What to ask before you fly private to Cabo

You are about to pay a lot of money to put your family or team on a private jet. Nobody hands you a report card for the company flying you. This guide tells you what to ask for, and what a good answer looks like.

We provide safety data. We do not vet or guarantee safety. No operator, rating or insurance level makes a flight safe. Good answers lower your risk of a bad surprise. That is all.

The basics: three things to ask your flight provider for

Whoever sells you the flight, operator or broker, ask for these three documents before you pay. A good provider sends them the same day.

1. “Show me the certificate and the D085 this aircraft is operating on.”

Charter flights in the US are flown under an FAA Part 135 air carrier certificate. Each certificate comes with operations specifications, and the page called D085 lists every aircraft the company may fly for paying passengers, by make, model and registration (the N-number on the tail).

• Check: the company name on the certificate matches the company that will fly you, and your aircraft’s tail number is on its D085.
• Good answer: both documents, sent without fuss, with your tail number on the list.
• Red flag: “it’s on a different certificate”, “we can’t share that”, or a tail number that isn’t listed. An aircraft that isn’t on a charter certificate shouldn’t be carrying you for money.
• Foreign operator: ask for the certificate its own aviation authority issued and the list of aircraft on it. There is no public lookup for Mexican operators, so you rely on the documents you’re given.

2. “Please provide a crew report from Wyvern or ARGUS.”

Wyvern and ARGUS are private safety firms. Each can produce a report for a specific trip that covers the operator, the aircraft and the crew, including the pilots’ experience. Wyvern calls its trip report PASS.

• Check: the report names this operator and this aircraft, it’s dated recently, and it shows the captain’s and first officer’s experience, especially hours in this aircraft type.
• Good answer: a current report for your trip, plus confirmation that two pilots will fly you.
• If they don’t have one: not every operator subscribes. Ask directly for the captain’s and first officer’s total hours and hours in this type, and get it in writing. Vague answers like “very experienced” are not an answer.

3. “Please provide the insurance certificate showing this aircraft’s liability coverage.”

• Check: the limit per passenger and the limit per accident for the whole aircraft, that this aircraft is on the policy, the policy dates cover your trip, and it covers flying in Mexican airspace and landing in Mexico.
• Good answer: a certificate of insurance with real numbers, sent the same day. Many operators will name you as an additional insured if you ask.
• Know the floor: federal minimums are low. A US air taxi operator only has to carry $75,000 per passenger. A legal minimum is not a recommendation.

If you only do one thing, do these three. A company that answers quickly and in writing is a good sign. A company that dodges them is telling you something too.

Ready to look? See current Cabo empty legs and what a private jet to Cabo costs.

Last updated 7 Nov 2026