The Scissortail Brief | June 8–14, 2026

The World Cup kicked off this week, to much ado, and so did maybe the social media/ personnel and brand stories business aviation history... Flexjet bought The Jet Business and brought Steve Varsano into the fold as president. The FAA rolled out a long-overdue mental health policy change, and late yesterday, the Trump administration announced a deal with Iran that, if it holds, could change the fuel picture we’ve been tracking since February. Let’s get started.

Breaking: US and Iran Announce Deal to End the War and Reopen the Strait of Hormuz

Late Sunday night, June 14, President Trump announced on Truth Social that “the Deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran is now complete,” authorizing the toll-free reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and the immediate removal of the U.S. naval blockade. Iran’s deputy foreign minister, Kazem Gharibabadi, confirmed the agreement on Iranian state media, saying it followed 14 hours of talks with Qatari mediators. A formal signing is scheduled for Friday, June 19, in Switzerland, with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who helped broker the deal alongside Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey, saying both sides have declared the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon.

The conflict that’s been driving fuel prices since late February appears to be ending, at least at the moment. The Strait of Hormuz has been largely closed since the U.S. and Israel launched their assault on Iran, and that closure is the single biggest factor behind the fuel price story this Brief has covered for the last sixteen iterations.

Not to over-editorialize, but we’ve heard this song before. I’m curious to see if it takes this time. Trump announced a two-week conditional pause back on April 8, tied to similar Hormuz language, and that pause didn’t hold. Hours before Sunday’s announcement, Israel struck a target in Beirut, and Iranian officials warned of a response, which nearly derailed the talks before they concluded. Israel hasn’t commented on the deal as of this writing. The agreement covers the U.S. and Iran directly, and Lebanon by extension, but Israel’s posture is the variable that broke the last attempt at de-escalation.

If the deal signs on Friday and holds, here’s what it could mean for bizav. Jet fuel prices have roughly doubled since late February on the back of the Hormuz disruption, with the national FBO average running from $7.80 to $8.63 over that period, depending on the week. A genuine reopening of Hormuz shipping would ease the supply-side pressure that’s kept wholesale prices elevated, though the pass-through to retail FBO pricing typically lags by weeks, not days. The Middle East bizav market, which has been running roughly 50% below normal for months, would have the clearest and fastest path to recovery of any region if regional airspace and ports stabilize.

For U.S. operators, the more immediate effect would likely be on wholesale volatility easing rather than an overnight drop at the pump. The $ 146.25-per-barrel wholesale price we noted in this week’s fuel section reflects a market that is still pricing in conflict risk. If that risk genuinely recedes, expect the wholesale number to move first, with retail following over the following weeks.

We’ll be watching this closely. If Friday’s signing goes through and holds through the following week, next week’s Brief may have a very different fuel section than the last 16, but I don;t think anybody in the industry is expecting prices to fall precipitously over the following weeks.

Feature: Flexjet Acquires The Jet Business, Names Steve Varsano President

On June 12, Flexjet announced the acquisition of The Jet Business, the London-based aircraft brokerage founded by Steve Varsano in 2011, and named Varsano president of the combined company. He’ll work alongside Flexjet chairman Kenn Ricci, focusing on product innovation and international growth.

If the name doesn’t ring a bell, the face probably will. Varsano built The Jet Business into one of the most recognizable brands in private aviation through a social media presence most brokers would kill for: 2.5 million TikTok followers, 1.26 million YouTube subscribers, and nearly 400,000 on Instagram. The Jet Business operates from Hyde Park Corner on Park Lane in London, what Varsano calls the world’s first street-level corporate aviation showroom, complete with an Airbus Corporate Jet cabin mock-up visible through the window and used as a client meeting room. If you’ve spent any time on aviation TikTok or YouTube over the past several years, you’ve almost certainly seen Varsano walking a camera crew through a G650 or explaining why a buyer should care about a logbook discrepancy. That’s the brand Flexjet just bought.

The terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. Flexjet will integrate The Jet Business into its existing FXSolutions brokerage entity as part of what the company calls a single global platform. At the same time, The Jet Business will continue operating under its own brand. Clients gain access to a new service called Flexjet Solutions, which covers operational support, pre-purchase inspections, maintenance infrastructure, AOG response, and aircraft management, all drawn from across the Flexjet ecosystem.

Ricci’s framing: “I truly enjoy working with competent professionals who have created a unique competitive advantage, bring energy to the room, and share a passion for aviation. Steve and The Jet Business truly check all the boxes.” Varsano, for his part, described the move as the right time to bring 15 years of advisory and research work into what he called the definitive luxury brand in the sector.

Part of Varsano’s new role involves sourcing and disposing of aircraft for Flexjet directly. Flexjet operates a fleet of more than 340 aircraft and has been moving toward a more modern, longer-range mix. Putting one of the industry’s most plugged-in brokers in charge of fleet acquisition and disposition gives Flexjet a direct line into market intelligence that most fractional operators have to buy secondhand from outside advisors.

The timing lines up with Flexjet’s broader European push. The company is expected to open a private terminal at Farnborough ahead of the airshow next month, and its European headquarters sits close to The Jet Business’s London location. Flexjet raised $800 million last year at a $4 billion valuation in a round led by L Catterton, the LVMH-backed private equity firm, so the capital to support the expansion is already in place.

For the brokerage and advisory side of the business, this is a consolidation story with a social media twist. Varsano’s audience is arguably the asset Flexjet valued most here. Most aviation brands build reputation in rooms most people never see. Varsano built an audience of millions watching exactly those rooms. Whether that audience converts into Flexjet fractional sales or stays a content engine that now carries the Flexjet name will play out over the next year.

Regulatory: FAA Mental Wellness Policy Update

On June 8, NBAA welcomed a new FAA aeromedical policy update that changes how the agency treats pilots and air traffic controllers who seek counseling or mental health support.

The FAA now explicitly encourages pilots and ATCs to seek counseling, psychotherapy, and peer-support programs when needed, rather than treating participation in counseling as a red flag during medical certification. Aviation medical examiners are now directed to focus on the underlying condition and its severity, rather than on the fact that someone sought talk therapy.

This directive builds on a string of changes stemming from the FAA’s Mental Health & Aviation Medical Clearances Aviation Rulemaking Committee, which NBAA helped staff. Previous changes reduced the waiting period after starting or changing an antidepressant from six months to three months on a single, stable dose, and simplified continuous glucose monitor requirements for insulin-dependent diabetic pilots.

The FAA also issued new guidance for therapists, including a suggested summary format covering diagnosis, severity, resilience, and ability to self-monitor, that pilots and controllers can bring to their AME appointment. NBAA’s Mark Larsen called this “preflighting your medical,” and noted that having that summary ready at the outset could be the difference between walking out of an AME appointment with a certificate versus a multi-month delay.

Flight departments should ensure their pilots are aware of this. The stigma around seeking mental health support in this industry has kept people from getting the help they needed, sometimes with consequences everyone in this business has read about in an NTSB report. A policy change doesn’t fix a culture overnight, but it removes a barrier that’s been sitting there for years.

Fuel: Slight Relief, Wholesale Volatility

As of June 15, the national Jet-A average across 3,214 reporting FBOs sits at $7.80 per gallon, down from $7.83 the prior week. The Central region remains lowest at $6.84. Alaska is the highest at $9.12.

The wholesale picture is less settled. The global average jet fuel price rose 3.3% week-over-week to $146.25 per barrel, reversing the prior week’s 11.4% decline. Volatility at the wholesale level continues to outpace what shows up at the retail pump, where FBO pricing changes more slowly and with more friction.

For operators, this is small relief at the retail level, but not enough to change trip-planning math in any material way. The Central region pricing advantage remains the most actionable lever available to operators without contracted fuel programs.

