Best Private Jet Charter Companies: Operators, Brokers and Memberships Compared

The best private jet charter company depends on what you mean by one. Some companies own and fly the aircraft, some arrange flights on other companies’ aircraft, and some sell memberships or single seats. This page groups the main names by type, says what each says about itself, and shows how to choose.

How This List Was Built

This list uses public criteria only: whether the company is an operator, a broker or a membership, the fleet or network size as the company publishes it, the safety audits it names, how you book, and where it flies. It is not based on personal flights or tests. Company facts are attributed (“says”) because they come from the company’s own site.

Two companies on the list are affiliate partners: Villiers Jets and Private Jet Finder. Wijet may earn a commission from those links. It never changes what we recommend, and the list is ordered by category, not by a single “number one.” See our affiliate disclosure.

Our Picks at a Glance

The verdict: for a single trip, compare two brokers; for 25 or more hours a year, price an operator’s program; for one traveler on a set route, check JSX.

Best Operators With Their Own Fleet

An operator holds the aviation certificate and flies the aircraft. In the US, an operator selling charter holds an FAA Part 135 certificate. The companies below run fleets and sell programs.

NetJets

NetJets is the best-known fractional operator. According to Corporate Jet Investor, its predecessor Executive Jet Airways was incorporated on May 21, 1964, NetJets introduced fractional ownership in 1986 with eight Cessna Citation IIs, and Berkshire Hathaway bought the company in 1998 for $348 million in cash and $377 million in shares. Corporate Jet Investor put the fleet at more than 700 business jets as of September 2018. Private Jet Card Comparisons, citing NetJets’ own fleet update, reported in March 2026 that NetJets and NetJets Europe together had 845 private jets, up from 826 in December 2025 and 781 in February 2025, with retirements already netted out. The figure combines the US and European operations.

NetJets suits flyers who want a program with guaranteed availability and will commit to it. It is not the cheapest way to fly occasionally. See NetJets cost for what programs charge. We could not open a NetJets page that names an audit body, so ask the company which audits it holds before you rely on one.

Flexjet

Flexjet says it entered the fractional market in 1995 as a division of Bombardier Aerospace and is based in Cleveland, Ohio, where a new headquarters opened in 2023. Its timeline lists more than 270 aircraft at the end of 2023, the Red Label service model launched in 2015, and FXAIR, a premium on-demand charter service launched in North America in 2020. The page also says Sentient Jet, the company it credits with inventing the jet card, joined the Flexjet platform.

Flexjet suits flyers who want fractional ownership or a jet card from a single operator. The page did not name a Wyvern or ARGUS rating.

VistaJet

VistaJet says it was founded in 2004 by Thomas Flohr, and that VistaJet Limited is incorporated in Malta. Its offerings include the Program, described as a flight-hour subscription with guaranteed availability at a fixed hourly rate, along with VJ25 and Corporate memberships and charter flights for less frequent flyers. The fleet is drawn from Bombardier, Gulfstream, Cessna, Embraer and Dassault. The page says VistaJet holds “the highest safety ratings” but names no audit body.

VistaJet suits flyers who want a global fleet and a fixed hourly rate. The company does not publish the rate on the page we checked, so a quote is needed.

Best Brokers and Marketplaces

A broker arranges a flight on an operator’s aircraft. It does not fly the aircraft, and under US law it must say so. Brokers earn a margin or a fee, so the price you see already includes their work. The value is comparison and speed.

Villiers Jets

Villiers Jets says it was founded in 2013. The footer lists a London address. It calls itself an “award-winning private jet charter broker” and a “technology platform connecting customers with private jet operators,” and says you can access 10,000+ private aircraft and 40,000 destinations. It also says it offers direct-to-operator pricing with verified operators, 24/7 support and a Bitcoin payment option. Villiers is an affiliate partner.

Villiers suits flyers who want to compare quotes online. The page does not say how many operators sit behind the 10,000 aircraft.

