737-700 that the company formerly operated, photographed in 2009
1960s The company was founded in 1964 and originally known as
Executive Jet Airways. The name was later changed to
Executive Jet Aviation (EJA), and again in 2002 to NetJets, after Berkshire Hathaway purchased it in 1998. NetJets was the first private business jet charter and aircraft management company in the world. Shortly after its founding, EJA began receiving regular investments from the
Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR), which were managed by accountant David Bevan. In June 1965, the railroad purchased a majority of shares in EJA, despite the fact that rail carriers were barred from owning air carriers by the
Federal Aviation Act of 1958. To hide the investments from the PRR board, Bevan made the payments through a subsidiary, the American Contract Company, which he was president of.
1980s In 1984, Executive Jet Aviation was purchased by mathematician and former
Goldman Sachs executive
Richard Santulli who owned a business that leased helicopters to service providers of offshore oil operations. When Santulli became chairman and CEO of the corporation, he closely examined 22 years of pilot logbooks, and began to envision a new economic model where several individuals could own one aircraft. In 1987, the NetJets program was officially announced becoming the first fractional aircraft ownership format in history.
1990s In 1998, Berkshire Hathaway acquired EJA and NetJets Inc from Richard Santulli for US$725 million, half of which was paid in stock. NetJets soon expanded to Europe and then Russia, and by 2006, it was the largest operator of business jets in Europe. The prepaid Marquis
Jet card allowed customers to purchase 25 hours of guaranteed flight time on the NetJets fleet. In September 2014, NetJets acquired approval to launch its aircraft charter service in
China, having worked with Chinese authorities since 2012 to secure the operating certificate. The
Internal Revenue Service (IRS) had sought back taxes and penalties of $643 million from NetJets for periods beginning in 2003, including on its maintenance and service fees. NetJets filed a lawsuit challenging the IRS assessments. In January 2015, the United States District Court issued a decision in NetJets' favor, holding that the IRS assessments were unlawful. In 2019, a former NetJets pilot filed a lawsuit alleging that in March 2017, the company violated US Civil Right and Ohio anti-discrimination law when she was fired for being too short () to properly control the rudders of an
Embraer Phenom 300. She stated that male pilots who were too tall were reassigned to different aircraft, while her employment was terminated without the opportunity to fly a different plane. An Ohio federal judge ruled in favor of NetJets in 2022, citing the plaintiff's failure to prove sex discrimination.
2020s In the spring of 2020, the company saw a boom in demand, as wealthy individuals sought to avoid the risks of airline flying during the
COVID-19 pandemic. Previously, many potential customers had concerns about the optics of opulence and the environmental issues of private jet transport, but NetJets President of Sales, Marketing and Service, Patrick Gallagher noted in May 2020, that the health risks associated with flying on commercial airlines during the pandemic had trumped those concerns. The company introduced regular employee COVID-19 testing to try to contain the risks of an outbreak on its aircraft. In October 2020, the company made initial moves to reduce its
carbon footprint. The company committed to buying "up to 3 million gallons" (11.4 million litres) of
sustainable aviation fuel to be used at two of its bases, San Francisco and Columbus, Ohio. The company is also encouraging its customers to buy
carbon offsets for their flights. The company will also buy its own offsets for its administration and training flights. As of November 2020, almost half of the company's fleet was manufactured by Textron, and the rest by
Bombardier Inc. and
Embraer. After reducing its delivery target for 2021 by more than half, due to decreased demand caused by the
COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the company expected to take delivery of 40 new aircraft in 2021 in anticipation of industry recovery. In February 2021, the company purchased a stake in WasteFuel, a business that will convert
landfill waste into
sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). NetJets plans to purchase 100 million gallons of SAF from WasteFuel over the next 10 years as part of the deal. In March 2021, NetJets announced that it had ordered 20
Aerion AS2s supersonic business jets. The
memorandum of understanding between NetJets and Aerion called for the two companies to operate a larger "Aerion Connect" network. Aerion abruptly announced its closure on 21 May 2021, due to the inability to raise the needed capital to continue. The company announced in March 2022, that it would partner with
Lilium GmbH to establish an
eVTOL network in
Florida. NetJets will buy 150
Lilium Jets and operate them under a
FAR Part 135 charter operation. In October 2024 Lilium filed for insolvency. NetJets announced in September 2023, that it will be purchasing up to 1,500
Cessna Citation jets from
Textron Aviation. Deliveries for this 15-year deal are expected to begin in 2025. ==Subsidiaries==