JetBetter Aviation Grows to Over a Dozen Staff in Two Years by Focusing on Jet Cards

JetBetter Aviation, a jet card broker based in Boca Raton, Florida, has expanded to more than a dozen brokers and support staff in just over two years, according to Founder and CEO Robert G. Nelson. Nelson, a career charter broker who began arranging charter flights in 2007, founded the company with Connor Cecil, a sourcing specialist and fellow Jets.com alum. He expects sales to grow to around $50 million over the next year as the sales team expands. The company recently moved into a new 3,500-square-foot open-plan office that Nelson sees as an investment in training and communications.

The company was initially branded Boca Jets and changed its name to JetBetter approximately 18 months ago, after prospective customers assumed it served only South Florida. Its BetterCard jet cards offer a national primary service area. Nelson estimates jet cards account for approximately 90% of the business, with the rest being individual charter bookings. He often tries to convert repeat charter customers into card members after their second or third flight.

The BetterCard gives one free hour with a 25-hour purchase, two free hours at 50 hours, and five free hours with a 100-hour card. It offers four categories (light, midsize, super-midsize and large cabin), and members can switch categories at a published interchange rate. JetBetter does not charge taxi time and includes de-icing. Deposits are refundable, less a 10% fee on unused funds. Standard peak callout is 48 hours, and 72 hours for peak days, which are limited to major holidays plus the day before and after.

Although standard terms are published, Nelson says he frequently negotiates provisions for individual customers. These include allowing cancellations on 48 or 72 hours' notice for one-way flights and reducing the standard 120-minute daily minimum to 90 minutes for some customers, particularly light-jet flyers. He generally prefers longer minimums for midsize and larger aircraft. He cites one customer who expected to spend about $1 million annually but now spends $6 million through the program, and who also generated referrals.

Nelson argues human sourcing adds value. For a Christmas-holiday charter request from San Jose, California, to Rio de Janeiro, a quote obtained through a tech-sourcing service was $475,000, while JetBetter's internal team secured $295,000 for the same trip, a $180,000 difference. He says such gaps are not unusual and are smaller on less expensive flights, and he does not see instant-booking platforms replacing people-driven brokerages. JetBetter uses third-party technology and support services for some operational functions and is considering developing additional internal scheduling and sourcing tools.

On prepaid funds, Nelson says the company can offer individual subaccounts that provide customers with statements and transaction notifications. He acknowledged that JetBetter can move funds from those accounts, which distinguishes the arrangement from a traditional escrow structure requiring independent authorization to release funds.

JetBetter's growth illustrates how a small broker can build volume in the jet card segment through relationship selling rather than published pricing alone. Roughly 90% of its business sits in cards, and Nelson's habit of converting repeat charter customers after two or three flights shows how card sales can grow out of one-off bookings. The negotiated cancellation and minimum-hour terms show that a card's printed terms are often a starting point in this part of the market, so two customers on the same card can hold different contracts.

The sourcing example also frames the competitive question facing brokers against technology platforms. A $180,000 gap on one long international trip is a single data point, and Nelson himself says gaps narrow on cheaper flights. Whether human sourcing keeps that edge depends on trip complexity and price level, which is why brokers are adding their own tools rather than choosing between people and software.

The handling of prepaid funds is the structural point buyers of any card program tend to weigh. Subaccounts with statements and notifications give visibility, but a provider that can move the money itself offers different protection from an escrow that needs independent authorization to release it. The next thing to check at JetBetter is how the company describes that arrangement as its deposit balances grow with the sales target.