Private Jet Finder

Private Jet Finder calls itself an “innovative private jet charter brokerage.” It says it has “a global net of 1000 qualified flight operators” and lists offices in Dublin, Ireland, and Miami Beach, Florida. You can search one-way, round-trip and multi-leg flights, or contact the team by phone or messaging apps. The site promises “an immediate, clear and detailed quotation within a matter of hours.” The company does not state a founding year on the page we checked. Private Jet Finder is an affiliate partner.

Paramount Business Jets

Paramount Business Jets says it was founded in 2005 by Richard Zaher. It describes itself as a broker and agent that “does not operate or own aircraft.” The company says it is an ARGUS Certified Broker and a Wyvern Wingman Broker, that every US flight meets ARGUS Gold minimums, and that it declines 73 percent of certified operators. It cites access to more than 4,000 aircraft worldwide. These are the company’s claims; verify the audit status on the auditors’ sites.

Jettly

Private Jet Card Comparisons describes Jettly as a Canadian-based broker platform selling on-demand private jet charters, memberships and jet cards. It reports that Jettly was founded in 2016 by CEO Justin Crabbe, is headquartered in Toronto and uses third-party charter operators to source private jets. That means Jettly does not fly the aircraft itself. The page gives no fleet figure, and we could not open Jettly’s own site, so check its terms for the operator named on your flight.

Jettly suits flyers who book from a phone and want to compare offers across operators. Because it sells flights it does not fly, ask which operator holds the Part 135 certificate before you pay.

Stratos Jets

Stratos Jets says it was founded in 2007 and calls itself a franchise-based broker that arranges charters with independent carriers; it says it does not own or operate aircraft. It cites more than 450 ARGUS Platinum aircraft with live pricing, says it has held ARGUS Certified Broker status continuously since the program began in 2014, and lists a $50 million non-owned liability policy. The company says it has independently owned franchise agencies and a 24/7 flight coordination center.

Best Memberships and Per-Seat

Memberships and per-seat services trade flexibility for price or guaranteed access. They suit repeat flyers and single travelers. Compare them with jet card cost before you commit.

Wheels Up

Wheels Up describes itself in its filings as a provider of on-demand private aviation with a fleet and a network of safety-vetted charter operators. Delta Air Lines is a partner and a major investor: the FY2025 annual report says any Delta shares above 29.9 percent of the common stock are neutral for voting, and that Delta and two other holders together own a substantial majority of the shares. According to its FY2025 annual report filed with the SEC, Wheels Up’s owned and leased fleet at December 31, 2025 was 55 owned and 48 leased aircraft, 103 in total. Wheels Up sells membership programs with capped hourly rates. For a dated example, Private Jet Card Comparisons reported in March 2023 that King Air Connect rates were $4,695 per hour at a $50,000 deposit. Treat that as a historical reference: wheelsup.com publishes no hourly rates on its membership page, so current rates come by quote.

XO

XO calls itself “the world’s largest private jet marketplace” and a global private aviation network. Its site says XO Global LLC is an air charter broker that does not own or operate aircraft, and that sister companies own or lease the Vista Members’ fleet. The UK version of the page says more than 2,000 hand-selected aircraft. XO has Charter Membership and bookings through its mobile app.

JSX

JSX sells individual seats on a public charter. Cranky Flier’s Brett Snyder explains the structure: JetSuiteX, Inc. sells the flights, and Delux Public Charter, LLC, doing business as JSX Air, operates them as the air carrier under Part 135 on aircraft of up to 30 seats. Federal rules under Part 380 let a public charter operator sell seats to the public. JSX suits solo travelers on its routes. See semi-private flights for how it compares with other per-seat options.

How to Choose a Private Jet Provider

Choose the type first, then the company. A frequent flyer, a family planning one trip and a founder who wants a seat on a schedule each need a different product.

