President and CEO Jamie Walker Celebrates 20 Years at Jet Linx
Today, Jet Linx celebrates 20 years of leadership and growth under President and CEO, Jamie Walker.
After two decades at the helm of Jet Linx, the Company has enjoyed sustained growth and innovation, now standing as one of the premier Aircraft Management and Jet Card companies in the nation.
Through the course of Walker’s Jet Linx journey, he has charted a successful trajectory through multiple economic downturns – and one global pandemic- creating a litany of unique private jet services that have catapulted a once-small operator from Omaha, Neb., onto the national stage. Under Walker’s wing, the Company has gone from 30 total staff to over 585 (a 1,850% increase), and from eight pilots to over 265 (a 3,212% increase). At its current fleet size of over 110 private jet aircraft, Jet Linx maintains a 1-to-12 aircraft to member ratio, supporting its promise of guaranteed jet availability for its valued Members.
Walker’s father, entrepreneur Denny Walker, founded Jet Linx in 1999 as a fractional aircraft company. When Walker joined the company in 2002 in a sales and marketing capacity, he already had eyes on expansion. By 2004, Walker launched the Jet Card program and the formal Aircraft Management program, both of which would fundamentally change the business. At the same time, he lead the effort for Jet Linx to obtain its own FAA Part 135 certificate, and has since grown Jet Linx from a fleet of four private jet aircraft to over 110 across the country. In 2007, he assumed the role of CEO.
In 2009, the locally-focused Base model was unveiled, with Jet Linx Indianapolis becoming the second Jet Linx private terminal outside of Omaha. Locations in Dallas and Denver soon followed. As of the end of 2022, Jet Linx offers private terminals in more than 20 cities nationwide – from the East Coast to Florida, the Midwest, Texas and beyond – representing a 2000% increase in Jet Linx locations under Walker’s tenure, with additional locations on the horizon.
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Throughout Walker’s Jet Linx career, his dedication to customer service spurred additional innovations, including a strategic partnership with Forbes Travel Guide (FTG) in 2019. In this industry first partnership, Jet Linx collaborated with FTG to create a customized, proprietary training regimen, establishing an industry-leading standard of luxury customer service in private aviation. Walker also supported the creation and continued development of the Company’s client-focused luxury benefits program, Elevated Lifestyle, established in 2015, as well as a first-in-industry private jet hotels benefit program, EL Preferred Hotels, with over 80 starÂ-rated partner properties worldwide.
Another foundational event orchestrated under Walker’s leadership is the Jet Linx Safety Summit, an annual all-hands Summit that began in 2017 and was a first-of-its-kind for airlines. Every year, Jet Linx voluntarily grounds its fleet and ceases retail flight operations for a full business day, allowing for a company-wide assembly to examine and improve safety practices and standards. To date, Jet Linx remains one of the only aircraft operators to bring together its entire team for a proactive, day-long safety event. The Company has also distinguished itself as a leader in safety, earning WYVERN Wingman status every cycle since 2014, becoming the first operator to earn the ARGUS Platinum Elite rating (having maintained the Platinum designation every cycle since 2007), while also maintaining IS-BAO Stage 3 status since 2015.
Beyond business solutions, Walker has been instrumental in creating programs aimed at solving industry-wide problems. Announced in 2019 in partnership with Southwest Airlines, the Destination 225° program provides pilots with a career path from private aviation (Part 135) with Jet Linx to the commercial airlines (Part 121). In April 2022 the Company announced a new partnership with ATP Flight School (ATP), the nation’s largest flight school, to create a new hiring pathway program that provides qualified ATP candidates with a direct path to join Jet Linx as a First Officer, allowing over 2,000 qualified candidates access to career opportunities. In recognition of his steadfast efforts to improve aviation, Walker was also honored with the prestigious Bill Shea Award from the University of Nebraska at Omaha Aviation Institute in April 2022. Given in honor of William F. Shea, an aerospace educator, lecturer, renowned aviation industry leader, and pioneer, the award honors aviation industry leaders who have gone beyond the call of duty and given their time, energy, and resources to significantly impact the aviation industry for the better.
With two decades of service and more to come, Walker remains dedicated to carrying out the mission of Jet Linx, and looks forward to the completion of the new, flagship private terminal for Jet Linx Omaha in 2023, as well as enhancements to its private jet terminal facilities in Dallas, Indianapolis, and St. Louis.
Jet Linx remains the only private aviation company to deliver expansive resources at the national level with the service and personal attention of a local team. For more information, visit www.jetlinx.com.
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