When Jason Bishop left school, he had no GCSEs and teachers told him he'd never make it as a pilot. Fast forward to 2025 and he's not only a commercial pilot with thousands of hours under his wing, but also the founder and director of one of the county's most successful private charter companies with a fleet of four aircraft – and more to come.
SoGlos talks to Jason, director and accountable manager of The Little Jet Company, about childhood dreams, breaking barriers and being involved with this year's Top 100 Businesses in Gloucestershire.
Jason, what’s your background and can you tell us a bit about what inspired you to found The Little Jet Company?
I have wanted to be a pilot for as long as I remember but in school I was never very academic. When I told teachers at school what I wanted to do, I was told it wasn’t realistic for me.
I left school with no qualifications and ended up going travelling. This reignited my passion and I turned to my father's trade to make some money as a bricklayer whilst going to college to get my qualification in the evenings.
I eventually saved enough money for flying lessons and got my commercial pilot's licence in Kidlington back in 1999. I worked in numerous aircraft flying all over Europe and eventually started freelancing for a private jet management company. This is where I saw how operations worked and found a niche in the market.
I founded The Little Jet Company in 2014 and started with a team of only two of us, but we've successfully defied the odds and rapidly scaled to a full team of over 20 today, building a profitable and sustainable business.
At the beginning I was told that we wouldn’t survive past the first 12 months and here we are, 11 years later!
What types of clients use your services and can anyone book a flight?
We're proud to have a wide range of clients! From people who've flown with us since day one to those who have just discovered us.
We fly private individuals, small companies, large PLC staff and individuals. They trust us for all kinds of reasons: quick charter flights for a business meeting, that much-needed family holiday, a special celebration or just a once-in-a-lifetime trip. Most of our new clients come from recommendations and word-of-mouth.
What puts you ahead of other companies offering similar services?
We have a small but extremely dedicated team that delivers on our promise of personal and excellent customer service. Unlike the larger operators, where you might get lost in the system, we know each of our clients by name. This means we handle every single detail with meticulous, proactive attention and a level of care that is simply unmatched.
We also want to ensure our clients' experience is seamless. Having our private hangar with dedicated private parking means our clients completely skip the frustration of the main FBO and terminal. You drive up, walk just steps to your aircraft and you're ready for take-off. It maximises privacy, discretion and efficiency.
Finally, our fleet is built for performance and flexibility. A key highlight is our two newer model Pilatus PC-24 Super Versatile Jets. This aircraft is a game-changer. Our clients fly in unmatched comfort thanks to the spacious cabin, enjoying high speed and powerful performance on every leg. It very much looks like something James Bond himself would want to fly in!
Does the business get involved with the local community in any way?
Yes, absolutely. We believe in being an active and supportive member of our local community here in Gloucestershire.
The most visible way we do this is through our strong partnership with Cheltenham Town Football Club. This sponsorship allows us to directly support a major local institution that brings a lot of pride and excitement to the area.
We also make a conscious effort to prioritise local businesses in our day-to-day operations. Whether it's sourcing our stock, ordering our merchandise or even purchasing simple things like stationery, we actively seek out and utilise other companies right here in our area.
We have also recently invested in several of the Lions at Large pride to support The Big Space Cancer Appeal and Cheltenham and Gloucester Hospitals Charity. One of which we have displayed very proudly in our passenger lounge.
It’s important to us that, as a successful business, we invest back into the community that we call 'home'.
You were one of the key partners of the Top 100 Businesses in Gloucestershire for 2025. What did it mean to you to be involved with this?
We are proud to have our roots firmly in Gloucestershire – our operations, our original base and our ground team are all based here.
I was born and raised in Cheltenham, went to Chosen Hill School and created the idea for The Little Jet Company here – and have been an avid follower of the Top 100 Businesses list since it started a few years ago.
It has allowed us to publicly celebrate the success and innovation happening in our own home county, to engage with other local business leaders and, crucially, to help inspire future talent by showing that exciting opportunities in aviation start and thrive right here!
Did the results of this year’s list surprise you and has being involved offered any new opportunities?
Honestly, the results weren't a big surprise for us! We know a lot of the companies listed, so it was largely who we expected to see. That said, we want to give a huge congratulations to everyone who made it, it's a massive achievement.
As for being involved, it's been fantastic. It's hopefully raised our profile and opened up some great new networking opportunities. Being around all that talent is incredibly motivating; and we're definitely striving to grow and earn a spot on that list ourselves one day.
Can you tell us about your fleet of planes and the new Pilatus PC-24s you’ve acquired?
We currently have four aircraft in our fleet. This includes a Citation Bravo 550 based at Gloucestershire Airport, a Pilatus PC-24 based at Oxford Airport, a second Pilatus PC-24 based at Leeds East Airport and a King Air 350 based at Bournemouth Airport.
Since acquiring the Pilatus PC-24s, we have been flying almost every day, particularly over the summer! It is a beautiful, sleek aircraft and has been in popular demand. We are also expecting more to be added to the fleet in the near future – watch this space!
And finally, where is your favourite place in the world to visit and why?
I'd have to say my most memorable 'place' is the vast, open skies above Africa, specifically during a trip where I delivered an aircraft there.
The scope of it, flying over places like Mozambique, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Sudan and the Sahara Desert, was simply breathtaking. A stark contrast to our usual European trips!
