The Ten Largest Private Jet Operators in North America, 2025

The North American private aviation market reached record levels in 2025, with over 2.8m flight departures. Here’s a look at the top ten most active companies driving those numbers.

Fractional ownership in particular has been the standout growth category over the last few years, with Part 91k departures rising by almost 10% in 2025, and up 118% compared to 5 years ago, according to data from WINGX. As in prior years, the two largest operators, NetJets and Flexjet are both fractional providers, and the remainder of the top 10 are a mix of charter providers, management companies and other fractional operators.

Here’s the top 10, in the table and discussion below, showing the number of North American departures and hours in 2025, and the growth over 2024 (data and table courtesy of WINGX). Note these numbers are for private jets and do not include departures or hours for turboprops.

1. NetJets

NetJets remains the largest private jet operator in the world by any measure. As of late 2025, its global fleet exceeded 800 aircraft, and in 2025 it logged more than 419,000 North American departures – a 9.6% increase compared to 2024 – and almost 15% of all private jet flights. Its scale and ownership by Berkshire Hathaway provide financial stability, insulating the business from the capital market pressures that have challenged some publicly traded rivals.

Fractional shares are NetJets’ core product. Ownership is sold in 1/16th increments, with 50 hours of guaranteed annual access, across a fleet that runs from the Embraer Phenom 300 light jet through the Bombardier Challenger 3500 super mid-size and Global 7500 ultra-long-range jets. Back in May 2023, the company announced an order for up to 250 mid-size Praetor 500s from Embraer, and received the first of these jets in 2025.

2. Flexjet

Operated as a subsidiary of Directional Aviation and led by founder Kenn Ricci, the company reported approximately 168,000 North American departures in 2025, a year-over-year increase of more than 16 percent. Flight hours grew by 18% and represent 6% of all North American private jet flights.

In July 2025, Flexjet closed an $800 million equity raise led by a consortium anchored by LVMH-backed L Catterton - the largest single capital raise ever committed to a private jet operator. The investment supports fleet expansion and infrastructure development, and opens the door to collaborations with the broader luxury goods sector. In September 2025, Flexjet introduced the Gulfstream G700 to its U.S. fleet, with three aircraft in service and more on order. The company also placed a $7bn order with Embraer for continued deliveries of the Praetor 600, Praetor 500 and Phenom 300E aircraft. These Embraer models already form a key part of its 340-plus aircraft global fleet. Looking to the future, Flexjet also ordered 300 Phantom 3500 jets, a new super-midsize aircraft expected to enter operations in 2030.

The L Catterton investment signals that Flexjet’s ambitions extend well beyond aircraft access; it is positioning itself as a luxury experiential platform comparable in brand aspiration to high-end hospitality.

3. flyExclusive

flyExclusive (NYSE American: FLYX) is the third-largest U.S. private jet operator by flight departures and hours, and saw a 9.3% increase in departures in 2024. Headquartered in Kinston, North Carolina, the company has spent much of 2024 and 2025 executing a fundamental restructuring following its December 2023 SPAC IPO. The turnaround strategy has centered on several pillars: eliminating non-performing aircraft from the fleet, expanding the higher contribution Bombardier Challenger fleet, and improving operational efficiency and aircraft utilization.

The company operates roughly 100 jets ranging from Citation CJ3+ light jets and Citation XLS mid-size aircraft to Challenger 350 super-midsize jets, and has in-house MRO, paint, interiors, and avionics operations at its Kinston campus

4. Wheels Up

Wheels Up (NYSE: UP) is in the midst of what its CEO George Mattson has described as a “transformation journey” - an honest characterization of a company that spent several years expanding aggressively before running into financial difficulty. It is the fourth-largest private jet operator in North America, with significant growth as it transitions to its new jet based fleet and away from an older fleet focused around the King Air turboprop.

Delta Air Lines and fellow investors took a 95 percent stake in the company in 2023 and have since provided capital support, including credit backing for a $332 million Bank of America revolving credit facility announced in late 2024.

A centerpiece of the recovery plan is a two-aircraft fleet standardization: the Embraer Phenom 300 for light-jet missions and the Bombardier Challenger 300/350 for super-midsize demand. Wheels Up acquired 17 Phenom 300 aircraft from GrandView Aviation in late 2024 and has been retiring its legacy Citation X, CJ3, and Hawker 400XP fleets.

The new Signature Membership, launched in September 2025, offers guaranteed nationwide access to the Phenom and Challenger fleet, with choice between dynamic market-rate pricing and fixed-rate hourly options. A starting deposit of $200,000 is required. Deeper integration with Delta’s commercial network is a real differentiator. Signature Members earn Diamond Medallion status and can apply deposits to Delta commercial tickets, facilitating hybrid private-commercial itineraries through a single account.

