Every flight on UpLeg is flown by an FAA-certificated Part 135 carrier. This page explains what that means, where our operators come from, and the check we run on the aircraft before you are introduced to the operator.
We list empty legs from operators that hold an FAA Part 135 certificate, the licence an operator needs to sell flights to the public. Our operator list is built from the FAA's own list of Part 135 certificate holders, not from whoever emails us. When an operator confirms your flight, we look up the aircraft's tail number on that list and confirm it is authorized for charter under the operator's certificate before we introduce you. A certificate is the legal floor, not a safety rating, so this page also says what it does not cover.
Private jets fly under two sets of rules. Part 91 covers private flying: the owner, their guests, nobody paying for a seat. Part 135 covers on-demand commercial flights, which is what a charter or an empty leg is. To hold a Part 135 certificate an operator has to satisfy the FAA on the things that matter on the day of the flight.
Selling flights on a private aircraft without that certificate is illegal charter. The FAA warns passengers about it directly, and it is the main reason to know who is flying you before you pay.
The FAA publishes a list of every Part 135 certificate holder and every aircraft each one is authorized to fly for hire. It is searchable by operator name or by tail number, and the FAA updates it weekly. We built our operator list from it. An operator is on UpLeg because it holds a certificate and we went looking for the empty legs it publishes, not the other way round.
One thing the list makes plain: the name on the certificate is often not the name on the aircraft. Many operators fly under a brand while the certificate is held by a company with a different name. We match the brand to the certificate holder before an operator goes on the board, and it is the certificate holder's corporate name you get from us before you pay, as our terms promise.
Almost every leg on the board comes straight from the operator's own published schedule. Where a listing reaches us through a charter programme instead, the same rules apply: a Part 135 carrier flies it, you get that carrier's name before you pay, and the aircraft gets the same tail number check.
What we do not list:
A certificate belongs to a company. The aircraft that turns up is a specific airframe with a registration painted on its tail, the N-number, and it is the airframe that has to be authorized. So before you are introduced to the operator, we check the aircraft itself.
When the operator confirms your request, we get your exact total and we ask for the aircraft's registration.
Two things have to be true: the aircraft is listed as authorized for charter, and the certificate it sits on belongs to the operator flying you.
The registry gives the make and model registered to that tail number. It has to match the aircraft you were quoted.
If anything does not line up, we tell you and hold the introduction until it does. If the operator swaps aircraft before departure, the replacement gets the same check.
It is quick, and it is the check the FAA itself tells passengers to make.
A Part 135 certificate says the operator is legal and under FAA oversight. It is not a safety rating, and we do not publish one. Third-party audit ratings such as ARGUS, Wyvern and IS-BAO are the operator's to hold and to show you, and some very good small operators do not pay for them. Ask the operator, or ask us to pass the question on.
Operational control stays with the operator. The crew, the aircraft and the decision to fly or wait out the weather are theirs, and their insurance covers the flight. UpLeg does not carry liability insurance for your flight, so it is worth asking the operator for their coverage and limits before you pay.
The FAA's own advice for anyone chartering an aircraft is worth repeating: ask to see the operator's certificate, expect federal excise tax on the invoice because legitimate operators have to charge it, expect a safety briefing before departure, and walk away from anyone who is evasive about any of it.
You do not have to take our word for it. Before you pay, you have the operator's corporate name from us and the tail number from the operator, and the FAA's tools are public.
If an operator or an aircraft is missing from the list, the FAA says to check with the local Flight Standards District Office before you fly. So do we.
The board is live and free to browse. Nothing is owed until an operator confirms your request.