Operator vs Broker

Ask who will fly the aircraft. A broker’s name will not appear on the FAA’s Part 135 list because it does not hold the certificate. The DOT rule on air charter brokers, 14 CFR Part 295, took effect on February 14, 2019 and created the broker class. It requires brokers to state in their advertising that they are brokers and not air carriers, and to disclose certain information to consumers, according to NBAA. The 83 FR 46867 final rule was published on September 17, 2018. The line matters in practice: NBAA lists “a broker that acts as the actual carrier rather than an agent” among the forms of illegal charter, and says an operator that will not give you its air carrier certificate or air carrier number should be treated as a suspect. A legitimate broker names the operator, and you can look that operator up yourself on the FAA’s Part 135 list, which Private Jet Card Comparisons says can be searched by tail number or operator name.

Safety Audits and What They Mean

ARGUS and Wyvern are independent auditors that rate operators and brokers. A company that names one should be verifiable on the auditor’s own site. A company that says it has “the highest safety ratings” without naming an audit is making a claim you cannot check. Our safest private jets in the world page covers aircraft records.

The two audits differ in what they publish. ARGUS says an ARGUS Charter Operator Rating demonstrates adherence to “an internationally recognized standard,” and its site lists Gold Certified, Platinum and Platinum Elite ratings without defining each tier on its home page, so ask the operator for its current rating and check it in ARGUS’s operator registry. Wyvern’s Art Dawley told Business Jet Traveler that FAA Part 135 is the regulatory minimum and that the Wingman audit focuses on safety management, which regulation did not require when he spoke. He said its benchmarks cover pilot experience, maintenance practices and insurance, and that Wyvern runs background checks between audits. Its pre-flight PASS report checks Wingman status, whether the operator was audited within the past 24 months, the operations specifications, the air operator certificate, insurance, aircraft age and maintenance status, and pilot recency.

Price Transparency and Cancellation

Ask for an all-in quote that lists the aircraft, the tax, airport fees and any daily minimum. Then ask for the cancellation terms in writing. Empty legs and shared flights often have stricter terms. Compare the same trip across at least two providers.

Red Flags

• A quote far below the market with no named operator.
• A broker that will not say which operator will fly.
• Safety claims with no auditor named.
• Pressure to pay by wire before you see a contract.
• A company that cannot show an FAA Part 135 certificate for the aircraft.

What Each Type Costs

Operators with programs charge deposits or fixed hourly rates. Brokers quote a trip price. Per-seat services sell a seat. At broker hourly rates in 2026, Villiers Jets lists $1,800 to $3,000 for a turboprop and $8,000 to $15,000 or more for a heavy jet. For the full breakdown, read private jet charter cost. For ways to pay less, see cheap private jet flights. For the basics of how charter works, start with how to charter a private jet.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best private jet company?

The best private jet company depends on how often you fly and whether you want a fleet or a broker. Occasional flyers usually use a broker or marketplace to compare quotes, frequent flyers look at operators with memberships such as NetJets, Flexjet or VistaJet, and solo travelers look at per-seat flights such as JSX.

Who are the most reputable private jet companies?

The most reputable private jet companies are the ones you can verify, not the ones with the loudest marketing. For operators, check the FAA Part 135 certificate and a third-party safety audit. For brokers, look for ARGUS or Wyvern broker status and a clear statement that they do not own aircraft.

Who are the most reputable private jet brokers?

Reputable private jet brokers say plainly that they are brokers, name their safety checks and disclose their relationship to the operator, as the DOT charter broker rule requires. Paramount Business Jets and Stratos Jets each say they hold ARGUS Certified Broker status. Verify the claim on the auditor's site.

How do you choose a private jet provider?

Choose a private jet provider by matching its type to how you fly. Decide between operator, broker and membership, confirm the operator's FAA certificate and safety audit, then compare all-in quotes for the same trip. Check cancellation terms and ask which company will actually fly the aircraft.

Who are the best jet card providers?

The best jet card provider depends on your hours and routes, and the main US names are NetJets, Flexjet, VistaJet and Wheels Up. Each sells prepaid hours or a membership with its own fixed rates and fleet. Our jet card cost page compares how the programs price their hours.