Semi-private Flights With JSX [Booking, Pricing, and Routes]

In an era where private jet travel is becoming more and more accessible to travelers with a wider variety of socioeconomic backgrounds, one of the most popular companies in the space is JSX.

And although JSX isn’t known for its true, private jet flying, its semi-private flight offerings are what really allowed it to carve out its own niche in aviation.

This Dallas-headquartered air carrier operates flights from Arizona, California, Florida, Nevada, Texas, and New York — and although it experienced tremendous financial woes due to the COVID-19 pandemic, its network of routes continues to perform well today.

But is flying semi-private with JSX the right move for you? If you don’t come in with the right expectations, you could be sorely disappointed. Not to worry, we’ll be walking you through all of the ins and outs of JSX, from booking to pricing, routings, and the experience.

By the end of this article, you’ll have the lowdown on what JSX has to offer. Let’s get right into it.

Hot Tip: Get $20 off your first JSX flight by signing up here — or using the code “Z77HO3” when creating a new profile on JSX.

How JSX Works

The typical JSX experience isn’t quite like flying private. When you charter a private jet, you typically don’t have anyone else flying with you (unless you invite them).

JSX offers a “semi-private” model where you can remove the traditional headaches of commercial aviation (airports, security screening, and large crowds) and easily hop onto a flight, minutes before departure.

It is able to offer this because it flies out of separate facilities than other airlines like United or Delta; it flies out of private terminals/airport hangars.

Because JSX isn’t a commercial airline, it can perform background checks on travelers in lieu of the usual security screening. As a result, there are almost no lines, no crowds, and no long wait times.

Once you arrive at the private terminal, just retrieve your boarding pass, check in any bags, and wait for your flight to start boarding.

When you’ve boarded the plane, you’ll enjoy leather seats, power outlets, enhanced legroom akin to a domestic first class flight, complimentary snacks and beverages (including alcoholic beverages), and full flight attendant service.

After you arrive, just pick up your bags and go!

Hot Tip: One of the biggest draws of JSX is the ability to show up at the terminal minutes before your departure time; this is in contrast to commercial flights where you often have to show up an hour or more before departure.

JSX’s Fleet

JSX’s fleet consists entirely of Embraer aircraft, specifically the ERJ-135 and ERJ-145.

Most of these aircraft have 50 seats arranged in a 1-2 configuration, although some of its retrofitted planes have 30 seats in a 1-1 configuration for extra space.

Currently, JSX has around 25 of these aircraft.

Current JSX Routes

When you make a JSX reservation, you can generally choose from 3 options:

• Scheduled/seasonal routes
• Pop-up routes
• Charter flights

In these next sections, we’ll walk you through the differences between each of those, as well as what these routes are.

JSX Scheduled/Seasonal Routes

JSX’s most popular flights are known as scheduled flights. These flights have set schedules and frequencies and are generally consistently offered year-round. This is JSX’s main product.

Although its network of routes continues to grow steadily, regular services are currently offered as shown below:

• Concord/Napa (CCR) – Burbank (BUR)
• Concord/Napa (CCR) – Orange County (SNA)
• Dallas-Love Field (DAL) – Austin (AUS)
• Dallas-Love Field (DAL) – Houston-Hobby (HOU)
• Dallas-Love Field (DAL) – Denver/Boulder (BJC)
• Dallas-Love Field (DAL) – Gunnison/Crested Butte (GUC)
• Dallas-Love Field (DAL) – Las Vegas (LAS)
• Dallas-Love Field (DAL) – Orange County (SNA)
• Denver/Boulder (BJC) – Burbank (BUR)
• Destin Executive (DSI) – Dallas-Love Field (DAL)
• Destin Executive (DSI) – Houston-Hobby (HOU)
• Destin Executive (DSI) – Miami (MIA)
• Las Vegas (LAS) – Burbank (BUR)
• Las Vegas (LAS) – Los Angeles (LAX)
• Las Vegas (LAS) – Oakland (OAK)
• Las Vegas (LAS) – Orange County (SNA)
• Las Vegas (LAS) – Reno-Tahoe (RNO)
• Las Vegas (LAS) – San Diego (SAN)
• Monterey (MRY) – Burbank (BUR)
• Monterey (MRY) – Orange County (SNA)
• Oakland (OAK) – Los Angeles (LAX)
• Oakland (OAK) – Orange County (SNA)
• Reno-Tahoe (RNO) – Burbank (BUR)
• Reno-Tahoe (RNO) – Orange County (SNA)
• Phoenix (PHX) – Burbank (BUR)
• Phoenix (PHX) – Las Vegas (LAS)
• Phoenix (PHX) – Oakland (OAK)
• Phoenix (PHX) – San Diego (SAN)
• Westchester County (HPN) – Miami (MIA)

