Private Jets Offer Lifeline to Kids through AeroAngel

AeroAngel founder Mark Pestal still remembers the flight that changed everything.

A young woman with terminal kidney disease, who’d been ill since childhood, had exhausted local treatment options in Denver. Her mother found a doctor at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore willing to help—but they couldn’t fly commercially, couldn’t afford a medevac flight, and couldn’t wait. Pestal, a private pilot and former volunteer with Angel Flight, called a friend with a jet. “He agreed to do the flight the next day,” Pestal recalled. “She was in very bad shape. But we got her to the hospital—and she walked out a month and a half later.”

That was more than a decade ago. Since then, AeroAngel has quietly grown into a vital link for children and young adults who need urgent, distant, and otherwise unreachable medical care.

Based in Denver and operating since 2010, AeroAngel is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that arranges free private jet transportation for seriously ill children. Its patients may be immune-compromised, unable to tolerate long car trips, or too medically fragile to fly commercially. Unlike other aviation charities, AeroAngel’s flights are dedicated—they aren’t tied to airline schedules, donor availability, or open seats. “We don’t wait for a match,” Pestal said. “If I get a call this afternoon, I’ll try to get the flight filled, if we can.”

A Simple Model, Delivered Efficiently

AeroAngel doesn’t operate its own aircraft. Instead, it relies on a growing network of private jet owners, corporate flight departments, and charter operators who donate flights, crew time, or charter hours. When no donated option is available, the organization taps an emergency flight fund to purchase time-critical charters.

These trips often come together within 48 hours. One such flight in early 2024 brought 10-year-old Ava from a hospital in Tampa, Florida, to Philadelphia’s Children’s Hospital for evaluation in a leukemia relapse. It was too dangerous for her compromised immune system to fly commercially, and she was ineligible for an air ambulance. Ava’s doctors approved her release from her local medical care, on the condition that she could be flown privately to and from the hospital the same day. AeroAngel arranged the flight. Ava received cutting-edge CAR T-cell therapy. Today, she is home and cancer-free.

The average retail value of AeroAngel’s annual flight activity exceeds $2.5 million. “If [each] family had to get a charter flight, I mean, it’d be well over that,” said Pestal. “We spend a million dollars a year on charter alone.”

In total, AeroAngel has completed close to 500 missions. “We’re probably north of 90% fulfillment on requests,” said Pestal, “but our goal is 100%.”

Filling the Gaps Others Can’t

The landscape of aviation charity is broad—but most programs rely on donated flights in piston or turboprop aircraft, and many are limited by geography, schedule, or diagnosis. “The typical Angel Flight is under 1,000 miles,” Pestal said. “We’re doing flights across the country.”

Corporate Angel Network, for example, provides space-available seats for cancer patients on business jet flights. But a complementary organization, AeroAngel targets a different need—all kinds of patients whose travel is both urgent and complex, and whose condition demands the safety and speed of pressurized jet transport.

“We do all medical issues,” Pestal said. “Surgery, chemotherapy, discharges. These kids just can’t wait—and they can’t go commercial.” He added that many children use wheelchairs, need reclining space, or require private environments to reduce infection risk.

The Power of Partnership

One of AeroAngel’s aviation partners is FlyExclusive, which has operated more than 100 missions for the nonprofit since 2021.

“The little girl in their logo was actually on our first flight,” said Matt Lesmeister, COO of FlyExclusive. That inaugural mission launched the partnership, which now includes jet card hour donations, flight time from members, and direct operations by the company itself.

“Some of our pilots have said their best flight ever was one of these,” Lesmeister added. “It leaves a mark. It reminds them of the value of time—and what we provide.”

Lesmeister, who joined FlyExclusive shortly after the AeroAngel partnership began, sees it as core to the company’s culture. “Private aviation is often seen as a luxury,” he said. “But it needs to go beyond just the high-net-worth individual. This provides access to children who need it—and likely can’t get it otherwise.”

Scaling a Life-saving Mission

AeroAngel’s team is lean: a flight coordinator, part-time contractors, a bookkeeper, and Pestal himself, serving as the full-time, unpaid executive director. “I pray a lot,” he joked about making the budget work.

Requests come in through hospital social workers, Google searches, or word of mouth—often from families who have flown with AeroAngel before. A recent upgrade to the organization’s website added links for those interested in becoming a donor, an ambassador, or a corporate sponsor.

Looking ahead, Pestal hopes to secure funding for an aircraft: a light jet, like a Phenom 300, based in Denver, could allow AeroAngel to guarantee flights even more quickly. “We’d love to have a plane ready,” he said, “and then find a donor to back it up if needed.”

Small Missions, Big Outcomes

For the children who fly with AeroAngel, the flights often represent more than just transportation. “We’re not just getting someone from point A to point B,” said Lesmeister. “We’re giving back time—and access. And sometimes that access saves a life.”

He recalled a boy named Leo, who had no immune system and needed a cell transplant at Duke Health. “Without a private flight, there was no way to get him there safely,” he said.

Pestal hopes more industry members will recognize the potential impact of a single trip. “One donated flight can save a child’s life—and has,” he said. “That’s the power of business aviation.”