5 Safety Questions to Ask Before Booking Any Private Jet Charter

The Safety Gap Nobody Talks About

The private charter industry has an extraordinary safety record overall. But that average conceals significant variation between operators. The safest charter operators in the world operate at a level that rivals major airlines. The least safe operate with deferred maintenance, inadequate crew rest, and paper-thin insurance coverage — and it's not obvious from the outside which is which.

These five questions close that information gap. Ask them of any broker or operator before you commit to a flight.

1. "What is this operator's ARGUS or Wyvern rating?"

This is the single most important question, and the answer should come without hesitation. If a broker needs to look it up, that's a yellow flag — it means safety ratings aren't a standard part of their pre-flight verification. If they can't provide a rating at all, that's a red flag.

Acceptable answers: ARGUS Certified, ARGUS Gold, Wyvern Wingman, IS-BAO Stage 2 or 3. An answer of "ARGUS Registered" means baseline compliance — acceptable for some missions, but worth asking more questions. An answer of "we don't use ARGUS or Wyvern" is a serious concern. For a full breakdown of what these ratings mean, see our guide to ARGUS, Wyvern & IS-BAO certifications.

2. "Can you confirm the pilot has a type rating and recent experience in this specific aircraft?"

A type rating means the pilot is FAA-certified to fly that specific aircraft model. Recent experience means they've flown it recently — not just that they were certified three years ago. FAR Part 135 requires specific recency of experience, but "legal" and "comfortable" are different standards.

For technically demanding airports — Aspen, Telluride, Nantucket, London City — ask specifically whether this crew has prior experience at that airport. An experienced broker knows who their trained crews are at these locations.

3. "What is the aircraft's current maintenance status, and are there any open deferred maintenance items?"

Every aircraft has a maintenance record. Deferred maintenance items — things that have been identified but not yet fixed — are legal up to a point but worth knowing about. A reputable operator will tell you honestly. An operator who deflects this question is telling you something important.

You don't need to understand the technical details. What you're looking for is whether the broker and operator are comfortable with transparency. Transparency correlates strongly with safety culture.

4. "What is the operator's liability insurance coverage?"

FAR Part 135 requires minimum liability insurance, but minimums are minimums. For a charter carrying high-net-worth passengers, you want to know the operator carries adequate coverage — typically $50M–$100M+ for heavy jets carrying large groups. Your broker should be able to tell you the coverage limit; if they can't, ask them to get it from the operator before you sign the agreement.

5. "What is your backup plan if this aircraft goes mechanical?"

Aircraft have mechanical issues. It happens to the best operators with the best maintained fleets. What separates a good charter experience from a nightmare is whether your broker has a real backup plan — not a vague promise to "work something out."

A broker with genuine network depth can typically source a replacement aircraft within 2–4 hours for most routes. A broker who hedges on this question probably doesn't have that network. Ask it explicitly before your trip, especially for time-critical travel.

Why We Answer All Five Before You Ask

At Scott Wallace Agency, operator ARGUS/Wyvern status, crew type ratings, and insurance coverage are standard pre-flight verification items — not something you need to request. We run ARGUS CHEQ reports on every flight, confirm crew credentials before confirming the booking, and carry backup operator relationships for the routes we most commonly fly.

These questions matter. Ask them of any broker you work with. The quality of the answers tells you more than any brochure.