Private jet safety ratings — ARGUS, Wyvern, and IS-BAO explained

The short answer

Independent safety auditors check charter operators and give them ratings. The best known is ARGUS. Its three tiers, from lowest to highest, are Gold Certified, Platinum, and Platinum Elite. Each tier includes everything in the one below it. Wyvern is another widely used auditor. A rating is a strong signal, but it is a starting point, not a guarantee.

The ARGUS tiers in one line each

• Gold Certified: a clean safety record, plus safety programs audited remotely in one day.
• Platinum: good practice today, checked in person over two days.
• Platinum Elite: good practice kept up over time, checked again and again.

ARGUS Gold Certified

The entry tier. ARGUS checks the operator’s safety record, certificates, and pilots, then audits its safety programs, training, and maintenance remotely in one day. Every problem the auditor finds must be fixed before the rating is issued. No one visits the operator.

To qualify, the operator must have held its operating certificate for at least a year and fly at least one jet or turboprop.

The record check is called CHEQ. It looks at accidents, actions by regulators, the operator’s certificates and insurance, and its pilots’ training and experience.

Gold vs. Gold Certified

ARGUS used to offer a plain “Gold” rating. It was the record check only, with no audit. ARGUS replaced it with Gold Certified in 2025, and the old Gold rating ends in May 2027.

Until then, an operator described as “ARGUS Gold” may still hold the old rating, with no audit. When it matters for a trip, confirm the operator holds Gold Certified.

ARGUS Platinum

Everything in Gold Certified, plus a two-day audit at the operator’s base. Auditors check seven areas: the safety management system, the emergency response plan, how the company is organized, standard procedures, who controls each flight, training, and maintenance.

The point is to confirm that crews and mechanics work the way the manuals say they do. For you, the step from Gold Certified to Platinum is the biggest jump in assurance.

A safety management system is the operator’s formal process for finding hazards and managing risk. At Platinum, it must be in daily use, not just written down.

ARGUS Platinum Elite

ARGUS’s highest rating. It meets every Platinum requirement, and ARGUS keeps checking: it reviews maintenance and operations every six months and comes back on site every two years.

An operator cannot apply for it directly. It must first pass at least two Platinum audits in a row with no significant findings, and hold Platinum for four years or more. So a Platinum Elite operator has a clean record over years, not one good audit.

Wyvern

Wyvern is another safety auditor used across private aviation. Its top rating, Wyvern Wingman, is earned through an on-site audit of the operator’s safety programs and operations. Many operators hold both an ARGUS and a Wyvern rating.

IS-BAO

IS-BAO is an international standard for running business aircraft safely, built around a safety management system. Operators register with it and are audited against it on a regular cycle. You will often see it next to ARGUS and Wyvern ratings.

How to use ratings

• Set a minimum. Decide the lowest rating you will accept, and apply it to every trip.
• Match the rating to the trip. You may want a higher bar for long trips, bad-weather routes, or flights carrying your senior team.
• Confirm before you fly. Ratings change. Check that the rating is current for the operator flying your trip.

In FlightWiseOS, your safety standard is one of your preferences, so it is applied to every trip you plan.

Apply your standard in FlightWiseOS

Set your minimum rating once and FlightWiseOS uses it to filter Local Providers, US and regional fleets, and every Start a Flight request.