Part 135 Operator

The number refers to a specific section of the Federal Aviation Regulations: 14 CFR Part 135, titled "Operating Requirements: Commuter and On-Demand Operations and Rules Governing Persons on Board Such Aircraft." It's the body of rules that governs non-scheduled commercial flight in the United States, separating legitimate charter carriers from private aircraft operators (governed by Part 91) and scheduled airlines (governed by Part 121).

What a Part 135 certificate actually requires

A Part 135 certificate is not a one-time credential. It's an active, ongoing relationship between the operator and the FAA, and the requirements are substantial. Operators have to demonstrate and maintain several things at once:

Core Part 135 requirements

• A written operations manual covering every aspect of how flights are conducted, approved by the FAA.
• Training programs for pilots that go meaningfully beyond the private-pilot requirements, including recurrent training every six months.
• Aircraft maintenance inspection intervals that are shorter and more comprehensive than for private aircraft.
• Drug and alcohol testing programs for crew members.
• Minimum experience requirements for Pilot-in-Command and Second-in-Command on each aircraft type.
• Operational control procedures governing dispatch, weather minimums, and flight following.
• Insurance coverage at FAA-required minimums (operators typically carry far more).

Getting a new Part 135 certificate from zero takes, in practice, six to eighteen months and well into six figures of cost. Keeping one involves continuous compliance, periodic FAA audits, and the real possibility of certificate suspension or revocation if standards slip.

The distinction that matters to passengers

The practical version, for you as a charter customer, is simple: Part 135 is the baseline legal standard for anyone flying you on a paid private jet in the United States. It's not a premium tier; it's the minimum. Any aircraft offered for commercial charter in the US must operate under a Part 135 certificate, either held by the operator itself or held by a management company on the aircraft's behalf. What this means in practice is that every legitimate charter flight involves two entities whose roles are worth understanding. The **broker** (or marketplace) finds and books the aircraft for you. The **Part 135 operator** is the company that actually holds the certificate, employs the pilots, maintains the aircraft, and is legally responsible for the flight. Sometimes these are the same company; often they are not.

Broker-only vs. operator-plus-broker

Most private aviation companies you'll encounter are pure brokers. They don't hold a Part 135 certificate themselves; they source aircraft from a network of certificated operators and take a margin on the transaction. This isn't bad. It's the dominant model in the industry, and it works well when the broker has good operator relationships and vets safety carefully. A smaller number of companies operate as both broker *and* Part 135 operator: they own the certificate, employ the crews, manage the aircraft, and also take charter bookings directly. ReserveJets is in this second category. We operate some of our flights on our own certificate, with our own pilots and our own maintenance program, rather than handing every booking off to a third-party operator. When you book one of those flights, the company quoting you is the same company flying you. The practical difference is accountability. When the operator and the customer-facing brand are the same company, there's no handoff point where responsibility can become unclear. If something goes wrong (a maintenance issue, a weather delay, a crew timing question), the answer is in the same building as the person who sold you the flight.

How to verify

Any passenger can verify whether a specific operator holds a valid Part 135 certificate. The FAA publishes a public operator database where you can look up any certificated carrier by name or certificate number. If a company tells you they "operate under Part 135," the certificate is public. Ask for the certificate number, and then look it up. Legitimate operators will give it to you without hesitation. For a dual broker-operator like ReserveJets, the certificate is on file with the FAA under the company's legal operating name. Beyond the certificate itself, third-party safety auditors like ARGUS, Wyvern, and IS-BAO audit Part 135 operators against standards that go beyond the FAA minimum. A "Platinum" or "Wingman" rating from one of these auditors is a meaningful additional signal that the operator runs at the higher end of the industry.