Aegis Air Bets on By-the-Seat Private Jet Flights From Miami to Caracas

A new US start-up is testing whether Caracas can support its own private jet shuttle. Aegis Air, a virtual carrier founded this year, is due to start by-the-seat flights between Miami and the Venezuelan capital today, 20 October, aboard a 16-seat Embraer E135.

By-the-seat flying lets travellers buy a single place on a small private-style jet instead of chartering the whole aircraft. Commercial air links to Venezuela are still rebuilding, and Aegis Air is betting that business travellers will pay extra for a private terminal and a more controlled arrival.

How the Service Works

Flights link Miami Opa-locka Executive Airport with Caracas Simón Bolívar International Airport at Maiquetía, a sector of roughly 1,360 miles. The opening schedule is two round trips a week, with southbound departures at 9 am and northbound returns at 2 pm. Flying time is just over three hours.

Seats cost $3,750 each way, or $7,500 round trip. The aircraft is an E135 wet-leased from Aero, a Part 135-certified US private jet airline that supplies the crew and operates the flights. Aero flies four of the type and will also operate Blade’s seasonal New York to South Florida service from 19 November. Its leather seats sit in a one-by-one layout.

The flights operate as Part 380 public charters on a fixed timetable. That US Department of Transportation framework requires a charter operator to have a prospectus accepted before selling seats, with consumer protection a stated aim of the rules.

Operations run through private terminals, known as FBOs, rather than main airline terminals. Aegis Air CEO Ross Thompson says passengers get an air-conditioned terminal of their own, luggage handling and ground transportation, with check-in about 20 minutes before departure, and the team can help with entry requirements, including visas where applicable.

Who Aegis Air Wants on Board

Thompson says the service targets bankers, business executives, diplomats, lawyers and affluent members of the Venezuelan diaspora, and that it fills a gap in the market. He describes demand for secure business travel to Venezuela as growing. Local reporting adds oil and gas executives and international attorneys to that list. Thompson cites major oil deals announced by the Trump administration, and infrastructure work after June’s earthquakes, as reasons commercial links are expanding.

Thompson has worked in intelligence, security and crisis management since 2006 and founded Covac Global, a medical repatriation provider. He says his security aviation work drew many requests once Venezuela opened up. He co-founded Aegis Air with Frank Ornstein, a former Four Seasons executive who leads Palm Beach-based Hospitality Investors Group.

Why Caracas, and Why Now

A US restriction on flights to Venezuela that had stood for years was lifted after the January US military operation that removed Nicolás Maduro from power. American Airlines became the first US carrier back on 30 April after nearly seven years away, flying Embraer 175 jets once the Department of Transportation approved its request in March.

Then two earthquakes struck on 24 June, killing more than 6,500 people and damaging Maiquetía’s main runway and terminals. The airport reopened on 1 September from temporary modular terminals, and Transport Minister Francisco Garcés has put the recovery of the original facilities at around the end of the first half of 2027. American scheduled its return to twice-daily Miami-Caracas flying for 3 September, and Venezuelan carrier Laser Airlines has scheduled daily Miami service operated by GlobalX. United has pushed its Houston-Caracas comeback to January 2027.

Thompson says customs and immigration facilities at the airport are still suffering disruption, which helps explain the pitch for a dedicated terminal. Passengers should also weigh official guidance. The US State Department’s latest advisory, issued on 27 June after the earthquakes, keeps Venezuela at Level 3, reconsider travel, with several states rated Level 4.

Plans Beyond Venezuela

Aegis Air expects to add Houston to Caracas soon, followed by Washington, D.C. Beyond that, one of its founders says the goal is to become “the JSX of Latin America and the Caribbean,” a nod to the US semi-private operator. JSX seats 30 passengers on its Embraer E135 and E145 jets, nearly twice the seats in Aegis Air’s cabin.

Thompson says Hospitality Investors Group projects in Colombia and Turks and Caicos have built-in demand, and the company sees openings at high-end resorts beyond Venezuela and the E135’s range. It is talking to other operators about additional services, with plans that could extend to VIP-configured Boeing 757s, and it ultimately wants to own aircraft.

The launch is self-funded for now, although Thompson says several investors are interested. Ornstein says he and Thompson are also exploring hospitality deals in Latin America, including buying a hotel in Caracas.

What to Watch

The opening scale is modest. Two weekly round trips on a 16-seat jet add 32 seats each way per week, while American’s twice-daily service uses a 76-seat Embraer 175 and a Boeing 737-800.

Price is the other gap. When American relaunched in April, NBC6 reported round-trip fares from just over $1,000 to above $2,700, against $7,500 for Aegis Air’s round trip. That makes it a niche product for travellers who value privacy and handling over cost. Whether the finance, energy and legal travellers it targets keep filling those seats, and how quickly Houston and Washington follow, will show if it can grow beyond a single route.