Most of the time, when we test travel apps for Locals Insider, we use them ourselves. That’s not the case with Jettly. The honest reality is that a one-way transatlantic private jet flight costs more than most people’s annual travel budget, and our editorial team is not exactly in the habit of chartering Gulfstreams to Mauritius.
So this review comes from a different angle than most of our coverage — we looked at Jettly because our readers occasionally ask about private aviation, and because the category itself has changed enough in 2026 that there are genuinely accessible entry points worth knowing about.
The biggest shift in the private aviation space this year isn’t about price — it’s about transparency and sustainability. Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) mandates have taken effect across the EU (with Switzerland adopting the same rules in January 2026) and the UK’s parallel mandate jumps from 2% in 2025 to 10% by 2030. Carbon reporting per flight, once a marketing afterthought, is now standard with operators like Flexjet automatically offsetting through 4AIR.
App-based booking platforms like Jettly are also pulling in a younger generation of flyers who expect to compare aircraft and prices on their phone rather than calling a broker. And empty leg deals — flights repositioning empty between charter bookings, sold at deep discounts of up to 75% off — are increasingly visible on these platforms, occasionally putting private aviation within reach of people who’d never consider a full charter.
This Locals Insider review covers Jettly — what it actually is (and isn’t), how its pricing works, the membership tiers, fractional ownership options, our honest editorial take, and how it compares to alternatives.
Introducing Jettly – Private Jet App
Jettly is a Canadian private jet charter marketplace founded in 2016 by tech entrepreneur Justin Crabbe, who remains CEO. The company is privately held and operates as a digital broker — connecting customers with a network of third-party charter operators rather than owning aircraft directly. This is the same model used by most app-based private aviation platforms, including XO, Wheels Up, and UberJets.
The pitch is access. Through Jettly, you can request quotes on more than 20,000 aircraft worldwide, spanning light jets, midsize, super midsize, heavy jets, ultra-long-range jets, and helicopters. The platform handles one-way charters, round trips, group travel, cargo flights, and empty leg deals through its app or website.
Once you book, Jettly coordinates the operational details — scheduling, crew arrangements, airport handling at the private terminal (FBO), and onboard services.
One important clarification worth flagging upfront: although Jettly’s marketing emphasizes “instant pricing” and a smartphone-app experience that compares to Expedia, the actual workflow involves submitting a trip request, receiving quotes from operators, then confirming pricing and availability before booking.
Industry observers including Private Jet Card Comparisons note that this functions much like other charter brokers — the digital interface is faster than a phone call to a traditional broker, but it’s not literally instant booking the way you’d buy a commercial airline ticket.
How Does Jettly Work?
The booking flow starts the same way whether you use the website or the mobile app. You enter your departure city, destination, travel dates, and passenger count, then submit the trip request. Jettly searches its operator network and returns aircraft options with estimated pricing, typically within minutes.
You can compare the returned options by aircraft category, range, cabin amenities, and cost before selecting one. Once you confirm a selection, Jettly handles the operational coordination — pilot scheduling, crew assignments, ground handling at the private terminal, fuel, catering if requested, and any in-flight services.
Most charters depart from private FBO terminals where you arrive around 15-30 minutes before departure, skipping the entire commercial airport security and gate experience.
The aircraft categories available on Jettly map roughly to typical flight types as follows:
| Aircraft Class | Approximate Flight Time | Example Route |
|---|---|---|
| Ultra-long range | 8+ hours | Singapore to Sydney |
| Heavy | 7+ hours | New York to London |
| Super midsize | 6+ hours | Dubai to Nice |
| Light | 2.5+ hours | Los Angeles to Cabo San Lucas |
You can book as one-time charters with no commitment, through monthly memberships that waive booking fees, or via jet card programs that prepay flight hours at fixed rates.
How to Use Jettly in a Few Steps
Here’s how a typical booking flow plays out — let’s say a family of four wanting to fly from London to Nice for a long weekend.
- Open the Jettly app or website and enter the trip details: London Luton or Farnborough (most common private terminals for London) to Nice Cote d’Azur, departure date, return date, four passengers.
- Within a few minutes, the platform returns matching aircraft options — typically a mix of light jets and midsize jets for this route — with estimated hourly rates, total flight time, and indicative all-in cost.
- Review the aircraft details: year, range, cabin layout, baggage capacity, whether it has Wi-Fi, refreshment options. For four passengers, a light jet like a Phenom 300 or Citation CJ4 is the typical fit and most cost-efficient.