5. Executive Jet Management

At number 5, Executive Jet Management (EJM) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of NetJets, based in Cincinnati, Ohio, and provides aircraft management and on-demand charter services as a distinct brand from its parent. For aircraft owners, EJM offers a comprehensive management program that handles crew hiring, scheduling, maintenance oversight, regulatory compliance, and revenue generation through its Part 135 charter certificate. The arrangement provides owners with professional management infrastructure backed by NetJets’ scale - including volume purchasing advantages on fuel, and maintenance.

As a charter operator, EJM provides access to the aircraft it manages on an on-demand basis, meaning the fleet is heterogeneous and reflects the ownership profile of its managed clients rather than a standardized type selection. EJM was one of the companies to see a drop in departures and hours in 2025.

6. Vista America

Vista America is the U.S. operating name of Vista Global, the Dubai-headquartered holding company that owns VistaJet and XO. The company is the 6th most active private jet operator in North America, with departures up 23.3% to 34,806 flights in 2025.

It is composed of several FAA-licensed air carriers and operates the Vista Members’ fleet in the United States on behalf of VistaJet and XO clients. In practice, this means Vista America provides the operational infrastructure behind two distinct commercial propositions: VistaJet’s fixed-rate, memberships, and XO’s dynamic-pricing marketplace, which aggregates Vista’s own fleet alongside over 2,000 third-party operator aircraft.

Vista Global raised $600 million in a new equity investment from a consortium led by RRJ Capital in early 2025, aimed at reducing debt and strengthening the balance sheet following years of aggressive fleet and acquisition growth. In early 2026, Vista placed a significant new order for Bombardier Challenger 3500 aircraft, described as securing capacity for the next decade. The company has also committed to rolling out Gogo Galileo broadband connectivity across its global fleet beginning in late 2025.

7. Solairus Aviation

Solairus Aviation is one of the largest aircraft management and charter companies in the United States, managing over 350 aircraft and operating from 75 bases across the country. In 2025 it saw flight departures grow 6.4% to 28,962. Within this top 10 list, Solairus has the highest average hours per flight at 2.14 hours.

Founded in 2009 by Dan Drohan in Petaluma, California, Solairus employs more than 2,300 people. In 2025, the company added multiple new aircraft to its managed fleet, reflecting continued strong demand from individual and institutional aircraft owners for third-party management solutions.

8. Contour Aviation

Contour Aviation, out of Smyrna, Tennessee, is a distinctive multi-business operator that combines private jet charter, aircraft management, MRO services, FBO operations, and a scheduled regional airline (Contour Airlines) under a single FAA certificate. Its private charter fleet spans light jets through commerical airliners, and the company holds an ARGUS Platinum safety rating. In 2025, it increased its number of departures by 12.5% to 28,345.

9. Jet Linx

Jet Linx is an Omaha-based aircraft management and jet card company that has built its identity around a “local service with national reach” model. It operates from more than 20 private base locations across the country, with over 100 aircraft under management and a fleet spanning light jets through heavy jets. In 2025 it saw a slight drop in departures and hours, with departures down 5% to 23,063.

The Jet Linx jet card is the company’s primary consumer product. It offers fixed hourly rates with guaranteed availability across four aircraft categories (light, mid, super-mid, and large cabin). In December 2025, the company restarted its base partner program after a five-year hiatus, inviting independent local operators in target markets to affiliate under the Jet Linx brand structure - a franchise-like expansion mechanism that could meaningfully grow its geographic footprint.

The company holds ARGUS Platinum Elite and WYVERN Wingman PRO safety certifications and holds IS-BAO Stage 3 registration. It also conducts an annual company-wide Safety Summit during which all revenue operations pause for a day of collaborative safety review - an unusual and substantive commitment.

10. Airsprint

Airsprint is Canada’s largest fractional jet ownership operator and, a leading provider of private aviation in the Canadian market. In 2025 the company told SherpaReport that over 30% of all private jet flights in Canada are flown by AirSprint.

As of early 2026, the company operates 43 aircraft - comprising Embraer Praetor 500 and 600, Embraer Legacy 450 and 500, Cessna Citation CJ3+, and Citation CJ2+ models - and employs nearly 400 people.

Flight departures in 2025 were up nearly 12 percent year-over-year to 22,386, and hours flown were up a very similar % to 37,215. The fractional model - available in both purchase and lease structures - provides guaranteed availability with as little as 24 hours’ notice, fixed pricing, no positioning fees, and a dedicated personal flight concierge. The fleet covers domestic routes from Vancouver to the Maritimes as well as U.S., Caribbean, and European destinations.

The use of private jets continues to grow. The leading providers are continuing to add aircraft to their fleets and fleet standardization is gaining momentum. Wheels Up, flyExclusive, and Vista America have all recently rationalized their type mix, which tends to improve dispatch reliability and reduce per-flight operating costs over time.

One interesting data point from the above numbers is that the average private jet flight is between 1.5 and 2 hours for most of these large operators. This is consistent with earlier data on the length of private jet flights, which shows about 58% of flights are under 500 miles. This is something to bear in mind when you commit to a plane or a program, to help decide what size of aircraft you really need, the broad advice is to buy into the plane that fulfills 90% of your missions - you can always charter for the other 10%.