All the Ways to Book a Private Jet—Or At Least Snag a Seat on One

I've often heard it said that once you've flown first class, you're ruined for any lesser form of travel. But once you've flown private, you've got a whole new lens through which to view air travel. Primarily, one in which TSA lines are nonexistent, security checks are not your problem, and rather than mill around a gate waiting for your boarding group to be called, you can saunter on up to the plane at your leisure. It's an entirely different ballgame.

I learned this firsthand when I flew with FlexJet from New Jersey's Teterboro Airport to Paris this summer. It was my first time flying private, and I couldn't get over how seamless the experience was. While a commercial transatlantic flight would have left me feeling tired and ragged, my body barely registered the six-hour journey. I could get up from my plush leather seat whenever I wanted to stretch my legs, freshen up in the spacious bathroom with seemingly endless amenities (no really, options ranged from Burt's Bees lip balm to Neutrogena makeup remover wipes, tissue packets, hand sanitizers and lotions…even playing cards!), or chat with fellow passengers over a glass of Champagne. Don't even get me started on the meals—pastries, quiche, and yogurt parfaits for breakfast; tuna niçoise salads for lunch—all made fresh by our personal chef Francesco, who was the bar manager at Villa d'Este before coming to FlexJet. For the first time, I found myself wishing the flight was longer.

Indulgent as it was, my trip with FlexJet also demonstrated that private jet travel no longer requires access to your own personal G5. In response to the pandemic's private jet boom, new booking options have emerged for travelers looking to take to the skies in seclusion—and many of them with ticket prices that deliver less sticker shock than you might imagine.

Even though social distancing may not be the term du jour any longer, the state of commercial aviation certainly has travelers keen to fly on their own time. “Private aviation has experienced remarkable growth over the past several years, reflecting a fundamental shift in what travelers value most,” says Flexjet CEO Mike Silvestro. “Time has become the ultimate luxury, and people are looking for greater flexibility, efficiency, and a more personalized travel experience.”

However, for those who, like myself, are a newly initiated high-flier, navigating the multitude of companies and different categories of private air travel can feel overwhelming. Below is a primer on some of the various ways to score a seat on a private aircraft—from fly-share services and traditional charters to fractional ownership, and more.

Charter open marketplaces

These days, all it takes is a strong Wi-Fi connection (and a handy app or two) to get yourself onto a private plane. A number of services connect fliers directly with charter operators, allowing you to browse, book, and buy within minutes.

FlyHouse

FlyHouse—which acquired JetASAP in 2024 and Sun Air Jets in 2025, allowing it to expand its tech and operational capabilities as well as its geographic reach—allows fliers to secure and book private flights directly from their smartphones. It has access to more than 2,300 aircraft across the US, with a variety of midsize to ultra-long-range jets. Within the app, travelers can coordinate not just private flights but hotels, ground transportation, dining, and curated experiences too. Fliers are never required to pay a commission—just punch in a flight request, which includes your airport of departure and preferred flight times, and live operators will respond with quotes and can answer any questions. Private charters typically cost between $3,000 to $12,000 per in-flight hour.

FlyJets

The FlyJets platform debuted in January 2020, and operates like a travel search engine, allowing customers to filter results via their preferred aircraft size, location, and desired departure time and book via the website or app. Prices can be as much as 50% lower than the costs of an average charter, and booking options include full charters, seats on shared charters, and group-purchases. Travelers can even bid on flights that lack a fixed price. They can also earn rewards for flying green, with carbon offsets delivered directly to their user dashboard.

Jettly

Jettly was designed to simplify the act of chartering a private plane. It has a network of more than 23,000 aircrafts, and lets user search for one-way flights, round-trip tickets, and multi-city travels, flying out of popular airports like Van Nuys in LA, Teterboro in New Jersey, and Miami International Airport. Flights can be arranged within a few hours, but the platform recommends booking several days in advance to ensure the widest aircraft availability and best pricing. While a membership is not required, Jettly does offers memberships that of course come with perks—lower hourly rates, waived booking fees, and access to things like empty leg alerts.

Victor

Founded in 2010 and based in London, Victor is another digital marketplace that prides itself of transparent, real-time pricing (including the aircraft tail number and photos of the aircraft, so you know exactly what to expect) and carbon-offset initiatives. An account is required, but registering is free; once you're in, you're assigned a Personal Account Manager to handle all your travels.

XO

XO, a private jet marketplace that was acquired by Vista in 2018, has access to thousands of safety-vetted aircraft with real-time pricing. The mobile app and website offers both “buy as you fly” and membership options, with featured flight deals ranging from $3,000 to $90,000.

Traditional chartering services

If you want to reserve an entire plane for a one-time flight, private jet charters are the most straightforward way to book. Charter companies work with dozens of private air operators to book on-demand flights and manage door-to-door logistics, with no long-term commitment required. Many also offer the option to purchase a jet card, which you can load up either with a fixed number of flight hours or with money you spend like a debit card.

Wheels Up

Founded in 2013, Wheels Up provides access to more than 1,500 aircraft, with a fleet that includes gold-standard planes like the King Air 350i and Citation X. Initially a membership-only offering, the Wheels Up app launched in 2021 widened to pool so that nonmembers could browse and book one-off flights. In the years since, the brand has continued to iterate on its membership tiers, including launching a Signature Membership program in 2025, giving anyone willing to fork over $200,000 guaranteed nationwide availability and 365-days-a-year access to its fleet of Phenom 300 series and Challenger 300 series aircraft; oh, and Delta perks too—namely, Delta SkyMiles Diamond Medallion status.

