An In-Depth Flight Review of JSX: A By-the-Seat Private Jet Experience [SNA to RNO]

Airline: JSX (XE)
Aircraft: Embraer Regional Jet ERJ135 (N256JX)
Flight #: XE720
Route: John Wayne Airport (SNA) to Reno-Tahoe International Airport (RNO)
Date: February 2, 2025
Duration: 1 hour, 35 minutes
Cabin and Layout: Single cabin, 1-2 seating arrangement
Seats: 5B and 5C
Cost: $279 per person

Think of all the things you hate about air travel: Crowds, lines, and constant overhead announcements probably top the list. What if you could relegate those to the trash bin of life and travel on your own plane? Assuming you’re in my tax bracket (i.e., way too poor to own a plane), you can get part of the way there by flying with JSX.

JSX offers an experience that’s sort of like flying on a private plane. It sells seats and operates fixed schedules using planes that make everyone feel like they’re flying in business class. There are no middle seats, no crowds, and the whole process has been rethought. You won’t even check in using the normal part of the airport for most JSX flights.

My wife and I recently flew JSX for the first time, taking a 95-minute hop from southern California to Reno for some snowboarding near Lake Tahoe. When we realized this was the only airline operating a nonstop flight between the 2 airports, our curiosity led us to at least get a peek into how “the other half” travels.

In many ways, we weren’t sure what the experience would be like. Still, we thought some parts of the trip were better than expected, yet other elements didn’t live up to our expectations. Let me show you what it was like taking a JSX flight for the first time.

Booking a JSX Flight

There are several ways to book a flight with JSX. In addition to JSX.com, you can book through JSX’s partnership with United Airlines. And while United’s website says you should be able to redeem United MileagePlus miles for JSX flights, we couldn’t find any availability online or when calling United.

Thus, we paid cash. You can pay cash directly with JSX or on United’s website. The cost is typically higher if you book on United’s site, but you’ll also earn miles in different ways, so it’s worth comparing the cost against the value of the United miles you’ll earn. We booked the cheaper option (directly with JSX) at $279 per person.

Update:

As of July 2025, you can also earn miles on JSX flights through the Club JSX rewards program.

We booked the Hop On fare, which is JSX’s cheaper fare. It includes 2 complimentary checked bags, but it isn’t fully refundable and doesn’t allow advance seat selection — unless you pay extra to do so.

JSX also touted that all fares include complimentary cocktails and “gourmet treats in the air,” non-crowded lounges, and complimentary Starlink high-speed internet during the flight. Choosing a seat before the flight cost between $20 and $50, though prices increased by $5 a few days before travel — costing $25 to $55. Since we did not purchase advance seats, we were randomly assigned them at check-in.

Since JSX doesn’t operate out of the normal terminal at most airports it serves, its website had information about where to find JSX at John Wane Airport (SNA). It also had information surrounding parking and check-in time, and our booking also said there was no need (and no method) to check in online in advance.

We credited these flights to our United MileagePlus accounts and earned 208 miles each. That’s because our booking was in H class, which United labels as deeply discounted economy — ironic, given that it’s JSX.

We also earned 1,395 Membership Rewards points each by paying with the Platinum Card^® from American Express, which earns 5x points per $1 spent on flights booked directly with airlines or AmexTravel.com (up to $500,000 of these purchases annually, then 1x).

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The Amex Platinum reigns supreme for luxury travel, offering the best airport lounge access plus generous statement credits, and complimentary elite status.

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Hot Tip:

While it’s not possible to redeem points and miles directly on JSX’s website, you can use fixed-value rewards like Capital One miles or Bank of America points. After booking your flight with JSX directly, you can use these rewards to cover recent travel purchases, essentially reimbursing yourself with your points and miles.

John Wayne Airport (SNA)

Checking In

The JSX terminal was down the street, past the cell phone waiting lot, in Orange County — not in the terminal we normally use for flights at our closest airport. Luckily, a sign outside made the entrance easy to find.

Inside, we found 2 employees in a small check-in area. The employee at the desk asked for our IDs and told us to give our checked luggage to the other employee, who weighed our baggage — which included a large bag with 2 snowboards inside. These did not count as oversized luggage and were within our baggage allowance. The process was very quick, and we had our boarding passes in 2 minutes. They definitely weren’t the standard boarding passes we’re used to.

We were told to wait in the lounge until boarding was announced.

JSX Lounge

I honestly expected a better lounge. If this is supposed to be the middle ground between flying a private jet and flying in business class, this lounge wasn’t that. Inside typical airport terminals, some of the best lounges offer gourmet food, showers, Peloton bikes, and more.

This felt more like a bare-bones lounge that I wouldn’t go out of my way to visit with my Priority Pass membership. There were bar stools at a tall table in the center of the main room, some leather sofas, and a few tables with a pair of chairs each.

Along the wall, there was a water cooler, teabags, and a coffee machine. The machine could make cappuccinos and other coffee-based beverages, but there were no plant-based milks available in the lounge. And while the cups had Starbucks logos, we found bags of Philz Coffee Tesora blend in the cabinets.

Past the drink station, a short hallway led to 2 smaller waiting rooms, each with tables and chairs. None of the seating screamed “comfort” or “luxury.”

I also was surprised to see that many of the door frames in the lounge were missing paint, looking like they’d been run into numerous times.

While JSX brags about its inflight Wi-Fi speeds, the lounge told a different story. We got speeds of around 10 Mbps here.

Bottom Line:

While check-in was efficient, the lounge experience left a lot to be desired. This wouldn’t score well against a bad airport lounge, but it was definitely a letdown for an airline that brags about its semi-private flying experience. Luxury it was not.

