Northern Jet Appoints Matthew Harris as CEO, Effective October 2, 2026
Why It MattersExecutive transitions in private aviation increasingly pair operators with leaders who bring fractional, jet card and management experience from across the industry, signaling consolidation of expertise around multi-program business models.
What happened
Northern Jet, the Orlando, Florida-based private aviation operator, has appointed Matthew Harris as Chief Executive Officer, effective October 2, 2026. The company holds IS-BAO, ARGUS Platinum and WYVERN Wingman PRO certifications and describes itself as having more than 31 years of experience.
Harris brings more than 25 years of private aviation leadership spanning fractional ownership, jet card, charter, and aircraft management operations. He spent 14 years at NetJets, ultimately serving as Executive Vice President of Owner and Employee Service, where he oversaw service delivery for more than 5,000 corporate and high-net-worth customers and aircraft owners. He subsequently co-founded The Milestone Aviation Group and served as its Chief Operating Officer, helping build it into the largest helicopter leasing business with more than $4 billion in assets.
As CEO, Harris will oversee flight operations, maintenance, customer experience, and the teams supporting Northern Jet's three core programs: aircraft management, fractional aircraft ownership, and the Private Advantage Card jet card program. Outgoing CEO Chris Bull, who has led Northern Jet since the 2023 combination of SpeedBird and Northern Jet Management that formed the company, will become Co-Chairman alongside Chuck Cox, focusing on growth including new programs, strategic partnerships, and market expansion.
Headquartered in Orlando, Florida, with bases throughout Florida and the Midwest, Northern Jet operates a fleet spanning light, midsize, super-midsize and heavy aircraft categories, and provides jet and helicopter charter, jet cards, fractional ownership, and aircraft management services.
Industry impact & what to watch
Leadership changes of this kind are common at operators that run several program types side by side, since fractional ownership, jet cards, charter and aircraft management each carry distinct service and operational demands. Bringing in a chief executive with direct experience across all of those models, rather than promoting from within a single line of business, reflects how operators try to manage that complexity as programs scale.
The retained involvement of the outgoing CEO in a Co-Chairman role focused on growth and partnerships suggests continuity in strategic direction even as day-to-day operations pass to new leadership. How Northern Jet's three programs perform under the new structure, and what new partnerships or market expansion Bull pursues from the Co-Chairman seat, will be the next points to confirm.
