Private jet travel has always been one of the most exclusive travel methods. The industry has been on a continuous climb, especially in the United States, since the early 2000s. More significantly, the market saw a large boom during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many wealthy travelers resorted to flying privately during this time, allowing the travelers to social distance properly and not risk flying on commercial airlines.

After the COVID-19 pandemic slowed down, the industry saw a small dip in overall travel. However, private jet travel has been well above its upward trajectory since 2019, which was before the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Private Jet Card Comparisons, the US saw over 3 million private jet flights in 2024, down overall from the 3.12 million recorded in 2023. This was a year-over-year decrease of about 1%. Even so, since the COVID-19 pandemic ended, many private jet providers have continued to see an upward trend in private jet flights, especially year-over-year.

Even so, many of these private jet providers have cemented themselves as the premier charter flight and fractional ownership providers in the US. Let’s take a closer look at some of the largest private jet providers that exist in the US private aviation market. Let’s also look at how these private jet providers have become so prominent in the industry.

NetJets

The largest private jet provider in the world is NetJets. According to Private Jet Card Comparisons, the Berkshire Hathaway-owned company recorded a staggering 665,000 private jet flight hours in 2024. This allowed the company to secure a market share of 12.70% in the industry, making it the largest in the US. Even more so, Netjets

increased its private jet flight hours by 55,834 hours year-over-year. This was a 9.16% increase from the nearly 610,000 private jet flight hours the company recorded in 2023.

Photo: Vytautas Kielaitis | Shutterstock

The company was founded as Executive Jet Airways (EJA) in 1964. It focused on operating a taxi service for private companies and, eventually, wealthy individuals. Since then, the company opened up the world’s first fractional ownership program in 1987, allowing individuals to purchase a share of aircraft, greatly reducing the cost of flying privately. Originally, the company operated a small fleet of Learjet 23s. However, it grew to operate a wide variety of aircraft. Currently, NetJets flies the following aircraft.

• Embraer Phenom 300
• Cessna Citation XLS (Citation Ascend once it is certified)
• Cessna Citation Latitude
• Cessna Citation Longitude
• Bombardier Challenger 650
• Bombardier Global Series (5000, 6000, and 7500)

Flexjet

The second-largest private jet provider in the US is Flexjet. The chartered flight provider flew a total of 237,800 private jet flight hours in 2024. According to Private Jet Card Comparisons, this allowed the company to secure a market share of approximately 4.5%. Similar to NetJets, Flexjet increased its private jet flight hours year-over-year. From 2023, Flexjet increased its flight hours by nearly 33,000 private jet flight hours, good for a 16.10% increase year-over-year, as the company recorded just under 205,000 private jet flight hours in 2023.

Photo: Flexjet

Flexjet was originally founded as the executive aviation business segment of Bombardier Aerospace, one of the largest private jet manufacturers in the world, in 1995. The company first focused on fractional ownership services and jet card services. It also briefly operated chartered flights, but it exited this industry to focus on its owners instead.

Currently, the Flexjet fleet is made up of many different aircraft, such as the Bombardier Challenger 300, several Gulfstream aircraft, and several Embraer aircraft. Flexjet made news earlier this year after it announced it signed a firm order with Embraer that will total over $7 billion. This included an order for 182 different Embraer private jets. Flexjet has also expanded its fleet over the years. It owns a private helicopter business segment that operates several Sikorsky S-76 helicopters. Even so, the company currently flies the following aircraft:

• Embraer Phenom 300
• Embraer Praetor 500 and 600
• Bombardier Challenger 300 series
• Gulfstream G450, G650, and G700 (on order)

Vista

VistaJet, based in Luqa, Malta, is the third-largest private jet provider in the US. According to Private Jet Card Comparisons, the company flew 127,310 private jet flight hours in the US in 2024, enough to secure a 2.43% market share. However, this slightly decreased from 2023, when the company recorded 136,511 private jet flight hours in the US. The company, which saw its market share decrease by about 9,000 private jet flight hours year-over-year, still maintains a global presence with its European air operator’s certificate.

Related

Malta-Based Private Jets: The History Of VistaJet

VistaJet, and its parent company Vista Global, has grown to become one of the most popular private jet providers in the world.

