News Release

Desert Jet earns top safety distinction with Wyvern Wingman PRO certification and ARGUS Platinum rating

March 5, 2024:

Desert Jet, the leading full-service business aviation company located in Greater Palm Springs, California, is thrilled to announce its recent accomplishment of two of the aviation industry's most challenging safety audits ,Wyvern Wingman PRO certification and ARGUS Platinum rating. This achievement further solidifies the company's status as a prominent player in the private aviation industry and showcases its commitment to providing the highest level of safety and service to its clients.

“Desert Jet is fully committed to embracing all available safety tools, including the third party auditing services that assist in sharpening our approach to operating safely every single day,” stated Jared Fox, Desert Jet's chief executive officer. “We take our responsibility to our clients, our employees and their loved ones very seriously. We are proud to have yet again demonstrated that Desert Jet is one of the safest aviation operators in the world.”

Desert Jet becomes only the 16th operator amongst hundreds awarded Wyvern Wingman PRO certification after achieving excellence in association with ongoing participation in Wyvern's Flight Leader Program (FLP). Wingman PRO utilises the most advanced safety culture evaluation tools recognised by safety experts and regulatory bodies worldwide. A safety benchmark set above Wyvern's flagship Wingman programme, Wingman PRO is the aviation industry's highest safety standard.

Wyvern Wingman PRO is issued to a Wingman operator demonstrating effectiveness in all areas of SMS, excellence in addressing human factors and organisational safety culture, and continuous conformity to international standards through an internal audit programme.

“We applaud Desert Jet's accomplishment as a Wingman PRO operator, which signifies the organisation's commitment to embracing safety as a core value. Wingman PRO operators not only conform to international standards, they also embrace transparency with their safety data so end users can trust their decisions,” says Andrew Day, Wyvern's senior vice president, operations.

"The entire Desert Jet team has embraced safety as a core value and vigorously pursued and achieved SMS Level 4 through their on-going participation in the Wyvern Flight Leader Program," states Flight Leader coach Todd Buczek. "Desert Jet has been awarded the designation of Wingman PRO as a result of its genuine dedication and commitment to the highest levels of safety performance."

"We are incredibly proud of our team for embodying safety as our core value and embracing it as a way of life,” said Toby Benenson, Desert Jet's chief operations officer. “Desert Jet is honoured to continue serving as an industry leader with these safety rating achievements and remains dedicated to putting health and safety at the core of every decision, action and service we provide.”

The ARGUS Platinum rating, a highly recognised designation for safety and operational excellence, is awarded to an operator who passes a rigorous on-site safety audit and has a well-developed safety management system (SMS) and emergency response plan. Only operators who have successfully implemented industry best safety practices relative to their operations and maintenance achieve the ARGUS Platinum rating.

“ARGUS would like to congratulate the Desert Jet team for maintaining the Platinum rating for over 10 consecutive years. Since our first visit in 2013, we have watched the team grow into one of the preeminent operators in the United States. The entire Desert Jet team shows a strong and positive safety culture, the hallmark of excellence in the charter industry,” commented Ed Wandall, ARGUS International VP of business aviation.

With its strong commitment to safety and continuous improvement, Desert Jet maintains a safety trifecta that includes IS-BAO (International Standard for Aircraft Operations) Stage III registration, Wyvern Wingman Pro certification and ARGUS Platinum rating. Less than one percent of all charter operators in the U.S. have earned all three safety designations concurrently.