Set Jet Charter Broker Goes Belly Up

Nothing like short notice.

Set Jet members who depended on the business jet per-seat charter broker to fly them to some of the most desirable destinations for high-net-worth West Coast travelers—including Los Angeles; Cabo San Lucas, Mexico; Aspen, Colorado; Las Vegas; and Scottsdale, Arizona—will have to find another club to join.

On Saturday, Set Jet emailed its $99-per-month members—of which there were more than 2,800—to tell them the company, which was founded in 2014, was ceasing operations.

Its website doesn’t sugarcoat things: “Set Jet is faced with the unavoidable reality of ceasing all service operations, effective immediately,” reads a note on the landing page. “This decision was reached after exhaustive deliberation and consideration of all available options, and it is not one that we make lightly.” The landing page (the only page in operation) goes on to say that all flights, memberships, and client services are no more.

Set Jet has crashed and burned so suddenly that CEO Tom Smith said that members will not receive refunds for future flights. At a time of flux in the private aviation space, Set Jet’s failure underscores the difficulty of making a go of a business jet startup—and the risks that customers face when handing over money to companies in exchange for future travel.

No doubt the phone lines of credit card companies—and law firms—are lighting up with calls from ex-Set Jet members.