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Baker Aviation is a Part 135 wholesale charter and Part 145 maintenance operator headquartered at Fort Worth Meacham International Airport (KFTW), Fort Worth, Texas. The company operates a fleet of 49 aircraft (growing to 69+) — predominantly Citation X/Citation 750 platforms, plus Challenger 300s acquired in a landmark 2025 deal — and is one of the only ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan) employee-owned Part 135 operators in the United States. Baker Aviation is non-union. Ray Goyco, Jr. serves as CEO, and W. Stanley "Stan" Baker III is the founder. The company finished 2024 as the 13th-largest US operator (up from 30th), posting 81.9% growth in flight hours.
For interview purposes, the simplest way to frame Baker Aviation is this: it is the dominant wholesale charter specialist — meaning it flies exclusively for brokers and jet card companies rather than retail/direct consumers — built on Citation X expertise and now rapidly expanding into the Challenger 300 with a massive 20-aircraft purchase from Flexjet. Baker Aviation's ESOP structure means pilots build equity ownership over time, and the company's aggressive 2026 hiring plan (140 projected new hires) signals one of the fastest growth trajectories in Part 135 aviation. The 8/6 schedule with home-based pilots, $85/day domestic per diem, $30/flight hour retirement contribution (no employee match required), and $30,000 hiring bonus for typed applicants make Baker Aviation's total compensation package among the strongest in the Part 135 charter segment. The company maintains a 99% flight completion rate across its wholesale operations.
Sources listed at the end of each profile. Data compiled from public filings, airline newsrooms, AirlinePilotCentral, Glassdoor, FAA records, and industry publications.