- Submit your booking request for the option you want. A Jettly representative confirms operator pricing and availability, typically within a few hours for a few-days-out booking, longer if you’re booking weeks in advance or for less-popular routes.
- Pay the deposit (typically 50% of the quoted price), receive your confirmation with departure details, and arrive at the private terminal around 15-30 minutes before takeoff. Bring photo ID for everyone in the party — TSA-style screening doesn’t apply but ID verification still does.
The whole flow is straightforward if the trip is straightforward. Complex multi-leg trips, last-minute requests, or unusual routes generally require more back-and-forth with a Jettly advisor.
How Much Does Jettly Cost? The True Price of Private Air Travel
Private jet pricing is calculated by the hour, with the hourly rate depending on aircraft category, route, fuel costs, repositioning needs, FBO fees, and seasonal demand. The 2026 hourly rates across the industry break down roughly as follows:
Light jets (4-7 passengers, ~1,500-1,800 nautical mile range): $5,000-$7,500 per hour Midsize jets (6-8 passengers, ~2,000-3,000 nm range): $7,500-$9,500 per hour Super midsize jets (8-10 passengers, ~3,500 nm range): $9,500-$12,000 per hour Heavy jets (8-16 passengers, ~4,500-6,000 nm range): $11,000-$17,000+ per hour Ultra-long-range (8-19 passengers, 6,500+ nm range): $15,000-$20,000+ per hour
Jettly’s pricing sits within this market range. A specific example from the platform: a one-way flight from London to New York on a heavy jet would typically cost between $80,000 and $110,000, with prices potentially surging to $140,000 during peak demand periods, weather rerouting, or limited aircraft availability. A shorter intra-European hop like London to Nice on a light jet might run $14,000-$22,000.
These prices are per aircraft, not per seat. The economics genuinely start to compete with first or business class only when you have a group of 6-10 people splitting the cost and value the time savings and privacy.
Jettly Memberships
You don’t have to be a member to book with Jettly, but membership can save money for regular flyers. The main benefit is that paid members waive the 10% booking fee that applies to all non-member reservations — which on a $90,000 transatlantic charter is a $9,000 saving on a single flight.
Members also receive empty leg notifications (a major value if you’re flexible with dates and routes), dynamic pricing based on real-time supply and demand, and priority access to specific routes. The three paid tiers are Personal, Business, and Unlimited, with monthly pricing starting at $370 and going up to $997 per month depending on the tier.
The exact features and pricing breakdown vary as Jettly periodically updates its terms — always confirm current details on the platform before committing.
For occasional flyers, paying $370-$997 per month doesn’t pencil out. Membership starts to make sense if you fly enough that the waived booking fees alone offset the subscription cost — typically a few flights per year for high-tier members.
Fractional Jet Ownership Through Jettly
Beyond charter and membership, Jettly offers fractional jet ownership for very frequent flyers. Instead of buying a share in a single aircraft, you buy into a fleet, which gives you guaranteed access and a fixed hourly rate. The downside is a 36-month commitment plus a substantial upfront fee. Jettly’s fractional ownership structure breaks down approximately as:
| Aircraft Class | Light | Midsize | Super Midsize | Heavy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Upfront fee | $325,000 | $495,000 | $725,000 | $1,150,000 |
| Fixed hourly rate | $5,250 | $6,950 | $8,900 | $12,500 |
Industry data suggests fractional ownership only makes economic sense for travelers flying around 100+ hours annually — below that threshold, jet cards or on-demand charter typically deliver better value. Total five-year fractional ownership costs across the industry frequently exceed $1 million when you factor in upfront fees, monthly management fees ($8,000-$25,000), hourly flight costs, and depreciation.
Can I Trust Jettly? Is It Legit?
Jettly’s Trustpilot rating sits around 3.1/5.0 from approximately 1,255 reviews — a decent but not exceptional score, which is fairly typical for the broker model where the customer experience depends heavily on the third-party operator that actually flies the trip.
The positive reviews consistently praise responsiveness — Jettly’s team often delivers quotes within minutes and books trips on short notice. A representative Trustpilot review reads: “Great experience. Got a charter flight booked for us with under 24 hours’ notice. I was impressed by the quick service and their ability to get a wide range of quotes in such a short time. Jettly has definitely earned a spot on my short list when we need charters” — Mischadeva.