Seasonal services are offered on the following routes:

• Dallas-Love Field (DAL) – Lajitas (T89)
• Dallas-Love Field (DAL) – Miami (MIA)
• Houston-Hobby (HOU) – Lajitas (T89)

JSX Pop-up Routes

In the past, JSX offered “pop-up routes,” which generally differ from seasonal services in a few ways:

• Pop-up routes are only offered for a short period of time (think spring break)
• Pop-up routes are generally not offered far in advance and are generally offered in response to ultra-high demand

Past pop-up routes have included:

• Burbank (BUR) – Coachella Valley (TRM)
• Dallas-Love Field (DAL) – Los Cabos (SJD)
• Dallas-Love Field (DAL) – Pinehurst (SOP)
• Dallas-Love Field (DAL) – Westchester County (HPN)
• Dallas-Love Field (DAL) – College Station (CLL)
• Dallas-Love Field (DAL) – Columbus (GTR) 
• Dallas-Love Field (DAL) – Tuscaloosa (TCL) 
• Dallas-Love Field (DAL) – Auburn (AUO) 
• Dallas-Love Field (DAL) – Lubbock (LBB)
• Dallas-Love Field (DAL) – Stillwater (SWO)
• Las Vegas (LAS) – Seattle-Boeing Field (BFI)
• Los Angeles (LAX) – Los Cabos (SJD)
• Oakland (OAK) – Coachella Valley (TRM)
• Oakland (OAK) – Seattle-Boeing Field (BFI)
• Orange County (SNA) – Coachella Valley (TRM)

JSX Charter Flights

In addition to scheduled, seasonal, and pop-up flights, JSX offers the ability to charter shuttle flights, whether you’re looking to travel for a corporate event or convention.

Each of JSX’s charter aircraft is equipped with 30 seats, each with 36 inches of pitch, 2 JSX pilots, full flight attendant service, complimentary snacks and beverages, and extra soundproofing.

JSX Pricing

Booking a JSX flight isn’t nearly as expensive as chartering a private jet. Whereas many private jets start at $10,000 per flight hour to charter, JSX costs a fraction of that.

In general, the cheapest flights you’ll find are going to be around $159 one-way. And most of these flights will be quite a bit pricier than that.

For example, flights costing less than $200 one-way will usually be on these routes:

• Concord/Napa (CCR) – Burbank (BUR)
• Dallas-Love Field (DAL) – Austin (AUS)
• Dallas-Love Field (DAL) – Houston-Hobby (HOU)
• Las Vegas (LAS) – Phoenix (PHX)

Meanwhile, the most expensive flights will usually be on these routes (upwards of $1,000 one-way):

• Dallas-Love Field (DAL) – Las Vegas (LAS)
• Westchester County (HPN) – Miami (MIA)

But in general, if you are flexible, you should be able to find one-way tickets on most of these routes for less than $300 per person.

So, Is JSX a Good Deal?

JSX’s value proposition is tremendous for short-haul flights.

For a bit more than a similar first class ticket on the same route, you can largely avoid the whole security and airport ordeal, saving you tons of time and headache.

In addition, JSX is much more exclusive than flying commercial, and the service is usually better than its competitors, thanks to its full flight attendant service.

