Joel Thomas Agency Backstory
Joel Thomas, the visionary CEO of Stratos Jet Charters, has been instrumental in reshaping the charter jet industry since founding the company in 2006. His passion for aviation was sparked in childhood when his father, a private pilot, introduced him to flying. This early exposure led Joel to leave a promising career in finance to pursue his dream of creating an exemplary private jet charter service. His mission has been centered on prioritizing customer satisfaction, safety, and fair pricing, which has significantly influenced the industry’s direction.
Under Joel’s leadership, Stratos Jets has achieved several notable milestones. They were among the first to become an ARGUS Certified Broker, emphasizing a proactive approach to safety. Joel’s commitment extends to client education and advocacy, ensuring travelers make informed decisions. He has also played a key role in the Air Charter Association of North America (ACANA), advocating for higher industry standards.
His approach involves rigorous vetting of carriers, ensuring all flights are operated by experienced crews and well-maintained aircraft, surpassing the minimum FAA standards. Joel’s personal connection with clients, understanding their stories and needs, adds a personal touch to the business, fostering long-term relationships. His influence is also seen through innovative programs like the Marketplace platform for easy aircraft booking and the SOAR program, combining membership benefits with on-demand charter flexibility.
Joel Thomas’s story is one of passion, innovation, and a relentless pursuit of excellence, making Stratos Jet Charters a leader in providing a superior travel experience in private aviation.
Our Mission
We exist to serve our private jet flyers, to be their educational resource, and to provide fair pricing and honest advice. Our goal is to build long-term relationships through continually representing their best interest, focusing on client education & safety while providing a proactive approach to booking.
Stratos Jets serves as an agent for air charter. We don’t own or operate any aircraft, and that is our competitive advantage. Because we don’t own or operate aircraft, we avoid any potential conflict of interest and can recommend the appropriate aircraft and air carrier every time.
Each time you rent a private jet, there is an element of risk involved. We mitigate that risk by promoting a culture of air charter safety throughout our entire organization, down to our operational processes. Through our Approved Vendor Program, we screen every operator in our network to ensure they have the appropriate experience and track record to perform flights safely. These standards are based on some of the most rigorous standards in the industry. We’ve made them this stringent to provide air charter buyers with an unparalleled air charter experience and high air charter safety.
We care deeply about educating our private jet flyers and providing fair pricing and honest advice. Inviting our private jet flyers into the aircraft and air carrier selection process expands the margin of safety. By providing transparency into the operational history of each air carrier and sharing insights into aircraft appropriateness based on its performance capabilities, we help our private jet flyers make an informed buying decision. Because of this, we have earned the endorsement of ARGUS, the world leader in aviation safety.
Mission Statement: To provide an air charter service that educates our clients and helps them to make an informed buying decision.
Our Vision
Stratos Jets was founded in 2007 to glorify God in our work. For nearly two decades, we have sought to raise the bar in the private aviation industry by honoring our relationships with our valued jet charter flyers, our network of private jet operators, and each team member.
Putting God first aligns our interests with those whom we serve as well as those we trust to fly our private jet flyers. This approach to business has resulted in solid industry relationships and a company that has grown primarily through word of mouth.
We are incredibly proud that our first-ever jet charter flyer still flies with us, and many of our private jet flyers have been flying with us for over ten years.
By living out this purpose and through our dedication to our mission, we will transform private aviation. Resulting in a safer, more efficient marketplace with a consistent customer and air carrier booking experience.
Vision Statement: To transform private aviation by aggregating demand through one brand, standardizing industry safety standards, processes and best practices.
Core Values
Core Values are an established set of ethics or ideals that guide you when making decisions, building relationships, and solving problems. The Core Values that define Stratos Jet Charters are rooted in Biblical Text.
- Honesty – Being upfront and forthcoming with information and insights.
- Integrity – Making ethical, transparent, and well-intentioned decisions.
- Accountability – Being responsible for our words, actions, and results.
- Respect – Treat people with dignity and professionalism, valuing everyone.
- Kindness – Being kind and caring to everyone we encounter.
We are a company grounded in the Christian values of honesty, integrity, accountability, respect, and kindness. We strive to create eternal value by honoring God in all we do. This is reflected in how we conduct our business.
Safety as a Culture
At Stratos Jets, charter safety is more than just a policy; it’s ingrained in our company’s culture. Through Joel Thomas’s industry leadership, Stratos has established strong relationships with leading air carriers that prioritize safety initiatives.
By ensuring that our airplane charter services partners are held to exceptionally high safety standards, we deliver truly exceptional experiences.
We seek out partners who invest heavily in regular safety training, utilize robust Safety Management Systems (SMS), and demonstrate a genuine culture of safety. This way, we’re in the best position to serve our clients well.
To enforce this standard, we regularly interact with and monitor their sales and operations staff to ensure they exhibit a dedication to safety.
ARGUS, the leader in aviation safety and information, has developed the Certified Charter Broker Program to measure the legitimacy of charter agents and operators.
This independent, unbiased, factual assessment confirms that a charter agent is a legitimate business entity committed to industry best practices. The program validates the agent has policies and procedures in place to facilitate private air travel. Key criteria include:
Adhere to applicable regulations
Maintain appropriate insurance coverage
Ensure proper management of fiscal responsibilities
Stratos became a Certified Charter Broker via an on-site ARGUS audit, where we proved compliance and adherence to a comprehensive set of industry best practices related to jet charter safety and other key areas of operations. Our agents demonstrated expert regulatory knowledge. Additionally, our process was deemed safe and well-organized.