Traffic: World Cup Opening Week

The FIFA World Cup opened June 11 with the first match at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. The tournament runs through July 19, with the final at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.

For U.S. operators, the early reads on opening week traffic confirm what the pre-tournament forecasts predicted. PPR requirements are now active at Teterboro, Van Nuys, and other high-traffic GA airports serving host cities, with the FAA using the same slot reservation system deployed for the Super Bowl. VFR flights are not exempt. Operators without a PPR where one is required should expect to be diverted.

FBO ramp space at the highest-demand airports is described by multiple charter sources as effectively fully allocated for the knockout rounds, with special-event surcharges running 20-40% above standard rates for landing, handling, and parking. Aircraft that can’t secure overnight parking face a ferry leg to a repositioning airport, adding costs that aren’t always disclosed until the invoice arrives.

For Texas operators specifically, Dallas hosts group stage matches at AT&T Stadium. Addison (KADS) suits lighter aircraft, while heavier jets should plan for Dallas Love Field (KDAL), where slots are heavily contested. If you have clients planning to attend matches in Dallas, Houston, or any other host city, or flying in for other business, the time for “we’ll figure it out when we get closer” has passed. Confirm PPR status, lock FBO parking, and budget for surcharges.

Weather Brief: Lower 48 Outlook

A cooler airmass is pushing into the eastern two-thirds of the country behind a cold front that cleared New England this morning, with temperatures dropping into the 40s and 50s across the northern and central Plains and Great Lakes before reaching the Northeast Tuesday. That’s a welcome break for anyone who’s been dealing with early-summer heat in the eastern half of the country.

The bigger story is rainfall. South Texas through the lower Mississippi Valley is looking at an increasing threat of significant heavy rainfall over the next couple of days, and the extended outlook through the weekend shows a serious excessive rainfall and flooding threat building across the Gulf Coast states, the Ohio Valley, and the Mid-South. The pattern setup is a hot ridge over the West and Southwest, combined with repeated energy dropping out of Canada into a central-to-eastern trough, which keeps funneling moisture into the same general corridor. If you’re operating anywhere from Houston to Memphis to Nashville this week, expect IFR conditions, low ceilings, and the potential for flash flooding to be the recurring theme rather than a one-day event.

The Upper Midwest and Great Lakes are under a severe weather watch for midweek. An intense jet streak, strong even by June standards, is forecast to move across the region on Wednesday as a surface low deepens over the upper Mississippi Valley and lower Michigan. A warm front lifting north through Illinois and the Ohio Valley ahead of a trailing cold front sets up the classic ingredients for organized severe convection. Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa are in the most likely path.

The Pacific Northwest has been running hot, but that heat begins to moderate Tuesday. The West Coast and Rockies otherwise remain in decent shape for VFR operations through the week.

For Texas operators: South Texas is in the bullseye for the heavy rainfall threat through midweek, with the risk extending into the weekend across the Gulf Coast. Central and North Texas should see less direct impact but will be on the edge of the moisture feed. Build in extra fuel and alternates for anything routing through Houston, San Antonio, or the coastal corridor this week.

That’s The Brief

We’ll know a lot more by Friday on the Iran deal. If Hormuz actually reopens and stays open, the fuel section of this Brief looks different for the first time in four months. Until then, treat it as a development, not a fact on the ground yet.

The Flexjet news is the one to talk about with clients this week, especially anyone who’s followed The Jet Business on social media without realizing how big that following actually is. The FAA mental health update is good news, full stop, and worth passing along to your pilots. And if you’ve got anyone headed to a World Cup host city, get their PPR and FBO parking locked down now if it isn’t already.

The Week in One Sentence: The U.S. and Iran announced a deal to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, with signing set for June 19 and the fuel implications still unknown, Flexjet bought The Jet Business and made Steve Varsano president, the FAA loosened its mental health certification policy for pilots and controllers, and World Cup host cities are now under PPR with 20-40% FBO surcharges.