Air Charter Service

One of the biggest global aircraft charter brokers in the world, ACS charters private jets (for both business and leisure), group aircrafts, and even cargo planes. Users fill out a simple form to get a quote back quickly, and then a dedicated account manager will suggest aircrafts that might suit your needs—considering they have access to 50,000 private airplanes and 130 different aircraft types, this is quite helpful. While costs vary, estimates provided say a 40-minute flight in a small plane could cost around $2,800, while a 1.5-hour flight in a midsize jet will be closer to $34,500.

Fly-sharing

Fly-share companies are the easiest on the wallet. Companies like Surf Air and JSX enable travelers to snag a coveted seat on a private jet charter—sometimes for as little as $249 each way—sharing space with only a handful of other passengers and enjoying perks like no security lines and departure from private terminals.

Aero

Started in 2019 by Uber cofounder Garrett Camp, Aero offers white-glove service on a fleet of sleek 16-seater black jets. The company flies to private terminals in Aspen, Colorado; Los Cabos, Mexico; Los Angeles (Van Nuys); Maui; Miami; New York (Westchester and NYC); and West Palm Beach, Florida. Tickets on these semi-private flights (unless your whole crew books one together) range from around $1,000 to $3,000 per leg, and pets are welcome on board.

This summer, Aero launched an exciting new seasonal route on a Gulfstream IV-SP taking passengers from from Van Nuys in LA into New York City, with a helicopter transfer via Blade out to East Hampton. The weekend flights went out on Fridays and returned on Sundays, with seats costing $7,570.

Blade

Blade is a popular choice for city-based travelers, with dozens and dozens of established flight routes. It connects fliers not just with jets but also turboprops, seaplanes, and helicopters in their contracted fleet via a user-friendly app. This year, its BladeOne planes are back to offering seasonal service from NYC to Miami and Palm Beach (on planes powered by Aero) from November 2026 through May 2027. There's no membership required and fliers can purchase multipacks of flight passes on certain routes (the New York to South Florida packs start at $2,300 per seat).

Tradewind Aviation

A Traveler reader favorite, Tradewind Aviation operates semi-private scheduled routes and private charters in the northeast (US) and the Caribbean. Specifically, its aircraft bases are in Oxford, Connecticut; Westchester, New York; Stuart, Florida; and San Juan, Puerto Rico; though charter flights are available throughout the regions.

Bark Air

Dog lovers may already know about Bark Air, a semi-private flight carrier designed around luxury travel for pups and their owners, with planes typically carrying around nine human guests. Read more about the airline here.

JSX

JSX, a semi-private carrier, offers flights on 30-seat jets, out of private terminals, starting at $249 each way. The company currently serves 18 markets including Austin, Texas; Los Angeles; Miami; and Westchester County, New York. Thanks to a partnership with United Airlines, travelers can earn United MileagePlus miles for their flights.

Fractional ownership

With fractional ownership, your piece of the pie is allocated in hours. Owners purchase a portion or share of an aircraft, which is doled out in hours of flight time. The bigger the share, the more hours you get in the air.

Flexjet

Flextjet's fleet of more than 300 aircrafts (helicopters included) operating in the US and Europe includes Embraer's super-light Phenom 300 and the ultra-long-range Gulfstream G450, and offer room for up to 15 passengers. The brand operates nine private terminals in oft-visited destinations—New York and New Jersey, Florida, California, Texas, and Farnborough, England—with more on the way, though travelers aren't limited to those places; Flexjet aircrafts can fly into thousands of airports around the world, including ones not served by commercial airlines.

Flight time can be purchased in 50-hour increments per year, and while you're purchasing equity in a specific jet, the plane you fly in can differ based on a given trip's needs. Before you commit, members of the sales team will talk through who you fly with and where you typically go in order to determine what aircraft level and time commitment is best suited to you. Bookings can be done fairly last minute (10 hours out for domestic flights; 48 hours for international ones); costs per hour start at $7,000 for a light jet like the Phenom 300 and go up to $23,000 per hour for an ultra-long-range aircraft like a Gulfstream G700.

NetJets

NetJets, the granddaddy of private aviation companies, has been at it for awhile—Berkshire Hathaway acquired the company in 1998, and its fleet keeps on expanding, with 80+ new jets to be added into their fleet in 2026. Options range from light jets that fit up to 6 passengers to long-range jets with room for 14, with access to over 5,000 airports worldwide. Costs start at $215,000 for a jet card with 275 days of annual access; costs depend on chosen purchase method and aircraft type.

Membership programs

For more frequent fliers, membership programs can be attractive. Through tiered subscription options, you’ll pay a monthly or annual fee that unlocks access to an entire fleet of aircrafts that can then be booked on demand.

VistaJet

VistaJet’s fleet of silver and red aircraft includes corporate jets and the long-range Bombardier Global 7500, which has a bedroom and full-size kitchen. Membership options include VistaJet VJ25, a three-year private flight subscription for those who fly between 25 and 49 hours per year, with the option to roll over up to 20% of your hours to the following year if you happen to fly less.

Sentient Jet

Sentient Jet is the inventor of the Jet Card, which allows users to buy 25 hours of flights at a time and choose the aircraft size that fits their needs. The SJ25 Card offers access to light aircraft at a price of $183,100 for 25 hours; SJ25+ gets you 25 hours on mid, super-mid, and large-cabin jets for $235,850.

Magellan Jets

This Boston-based private aviation provider also offers charters, but an easier entry point is their membership program. The Explorer Membership guarantees access to light, mid, super-mid, and heavy-cabin aircraft year-round, with no blackout dates for a surprisingly low base fare—a $16,500 initial investment, $4,500 annual dues, and pay-as-you-go rates. Explorer100 members receive fixed-rate pricing across four cabin-size categories. With an $11,500 initial investment and the same annual dues ($4,500), you'll get a 12-month rate lock.

This story has been updated with new information since its original publish date.