The value proposition can feel like less of a good deal if you’re flying on an expensive route, such as from Dallas-Love Field (DAL) to Las Vegas (LAS).

Paying nearly $1,000 for a one-way ticket can be difficult to justify especially when most American Airlines flights cost half of that.

Ultimately, you should compare the price you’d be paying for a JSX ticket with a first class ticket on a commercial airline when making your decision, but we believe JSX is a good deal.

How To Earn Miles on JSX Flights

Another neat aspect of JSX is that you can now credit your flights to either JetBlue TrueBlue or United MileagePlus (we recommend United) to earn miles!

Just quote your frequent flyer program number during booking or when you arrive at the terminal!

The JSX Booking Process

Booking JSX flights is super easy. You can book your flights completely online, either on the website or using the mobile app.

We’ll show you how to book a JSX flight on the website.

1. First, visit JSX’s website. On the homepage, you’ll see a search box near the top that looks like this:

2. First, select either Round Trip or One Way.

3. Then, enter your departure and arrival airport. After that, enter your desired dates and the number of travelers. Click Search.

4. Your flight results will pop up, as well as a calendar view of up to 7 days.

5. Find the flight you wish to book and click Select.

6. Usually, 2 fares pop up — Hop on (more restrictive) or All in (more flexible). Select the fare you wish to book.

7. You’ll be redirected to a screen to review the flight schedule and total cost. Click Continue.

8. Next, you’ll fill out the passenger details and click Continue.

9. After that, you will be prompted to a seat map, where you can either select seats or click the Skip button.

10. The last screen is the payment page. Enter your payment information and click Purchase.

Hot Tip: We’ve found that JSX codes as an airline, so we recommend using a card like The Platinum Card^® from American Express to book your ticket and earn 5x Membership Rewards points per dollar spent!

JSX’s Competition

Now that we’ve evaluated JSX as a whole, let’s take a look at the company’s major competitors.

As a reminder, JSX is based in Dallas, and it focuses on short-haul routes to and from the West Coast or Texas.

Aero

The first competitor we’ll be discussing is Aero. Although Aero doesn’t have the exact same target market as JSX, most travelers tend to lump the companies together in the same category.

Aero is also known for its “per seat, semi-private” experience just like JSX is, but its price point is significantly higher than JSX, its route network is different, and it has a greater luxury appeal for the aesthetically-minded traveler.

Aero operates in Western Europe and the U.S., with its U.S. hub being the private jet capital of the world: Van Nuys (KVNY).

All of Aero’s Embraer ERJ-135 and Embraer Legacy 600 aircraft have beautiful first class seats with Italian leather in a 1-1 configuration.

If you happen to be on a Legacy 600, just remember that the seating arrangement is much more akin to a traditional private jet, with seats facing each other, and even conference-style seating.

These seats tend to be more comfortable and spacious than JSX’s seats. Additionally, Aero’s aircraft livery is absolutely stunning, which goes hand-in-hand with its more personalized service, concierge, open bar, artisanal snacks, and even inflight amenities!

That said, Aero flights are significantly more expensive than JSX flights. The best way to make an apples-to-apples comparison is to take a look at a route that was offered by both Aero and JSX: Los Angeles to Los Cabos. JSX has offered pop-up flights from LAX to SJD starting at $499 one-way, while Aero offers year-round service starting at $1,150 one-way.

These numbers are somewhat misleading — even though it’s technically possible to find an Aero flight for $1,150 one-way, it’s extremely rare. One should expect to pay around $1,950 in each direction; even then, prices can go as high as $2,950 one-way.

Here are some of Aero’s routes:

• Aspen (ASE) – San Francisco (SFO)
• Aspen (ASE) – Van Nuys (VNY)
• Ibiza (IBZ) – London-Farnborough (FAB)
• Ibiza (IBZ) – Mykonos (JMK)
• Los Cabos (SJD) – San Francisco (SFO)
• Los Cabos (SJD) – Van Nuys (VNY)
• Nice (NCE) – London-Farnborough (FAB)
• Sun Valley (SUN) – Van Nuys (VNY)

Bottom Line: Overall, Aero is often talked about in the same breath as JSX. However, they’re 2 totally different experiences with varying price points. Aero is a much more premium experience, while JSX focuses on offering the lowest possible prices for the semi-private experience. 