Thomas Flohr founded the company as Air Executive in 2004. Since then, it has grown into a global company operating in London, UK, New York City, New York, Los Angeles, California, Hong Kong, and Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). Uniquely, VistaJet does not operate under the fractional ownership business model. Instead, VistaJet operates two different services, called Program and Direct. Program is a subscription model with consistent payments to guarantee availability. Direct allows passengers to request flights directly.

VistaJet operates mostly Bombardier

private jets, dating back to the first Learjets that the company operated when it was founded. Some of these aircraft include:

• Bombardier Challenger 300 series
• Bombardier Challenger 600 series
• Bombardier Challenger 850
• Bombardier Global (5000, 6000, and 7500)

Wheels Up

The next largest private jet provider in the US is Wheels Up. According to Private Jet Card Comparisons, Wheels Up

flew a total of just over 96,000 private jet flight hours in 2024, good for a nearly 2% market share in the private aviation industry. However, the company saw a year-over-year decrease of approximately 31,000 private jet flight hours. This nearly 25% decrease in flight hours was mostly due to the company exiting several different business segments under new leadership as the company looks to reach profitability.

Photo: Wheels Up

Wheels Up was founded in 2013 by Kenny Dichter. The company originally offered private jet flights as a membership program but also offered on-demand chartered flights. Today, Wheels Up members can easily book private jet flights using a mobile app that offers aircraft directly from the Wheels Up fleet and other third-party operators.

In 2019, Delta Air Lines

acquired a large stake in Wheels Up and later merged its Delta Private Jets business segment with the company. After the company struggled financially in the early 2020s, Delta Air Lines purchased the company outright in 2023. New leadership has worked in recent years to bring the company toward profitability.

Wheels Up has made several changes to its fleet in recent months. Most recently, the company announced that it was acquiring several Embraer Phenom 300 light private jets and phasing out several aging aircraft, including its Cessna Citation Xs and Cessna Citation CJ3s. The company also intends to acquire several Bombardier Challenger 300s, a popular super-midsize business jet class offering. Currently, Wheels Up flies the following aircraft:

• Beechcraft King Air 350
• Cessna Citation X
• Cessna Citation XLS
• Cessna Citation CJ3
• Embraer Phenom 300
• Hawker 400XP
• Gulfstream G450

flyExclusive

flyExclusive is the fifth-largest private jet provider in the US. According to Private Jet Card Comparisons, the company secured a 1.23% market share in 2024 after it flew 64,215 private jet flight hours. This was a year-over-year increase of just over 9,000 private jet flight hours. This increase was a 16.31% change from the 55,000 private jet flight hours the company recorded in 2023.

Related

Nearly All Cessna: A Guide To The FlyExclusive Fleet

The flyExclusive fleet has grown to 100–mostly but not quite all Cessna Citations.

Jim Segrave, a veteran in the private jet charter industry, founded flyExclusive in early 2014. Currently, flyExclusive offers several different options for its customer base. This includes aircraft partnerships, fractional ownership, on-demand charters, empty-leg flights, and a Jet Club membership program. Historically, flyExclusive has flown a variety of Cessna Citation business jets. However, flyExclusive will soon retire several aging aircraft in its fleet, including its older Cessna Citation Xs. Instead, flyExclusive recently moved to acquire several Bombardier Challenger 300 series private jets, which fall into the super-midsize business jet class. Additionally, the company operates the following aircraft:

• HondaJet HA-420
• Cessna Citation CJ3
• Cessna Citation XLS
• Cessna Citation X
• Gulfstream IV

Solairus Aviation

The next largest private jet provider in the US is called Solairus Aviation. This Petaluma, California-based company totaled over 53,000 private jet flight hours in 2024. According to Private Jet Card Comparisons, this was a nearly 8% increase year-over-year compared to the 50,000 private jet flight hours Solairus Aviation recorded in 2023.

Photo: Ryan Fletcher | Shutterstock

The company was first founded in 2009. Solairus Aviation offers various services, including aircraft management and several other private jet charter services. It runs a popular jet card option called the Altitude jet card, which was briefly suspended due to excessive demand. The company operates a global charter network with third-party operators. However, it still owns and operates several of its own aircraft.