launched Red Label Academy in 2023 at the UK’s Farnborough Airport. A finishing school for cabin servers, the two-week course (and annual recurrency training) covers all the finer points of culinary arts, etiquette, and five-star service, as well as unexpected situations, like how to prepare a meal from whatever’s in the galley if the catering doesn’t show up.

Like the Riva Volare, most of Flexjet’s fleet of some 25 G650s are configured with four-zone cabins: a stateroom/office aft, family space, dining area, and classic double club seating up front. All are equipped with Starlink high-speed internet. Cabins are refurbished about every two and a half years, and fleet age averages seven years.

LXi G650s shares start at $7 million for 100 flight hours annually (of 800 hours available), plus a monthly management fee ($50,000+) and hourly usage rate, based on a 60-month contract. Access to Flexjet’s S-76s and allied rotor fleet is included with the purchase.

Ricci notes that when he first entered the fractional space with Flight Options in 1995, OEM-run programs featuring new aircraft like Cessna’s CitationShares, Raytheon Travel Air, and Bombardier’s Flexjet (which Directional bought in 2013) dominated the skyscape. In contrast, Flight Options operated refurbished aircraft, which was “an economic niche below where everybody was at the time.”

But when Directional moved into the new aircraft arena with the Flexjet purchase, he aimed to one-up competitors. Today, fractional fleets are older, refurbishment is more accepted, and the original Flight Options model appears to be having great success with the premium LXi makeovers.

The two principals plan to continue their collaborations.

“We have a lot of ideas, but you can see why these brands came together,” says Ricci. Indeed. He owns a vacation home on Lake Como, the crown jewel of Italy’s Lake District, which he plies in his Riva special edition Anniversario model powerboat. And he sees the European tradition of service—and perhaps a bit of la dolce vita—as key to Flexjet’s growth.

Says Galassi, “We are giving a client something priceless. Life is short.”