BLADE

BLADE is most famous for its helicopter transfer services from New York City airports to Manhattan. But it also offer scheduled seaplane flights, crowdsourced flights, and charter flights.

Only a small number of BLADE’s transportation methods are comparable to JSX — to be specific, BLADEone is a seasonal, scheduled offering where you can purchase flights by the seat, just like JSX.

Currently, the only scheduled BLADEone flights operate between Westchester County (HPN) and Miami-Opa Locka (OPF) or Palm Beach (PBI).

These planes have seats arranged in a 1-1 configuration with a capacity of 16 guests. The BLADEone experience includes a complimentary 15-minute helicopter transfer from Manhattan’s BLADE Lounge West to Westchester Airport.

These flights are operated with 2 flight attendants, pre-loaded tablets with movies, inflight dining that includes caviar service, and amenity kits.

These flights are operated from November to early April, and you can book them for around $2,750 per person each way.

BLADEone is certainly a more elevated, premium experience compared to JSX with a price tag to match.

Hot Tip: For first-time Blade flyers only, you can save $50 with promo code “UPGRADED” (Upgraded Points will receive a $25 credit when you land, which we’re very grateful for!).

Surf Air

Surf Air is yet another competitor to JSX; the difference is that Surf Air requires a membership fee, is focused on green flying, and operates single-engine turboprop Pilatus PC-12 aircraft.

Each of these planes can seat up to 8 travelers, and Surf Air allows you to easily “pay by the seat”, much like JSX does.

Just like JSX, Surf Air focuses on routes involving the West Coast and Texas. But, Surf Air also happens to have a much larger point-to-point network, including flights to Hawthorne (HHR), San Carlos (SQL), Santa Barbara (SBA), and Truckee (TRK).

These flights generally cost around $469 per seat, which is a significant increase year-over-year, perhaps a testament to its popularity.

XO

The last competitor we’ll be looking at is XO, which was formerly known as XOJET.

Although XO acts as a charter broker for hundreds of different aircraft, it only operates flights exclusively using Bombardier Challenger 300 and Cessna Citation X aircraft. On scheduled flights, you can purchase any of the 16 seats on each of these planes.

XO focuses on regional flights and doesn’t offer scheduled services on any short-haul routes. Here are some of its routes available for “per seat purchase”:

• Fort Lauderdale (FLL) – Westchester County (HPN) for as low as $2,090 one-way
• New York-Teterboro (TEB) – Van Nuys (VNY) for as low as $2,990 one-way
• Van Nuys (VNY) – Fort Lauderdale (FLL) for as low as $3,995 one-way
• Westchester County (HPN) – Aspen (ASE) for as low as $6,995 one-way
• Westchester County (HPN) – Palm Beach (PBI) for as low as $1,690 one-way

As you can tell, these flights are often much longer in distance than JSX’s flights. Because JSX wouldn’t be able to offer coast-to-coast routes using its current fleet of aircraft, XO closes the gap here.

That said, these flights are significantly more expensive and aren’t as accessible for travelers as JSX’s are.

Final Thoughts

All in all, JSX has done an incredible job making many of the elements of flying private accessible to travelers.

The days of having to pay tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars for the privilege of going to a separate airport terminal and boarding your flight less than 30 minutes before departure are long gone.

With JSX, you can now fly semi-private for less than you think, close to $200 in each direction on some flights.

JSX is the leader in this space, but other companies like Aero, BLADE, Surf Air, and XO offer similar or slightly different services.

All in all, JSX is a fabulous experience you should consider trying out on your next flight. Don’t forget to sign up here to get $20 off your first flight using code “Z77HO3.” 

For rates and fees of The Platinum Card^® from American Express, click here.