Boarding

Our flight had fewer than 10 passengers, so the boarding process moved very quickly once employees called for the Reno passengers.

JSX terminals don’t have typical TSA checkpoints, which means there’s also no TSA PreCheck. Instead, we passed through metal detectors — the type with 2 poles like you might’ve seen at a stadium or concert. Security was present and could do spot inspections if needed, and we were told to pass through the metal detectors with any large electronics in hand rather than keeping our laptops inside our backpacks.

Note that a proposed rule could change the security setup for flights on JSX and similar airlines.

From here, we walked across the tarmac to the plane and boarded by climbing a handful of steps.

On Board JSX’s ERJ135

Cabin and Seat

JSX uses a 1-2 layout across 10 rows on its ERJ135 planes, offering a total of 30 seats. Each seat was essentially the same, with none offering more privacy or space than others. Seat A was by itself on the window, ideal for solo travelers. Seats B and C were to the left of the aisle, ideal for passengers traveling together.

The cabin didn’t have any overhead bins, so we found our seat numbers (5B and 5C) at knee height, next to the seats.

Each seat had a 3-prong outlet on the wall.

The armrest between our seats showed signs of repeated use.

Since there weren’t overhead bins, we placed our belongings at our feet. Even with 17 inches of seat width and 36 inches of seat pitch (the space from your seat to the one in front of it), losing foot space to my backpack wasn’t ideal. The seatback pocket was generous; it easily held my 14-inch laptop.

My tray table had 1 busted arm, meaning the table was continually lopsided.

However, the table was large, and I liked the faux wood design.

My wife hates flying in small planes (thanks to a horrifying experience on a tiny Yeti Airlines plane in Nepal a few years ago), and even this ERJ135 felt too small for her comfort level. I was pretty excited for the novelty of the experience — though that didn’t last long, given the defects and scary landing in Reno.

Before heading to the runway, we had a very normal safety demonstration. This was the only part of the flight that felt like a typical Delta or United experience.

Food and Beverages

All passengers received complimentary drinks and snacks during the flight. In the seatback pocket, there was a list of options, though we didn’t realize that until the end of the flight. There were hot and cold drinks, including juices, mocktails, and Coca-Cola products.

The back of the menu even highlighted the Mingle mocktails.

Drink cups felt like those we’d receive on any other flight.

Snack options included chips, cookies, and trail mix.

Amenities

Lavatory

The plane had a single lavatory at the rear of the cabin. It was cramped.

On one side, there was a sink and a mirror. I enjoyed the marble look on the countertop.

Oddly, the faucet handle couldn’t extend all the way because it hit the materials overhead. Thus, the sink emitted little more than a drip of water.

On the other side of the lavatory, there was a standard airplane toilet.

Internet

Starlink Wi-Fi from SpaceX is a bragging point for JSX, and carriers like United and Qatar Airways are rushing to add this blazing-fast internet to their flights. During our flight, I got download speeds of nearly 115 Mbps.

Entertainment

There were no entertainment screens, headphones, or inflight movies at our seats. However, with streaming-capable Wi-Fi, we could watch movies and TV shows on our personal devices.

Amenity Kits

There weren’t amenity kits on our flight.

Service

The service was nice, but it wasn’t anything special. Did it feel like flying in first or business class? No. Were staff members friendly and helpful? Yes.

We received a greeting (though not much more than that) on arrival at the terminal in Orange County, though we got a very friendly greeting from both the flight attendant and the pilots when we boarded.

During the flight, the service portion involved asking us what drink we wanted and then showing us a basket of snacks to choose from. Was there anything inherently wrong with the service? No, but it didn’t provide the “almost like flying private” experience we had imagined before this trip.

During the flight, the flight attendant and pilots also provided necessary updates and bid us a friendly goodbye as we exited the plane. Overall, the service was fine — but just fine.

Arrival at Reno-Tahoe International Airport

“Strong winds” was an understatement when the pilots announced that our flight would be slowing down due to the conditions in Reno. We were told that another flight would attempt to land to see whether it was possible with the wind gusts. We were glad to not be the test subjects.

Once it was determined that we could land, the flight attendant took her seat early, and Capt. Mustafah kept us informed. I don’t get scared during flights, but I was definitely white-knuckling my armrest. Given the way the wind was blowing us around, I really believed we were going to crash.

Once we were on the ground, the flight attendant admitted she had also been afraid — something I took as a bad sign since flight attendants have been through a lot. She was clearly out of breath when making the announcements.

After a quick taxi and listening to the relevant announcements from the cockpit, we stopped near the JSX private terminal. An employee pushed a ramp up to the door and told us that our belongings would be waiting for us outside next to the ramp and that we should collect them as we went inside. He also warned us to hold onto our hats.

JSX partners with GoRentals to allow for easy car rental right after getting off the plane, but we had rented from Avis before realizing that would be on the other side of the airport from JSX’s door. Thus, we called an Uber and got a ride over to the Avis lot.

Final Thoughts

Flying with JSX was interesting. Hearing that it was almost like flying in a private plane set our expectations too high, and they weren’t met. It wasn’t a bad experience, and I would potentially fly with JSX again — though my wife swears she wouldn’t — but I would go into it with much lower expectations.

If you approach JSX like a premium economy seat on a very small plane (though with lightning-quick internet), you’ll have more realistic expectations. Thinking it’s on the continuum between business class and private jets created expectations that weren’t met when you consider the busted tray table, design flaws in the lavatory, and the underwhelming lounge.