Safety group opposes NetJets petition to extend crew duty time

NetJets is seeking a one-hour duty extension, bringing the maximum duty period to 21 hours for four pilot operations on its Global 7500s.

By Doug Gollan, 2 hours ago

The Private Aviation Safety Alliance (PASA) is opposing a bid by NetJets to the Federal Aviation Administration to extend crew duty time.

The NetJets petition, filed on June 12, 2026, was first reported by Avweb.

“The request asks for an exemption from requirements under 14 CFR 135.269(b)(2), (b)(3), and (b)(4), which cover flight deck duty, duty hours, and time aloft for unscheduled three- and four-pilot crews,” according to Avweb.

It noted, “Under the current rule, four-pilot crews are limited to 20 duty hours in 24 hours and 16 hours aloft during that duty period.”

Avweb continued, “NetJets is looking for approval to operate its Global 7500 flights up to the aircraft’s maximum endurance, listed in the petition summary as between 16 and 17 hours.”

The world’s largest private jet operator “also requested a one-hour duty extension, bringing the maximum duty period to 21 hours for operations assigned to four pilots.”

Private Aviation Safety Alliance

Former GrandView Aviation President Jessie Naor founded PASA.

PASA describes itself as a “nonprofit private aviation consumer advocacy organization funded solely by consumer donations and subscriptions, (and) perspectives are independent of industry influence.”

“The request asks the FAA to alter fundamental fatigue-related guardrails in Part 135 for a single operator through an individualized exemption rather than through transparent, generally applicable policy or rulemaking,” PASA wrote in opposing the exemption for NetJets.

Naor, who penned the letter, continues:

‘PASA submits that safety should never be treated as a proprietary concern. If a person has developed data, methods, mitigations, scheduling practices, crew-rest protocols, or fatigue management findings that materially enhance safety, the FAA should encourage disclosure of those safety-enhancing findings so they may inform broader industry practice, rather than allowing them to be retained as a private business advantage in support of an operator-specific exemption.’

In the six-page filing, Naor added, “Extended flight and duty periods implicate well-known fatigue hazards. The current regulation reflects FAA judgments about the outer boundary of acceptable exposure for three- and four-pilot crews in unscheduled operations.

She concluded, “[I]f the FAA believes there is merit to reconsidering the current limits for ultra-long-range Part 135 operations with augmented crews, the agency should defer action on this proposal and instead initiate a broader process to evaluate such operations on terms equally available to all affected certificate holders.”