| fleet_size = 792 total, 668 Netjets US, 124 Netjets Europe (April 2025)
| website =
| num_employees = 7,000
Founded as Executive Jet Airways in 1964, it was later renamed Executive Jet Aviation. NetJets became the first private business jet charter and aircraft management company in the world. It launched its fractional ownership business in 1986 and became a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway in 1998.
History
thumb|NetJets aircraft all have the same paint scheme, their US registration ends in "QS" (for quarter share)
thumb|A NetJets [[Boeing Business Jet 737-700 that the company formerly operated, photographed in 2009]]
thumb|A Netjets Citation Latitude in 2020
thumb|NetJets headquarters sign
1960s
The company was founded in 1964 and originally known as Executive Jet Airways. The name was later changed to Executive Jet Aviation (EJA), and again in 2002 to NetJets, after Berkshire Hathaway purchased it in 1998. NetJets was the first private business jet charter and aircraft management company in the world.
Shortly after its founding, EJA began receiving regular investments from the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR), which were managed by accountant David Bevan. In June 1965, the railroad purchased a majority of shares in EJA, despite the fact that rail carriers were barred from owning air carriers by the Federal Aviation Act of 1958. To hide the investments from the PRR board, Bevan made the payments through a subsidiary, the American Contract Company, which he was president of.
1980s
In 1984, Executive Jet Aviation was purchased by mathematician and former Goldman Sachs executive Richard Santulli who owned a business that leased helicopters to service providers of offshore oil operations. When Santulli became chairman and CEO of the corporation, he closely examined 22 years of pilot logbooks, and began to envision a new economic model where several individuals could own one aircraft.
In 1987, the NetJets program was officially announced becoming the first fractional aircraft ownership format in history.
1990s
In 1998, Berkshire Hathaway acquired EJA and NetJets Inc from Richard Santulli for US$725 million, half of which was paid in stock. NetJets soon expanded to Europe and then Russia, and by 2006, it was the largest operator of business jets in Europe. The prepaid Marquis Jet card allowed customers to purchase 25 hours of guaranteed flight time on the NetJets fleet.
In September 2014, NetJets acquired approval to launch its aircraft charter service in China, having worked with Chinese authorities since 2012 to secure the operating certificate.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) had sought back taxes and penalties of $643 million from NetJets for periods beginning in 2003, including on its maintenance and service fees. NetJets filed a lawsuit challenging the IRS assessments. In January 2015, the United States District Court issued a decision in NetJets' favor, holding that the IRS assessments were unlawful.
In 2019, a former NetJets pilot filed a lawsuit alleging that in March 2017, the company violated US Civil Right and Ohio anti-discrimination law when she was fired for being too short () to properly control the rudders of an Embraer Phenom 300. She stated that male pilots who were too tall were reassigned to different aircraft, while her employment was terminated without the opportunity to fly a different plane. An Ohio federal judge ruled in favor of NetJets in 2022, citing the plaintiff's failure to prove sex discrimination.
2020s
In the spring of 2020, the company saw a boom in demand, as wealthy individuals sought to avoid the risks of airline flying during the COVID-19 pandemic. Previously, many potential customers had concerns about the optics of opulence and the environmental issues of private jet transport, but NetJets President of Sales, Marketing and Service, Patrick Gallagher noted in May 2020, that the health risks associated with flying on commercial airlines during the pandemic had trumped those concerns. The company introduced regular employee COVID-19 testing to try to contain the risks of an outbreak on its aircraft.
In October 2020, the company made initial moves to reduce its carbon footprint. The company committed to buying "up to 3 million gallons" (11.4 million litres) of sustainable aviation fuel to be used at two of its bases, San Francisco and Columbus, Ohio. The company is also encouraging its customers to buy carbon offsets for their flights. The company will also buy its own offsets for its administration and training flights.
As of November 2020, almost half of the company's fleet was manufactured by Textron, and the rest by Bombardier Inc. and Embraer. After reducing its delivery target for 2021 by more than half, due to decreased demand caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the company expected to take delivery of 40 new aircraft in 2021 in anticipation of industry recovery.
In February 2021, the company purchased a stake in WasteFuel, a business that will convert landfill waste into sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). NetJets plans to purchase 100 million gallons of SAF from WasteFuel over the next 10 years as part of the deal.
In March 2021, NetJets announced that it had ordered 20 Aerion AS2s supersonic business jets. The memorandum of understanding between NetJets and Aerion called for the two companies to operate a larger "Aerion Connect" network. Aerion abruptly announced its closure on 21 May 2021, due to the inability to raise the needed capital to continue.
The company announced in March 2022, that it would partner with Lilium GmbH to establish an eVTOL network in Florida. NetJets will buy 150 Lilium Jets and operate them under a FAR Part 135 charter operation. In October 2024 Lilium filed for insolvency.
NetJets announced in September 2023, that it will be purchasing up to 1,500 Cessna Citation jets from Textron Aviation. Deliveries for this 15-year deal are expected to begin in 2025.
Subsidiaries
NetJets Europe, also known by its corporate legal name, NetJets Transportes Aéreos, S.A., was launched in 1996 as a sister company of NetJets and is now a subsidiary. It is based in Oeiras, Portugal, and serves more than 5,000 airports globally.