The Regions jet card from JetSafe offers fixed hourly rates starting at $3,000 on piston, turboprop, and very light jet aircraft.
North Carolina-based JetSafe has launched a regional jet card program.
The new program features piston, turboprop, and very light jet aircraft.
Hourly rates start at $3,000 plus 7.5% federal excise tax.
Owner and President Kyle Hankinson says he believes the program fills an underserved niche of the guaranteed jet card segment.
Most jet cards offer light jets and larger.
“There are a lot of routes in the Eastern and Southern U.S. that are from where you live to your beach or lake house,” Hakinson says.
Nearly one-third (32.6%) of Private Jet Card Comparisons subscribers say they use private flights in place of long car drives.
However, serving the entry-level market has not proved easy.
Verijet, which used the single-engine Cirrus Vision Jet, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy last year.
Jet It, which used the HondaJet very light jet, also filed for bankruptcy, while Volato, another HondaJet operator, ceased flight operations in 2024.
ImagineAir, a Georgia-based Cirrus SR22 operator selling its jet cards, ceased operations in 2018.
Last December, Delta Air Lines-backed Wheels Up ended its guaranteed turboprop program, which launched the company back in 2013.
Hankinson says JetSafe is debt-free and expansion will come slowly and organically.
While an operator, for now, it will mostly use third-party operators.
Regions Jet Card by JetSafe offers three aircraft categories and four deposit levels.
The program offers guaranteed availability and fixed hourly rates on piston, turboprop, and very light jet aircraft.
Deposit levels are $25,000, $50,000, $100,000, and $150,000.
The primary service area is the U.S. contiguous states east of the Mississippi River.
Non-peak callout is 72 hours.
The callout on 37 peak days is for one week.
There is a 60-minute segment minimum, plus taxi time.
Hourly rates start at $3,000 per hour for piston aircraft, specifically the Cirrus SR20 and SR22.
Turboprops, including the King Air and PC-12, are priced at $5,000 per hour.
Very light jets, including the Cirrus SF50, are priced at $6,000 per hour.
The rates are discounted by up to 7.5% based on how much you deposit.
Rates are locked for 12 months.
The program is a hybrid using the company’s single Vision Jet, which operates under its Part 135 certificate, and then third-party operators.
Single-engine airplanes in the program require two pilots.
Airplanes like the SR22, with a parachute, or the SF50, with its auto-land, use a single pilot.
Escrow of your funds is available for an additional fee.
Hankinson (pictured below) bought the Vision Air LLC charter certificate in 2022 and then launched JetSafe as the consumer brand.
Since then, it has been flying charter clients on an ad hoc basis.
Hankinson has a broad background in military aviation and, as an entrepreneur, owned engineering companies, including corporate flight departments.
JetSafe is currently acquiring an SR22, which it expects to have available for charter by the end of the year.
In the meantime, Hankinson says JetSafe will accommodate jet card flyers using vetted third-party operators.
Hankinson says the program, which was soft-launched earlier this month with existing clients, is already generating interest.
JetSafe is an ARGUS Gold operator.
Facts Only
* JetSafe launched a regional jet card program.
* The program offers fixed hourly rates for piston, turboprop, and very light jet aircraft.
* Hourly rates are $3,000 for piston (Cirrus SR20, SR22), $5,000 for turboprops (King Air, PC-12), and $6,000 for very light jets (Cirrus SF50).
* Deposit levels are set at $25,000, $50,000, $100,000, and $150,000.
* Federal excise tax of 7.5% is added to hourly rates.
* The primary service area covers the contiguous United States east of the Mississippi River.
* Callout requirements are 72 hours for non-peak days and one week for 37 peak days.
* There is a 60-minute segment minimum plus taxi time.
* JetSafe is an ARGUS Gold operator.
* Kyle Hankinson is the Owner and President.
* The program uses a hybrid model of JetSafe's own Vision Jet and third-party operators.
* Verijet, Jet It, Volato, and ImagineAir are listed as previously ceased or bankrupt operators in this market segment.
Executive Summary
JetSafe has introduced a regional jet card program targeting an underserved niche in the private aviation market: short-haul travel via piston, turboprop, and very light jets. By offering fixed hourly rates and guaranteed availability, the program specifically targets users who utilize private flights to replace long car drives, particularly in the Eastern and Southern United States. The service operates on a hybrid model, utilizing JetSafe's single Vision Jet alongside vetted third-party operators to maintain flexibility and manage growth.
The entry-level private aviation market has historically proven volatile, with several operators including Verijet, Jet It, and Volato facing bankruptcy or cessation of operations. To mitigate these risks, JetSafe reports being debt-free and intends to pursue organic, slow expansion. While the program is already generating interest following a soft launch, its long-term viability depends on navigating a segment where competitors have struggled to maintain operational stability despite clear consumer demand for regional accessibility.
Full Take
The strongest version of this narrative is that JetSafe has identified a genuine market gap—regional, "short-hop" aviation—and is applying a disciplined, debt-free operational model to avoid the systemic collapses that claimed previous entry-level operators. By leveraging third-party partnerships rather than aggressive fleet acquisition, they are effectively outsourcing risk while capturing demand.
The pattern here is the "survivor's gamble." The narrative acknowledges a graveyard of failed competitors (Verijet, Jet It, Volato) not as a warning sign of a fundamentally broken business model, but as evidence of an "underserved niche." This frames previous failures as lack of execution rather than a lack of market viability. The reliance on the owner's personal background and the "debt-free" claim serves as the primary reassurance against the documented volatility of the sector.
Patterns detected: none
The driving paradigm is the commoditization of "time-saving" for the upper-middle class, shifting private aviation from an elite luxury to a utility for those avoiding regional highway traffic. The unstated assumption is that the demand for "beach or lake house" trips is stable enough to support a fixed-rate model despite the high overhead and regulatory burdens of Part 135 operations.
Human agency in this context is tied to the "guarantee" of availability—a psychological anchor that justifies the deposit. The benefit flows to the operator who captures upfront capital (deposits) to fund organic growth.
Bridge Questions:
1. Does the high failure rate of previous "entry-level" jet card companies suggest a structural flaw in the fixed-rate/low-cost model regardless of the operator's debt status?
2. How does the reliance on third-party operators impact the "guaranteed availability" promise during peak demand?
Counterstrike Scan: A coordinated campaign to inflate a company's valuation before an exit would use "market gap" rhetoric and a list of failed competitors to make the current venture seem like the "last man standing" or the "corrected" version of a flawed idea. This content does not match that pattern; it is a standard business announcement.
Sentinel — Human
The text reads like detailed industry reporting, synthesizing program mechanics with relevant market failures, suggesting human journalistic investigation rather than pure generation.