Private jet company XOJet has been on the move this week. On September 24th they inked a $600 million deal with Cessna for 30 new Citation X jets – only to be outdone by September 25th’s announcement that the company is ordering 20 Challenger 300 jets from Bombardier for $450 million, with options for an additional 60 aircraft. The total value is an estimated $1.9 billion.

XOJet has historically operated an exchange ownership and charter jet fleet of just Citation Xs, among the fastest jets available. According to a press release, the company plans to operate the new Challenger 300s in a dedicated business unit separate from the Citation X fleet – to “maintain operational efficiencies.” XOJet plans to directly operate 127 total jets by 2012.

Another round of financing for XOJet

Part of the $1.9 billion to be spent on the new jets will come though $363 million in financing from TPG and Lehman Brothers GPS, announced on September 26th. The investment was advised by Morgan Stanley and is planned to leverage XOJet’s recent growth. $542 million in total funding has been raised by XOJet.

Virgin Charter brings XOJet into their online marketplace

Richard Branson’s private jet foray – Virgin Charter – is launching its invitation-only Charter Member program, and will use XOJet among others as operators. While Virgin Charter is somewhat of an “eBay for private jets,” and does not directly operate the flights, Helium Report sees real value in their goal to reduce wasteful empty-legs. And with operators like XOJet at the wheel, Virgin’s online marketplace could gain secure footing.

Read more about on-demand charter and compare fractional ownership with traditional charter programs in Helium Report’s free Decision Guide to Private Jet Travel.