Naples, Florida-based charter company Elite Jets has added a dozen new team members to its workforce. The additions include captains, first officers and a director of quality, as well as professionals in client services, accounting and information technology.

“The past two years have marked a period of tremendous growth across the private aviation industry as affluent travellers are choosing to fly privately over first class commercially,” says executive vice president Stephen Myers, CAM. “At any given point, we might have jets across multiple time zones or even multiple countries, so we need to maintain a ground support team and pilot teams capable of providing an exceptional, reliable travel experience to our passengers.”

The company's fleet includes four Embraer Phenom 300s and one Embraer Legacy 500 that serve destinations across North, Central and South America, as well as the Caribbean. The company, which operates from a private terminal at Naples airport, also provides management services for a Gulfstream G550 jet capable of long haul flights to Europe and Asia. It also has a Bell 407 helicopter available for sightseeing and travel across south Florida.

The new pilots are Phenom 300 first officers Tanner Caviness, Scott Collins, Carlos Reyes, Al Russo, Patrick Teszler and Benjamin Ellis; and Phenom 300 captain Matthew Gillmore. The ground team comprises accounting assistant Dave Cook; manager of client services Deidre Dodge; manager of information technology Rumen Ivanov; client services manager Jennifer Pierce; and director of quality and chief inspector Martin Ricciuti.