Every once in a while you run across a company that appears to be doing everything right:  customers are happy and satisfied, employees enjoy their work, and the company is profitable.  It’s been a long time since I found a company that impressed me the way Executive Jet has.  Executive Jet pioneered the fractional ownership concept wherein companies share the cost of purchasing and maintaining a private jet.  I won’t go into the details of the program.  If you’re interested, check out their web site and request more information.

The company’s operation is astonishing, and that they succeed in pulling it off is nothing short of amazing.  They operate almost 300 aircraft, have almost 1,500 crew members (pilots and flight attendants), and an army of support personnel.  In their hanger at the Columbus airport there’s a huge command center filled with people scheduling flights, catering, accommodations, ground transportation, and doing dozens of other flight-related tasks.  They have a staff of 8 meteorologists, with at least one on duty 24 hours a day.  Their aircraft have very little down time and yet they manage to get the right aircraft to the right place on time almost every time, and they do it with a very impressive safety record.  If you ever see a private jet with a QS designation (QS are the last two letters on the tail), know that you’re looking at one of the aviation industry’s most impressive companies.  If you ever get a chance to fly on one, do it.  And then write and let me know what you think.

The aircraft I saw in the hanger appeared to be impeccably maintained.  Everybody I talked to seemed genuinely excited about their jobs:  programmers and IT people thought the work interesting and the company exciting, pilots loved their schedules and their aircraft, and the support personnel were passionate about satisfying their customers.  I can’t say enough good things about this company.  If I wanted to live in Columbus, OH, you can bet that Executive Jet would be the first place I’d submit my resume.