The negative reviews tend to cluster around the gap between marketed “instant pricing” and the actual quote confirmation process, occasional issues with operator quality (which Jettly has limited direct control over since it doesn’t own the aircraft), and disputes over deposit refunds when bookings change or cancel.
The honest editorial take from the Locals Insider team: we don’t recommend private jets as a general travel option, and we wouldn’t suggest a Jettly subscription unless you’re already deep into the private aviation world. The genuinely interesting use case for most readers is empty leg deals — repositioning flights sold at up to 75% off the full charter price.
These can occasionally bring a private flight down to the cost of multiple business class tickets, making them viable for groups of 6-10 people travelling together, time-critical medical situations, or one-off splurges for milestone occasions. Jettly does surface empty leg deals to non-members, so it’s worth browsing the app or website periodically if you’re curious about the category without committing to a long-term commitment.
Locals Insider tip on private aviation sustainability: if you do consider chartering a private jet in 2026, ask the operator specifically whether they use Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) blends or partner with verified carbon offset programs like 4AIR. SAF still accounts for less than 1% of global jet fuel use and remains more expensive than conventional fuel, but the gap is closing as EU and UK mandates accelerate production.
Some operators now include verified offsets at no extra cost; others charge a separate sustainability fee. Either way, it’s worth asking — the per-passenger carbon footprint of a private jet is dramatically higher than a commercial flight, and SAF blends can cut total CO2 emissions by up to 80% compared to conventional jet fuel.
Jettly’s Pros and Cons
The strengths: large operator network with access to 20,000+ aircraft globally, app and web booking interface that’s significantly faster than calling a traditional broker, no commission charged on top of wholesale operator rates (Jettly earns through membership fees and the 10% non-member booking fee), empty leg deals accessible to non-members, multiple commitment levels from one-off charter to fractional ownership, generally responsive customer service confirmed across most positive Trustpilot reviews.
The trade-offs: “instant pricing” marketing oversells what is actually a quote-and-confirm broker workflow; quality and consistency depend on third-party operators that Jettly doesn’t control; 3.1/5.0 Trustpilot rating reflects mixed customer experiences. Membership pricing only pencils out for genuinely frequent flyers. Fractional ownership requires a substantial 36-month commitment. The entire category remains inaccessible to most travelers, regardless of how slick the booking interface is. Sustainability remains a meaningful concern for environmentally-conscious travelers, given the carbon intensity of private aviation.
Is There a Better Option for Private Air Travel Than Jettly? Look at Mercury Jets
Mercury Jets is one of the most established direct competitors to Jettly, with coverage in publications like the Washington Post and Forbes. Mercury Jets operates as the private charter division of Monarch Air Group, a global aviation services company that supplies aircraft to the US government, the United Nations, the Canadian Department of Defense, and the British Ministry of Defence — giving the brand significant operational depth beyond what an independent broker would have.
The structural difference is in approach. Mercury Jets operates with dedicated flight advisors who work closely with clients to source tailored aircraft solutions, with a strong emphasis on safety vetting and operator quality. Jettly leans more heavily on app-based marketplace flexibility, with the digital interface as the primary differentiator.
For first-time private aviation customers, Mercury’s advisor-led approach often delivers a more guided experience; for repeat flyers who already know what they want, Jettly’s marketplace model is faster.
Other notable alternatives in the 2026 private aviation market include NetJets (the global jet card leader, best for travelers flying 50+ hours annually with guaranteed availability), Flexjet (premium experience-focused, with verified 4AIR carbon offsets on every flight at no extra cost), Sentient Jet (jet card with non-expiring hours), Wheels Up (app-based membership model), XO (digital-first with varied pricing models), and UberJets (membership-based service tied to the Virtual Hangar app, with annual fees around $9,500).
The right choice depends entirely on how often you fly and how much you want to be involved in the operational details. Occasional travelers and one-off charters will find Jettly’s marketplace model reasonable. Frequent flyers (50+ hours per year) typically get better economics from prepaid jet cards or fractional ownership. Travelers who prioritize white-glove service and don’t want to manage operator selection themselves are often better served by advisor-led brokers like Mercury Jets.
For more on luxury travel, you might find our best travel apps roundup, our guide to eight luxury travel trains in the USA (a comparable luxury-travel category for travelers who want a private feel without the carbon cost or budget of private aviation), and our roundup of boutique luxury hotels in Valletta and Malta useful starting points.
