The Emergence of Zero-Emission Private Aviation: Jet It Commits to a Sustainable Future

While the conversation around sustainability started in the 1980s, effective practices and products have only been realized within the last decade. As consumers become more aware of their contributions to pollution and climate change, sustainability has become a key driver of innovation across all sectors of business. Similar to the automotive industry with the development of electric cars, the aviation industry is joining the race to zero emissions.

Airlines, both commercial and private, have begun to invest in aerospace manufacturers who they believe have safe and reliable electric designs. One of the few private aviation companies to invest in electric jets is Greensboro, N.C.-based Jet It. Clarim Media’s chief content officer James Ledbetter recently spoke with Jet It’s COO and CFO Chris Crawford about the aviation company’s commitment to sustainable travel.

James Ledbetter: The topic that we chose to focus on today is sustainability. To be honest, I don’t think that private aviation is the first industry that pops into people’s heads when they think about sustainability. So, talk a little bit about how sustainability is viewed within your company. 

Chris Crawford: Sure, James. We view operating sustainably and protecting the environment as a major part of our responsibility as a company. I mean, our highest priorities are to operate safely and keep people happy. But if you keep going down the list, we want to have a positive impact and make a contribution to society wherever we operate. And one of our goals is to do our part to achieve affordable, zero-emission private air travel.

Ledbetter: Jet It, founded in 2018, was created in response to the overwhelming demand for more transparent, convenient and reasonably priced private travel. Jet It’s strategic decision to invest in sustainability is a continuation of their dedication to listening to their customers and their corporate responsibility to the community. However, electric aircraft seems like a distant dream of the future. 

Crawford: It brings to mind images of the Jetsons motoring around. Look, at the end of the day, o succeed over the long term, we have to be practical, and we have to provide a service that adds value to our customers’ lives. And so for us, we’ve really spent time defining what that value is for our customer base and how they define winning. In this case, our customers want a safe, enjoyable regional trip, and they want to give time back to reinvest in business and their loved ones. 

They also want to get the best possible return on their private aviation dollars. And so along those lines of the electric aircraft being developed, we chose the eFlyer 800, which we believe will be the first aircraft certified in this space. 

Ledbetter: As the eFlyer 800 and other early electric aircraft begin to hit the skies, their travel missions will likely be constrained to regional travel. For commercial aviation companies, this could result in higher prices and fewer available seats. Conversely, Jet It appears to be perfectly positioned to receive the eFlyer 800 with their regional day-use business model. 

Crawford: Absolutely. So, one of the reasons, James, that we’re so excited about the eFlyer and bringing it into our fleet is because it does fit our customers’ local and regional mobility needs really well. We believe that the earliest phase for all-electric aviation will be those local and regional trips. So we’re talking New York to Washington D.C., D.C. to the Hamptons, Los Angeles to Las Vegas, Vancouver to Seattle. These are the types of trips that are extremely consistent with the needs that we currently meet for our owners and our on-demand charter customers.