Operators certified by the Federal Aviation Administration meet all the federal standards set forth for safe aircraft operation but audit companies raise the bar to bring a higher level of safety to air charter and air taxi.  They provide feedback to operators and suggest ways they can improve their operation.  Operators who submit to these audits are rated against that standard and the audit companies then provide the results of the audit to travelers for a price. 

Not all operators are top notch and even the best companies may have some older aircraft or some new flight crewmembers.  Audit companies help clear up some of the uncertainty by providing ratings on Operators, their aircraft and even individual flight crewmembers.  If you know which aircraft and crew are assigned to your flight you can gain insight that will help you see whether the light is green or red for that particular flight.

We at Taxijet are very concerned about safety.  We wish to provide the Operators and pilots with any assistance we can in providing safe air transportation.  We want to reward quality operators by bringing them customers who know of their quality.  We want to help the traveling public understand why air travel is so much safer than any other form of travel and how they can help to make it more so.  We believe audit companies help toward these goals by giving travelers clear answers to the important question; is flying on this aircraft with these pilots safe?

Companies that provide the best maintenance and the best aircrew and adhere to the best standards of safety and excellence will generally cost more.  But there may be occasion where your travel request falls into the "sweet spot" for a quality operation and they are able to offer their services for a bargain.  Taxijet wants you to know which operators are the best  because we want you to fly with the best.  It's good for the quality operator because they get your service.  It's good for you because you will be afforded the safety and peace of mind you deserve.  It's good for the air taxi revolution and charter aviation in general because industry wide safety will be enhanced. 

Insurance companies also help keep the skies safe in a practical way. Aircraft operators work diligently to keep their insurance rates low.  An aircraft operator with a poor safety record will pay very high dividends for insurance while an operator with what the insurance company believes to be a safe operation will get better rates.  For this reason quality operators tend to have more insurance than those operations perceived by insurance companies to be more "risky."  Insurance companies delve into the operation and take into account many factors that affect safety.  They perform in depth analysis to determine the levels of risk they are willing to accept in insuring each operator.  What this means for you is that you are probably in better hands with an operator that has higher insurance limits.  This is not an end all and does not speak directly to safety the way an audit does but it is still a good indicator that you might wish to explore before booking your flights.  Most operators will be happy to fax or email you copies of their current insurance policies upon request. 

Safety Auditing companies:

Aviation Research Group®  (ARG/US ®) performs audits and keeps an electronic database of the results of those audits that are made available for a fee.  Their web address is:   aviationresearch.com  

Operators can attain one of the following ratings:

Platinum
Gold+
Gold
Silver
DNQ  (Does Not Qualify)

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Wyvern Ltd. ® is another audit company that rates aircraft operators on their level of safety. 

Their web site address is:  http://wyvernltd.com/ 

Wyvern® rates the operators who score highest on their audits as "Wyvern Wingmen."®

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