Pop a bottle on board this premium carrier, where every seat feels like first class.
Taking a trip to wine country can feel like an adult rite of passage. It’s the kind of chill, beautiful trip you want to take with a loved one or a group of pals. It’s also the kind of trip you want to snag a ton of souvenirs on—and by that, we mean wine. Lots and lots of bottles of wine. After all, how can you taste some of the most delicious bottles in the world and not want to bring some home?
But how do you bring home wine on a plane? Given current TSA regulations, you can’t take it in a carry-on unless it’s below three ounces, and what good wine is? You could always check it, but if you’re dealing with huge airports and faceless baggage handlers, it’s hard to believe that any bottles you’d check, no matter how well packed, would end up intact once they arrive at your destination.
Thankfully, one air carrier—JSX—has made carrying wine on board a breeze, meaning you’ll be able to bring bottles home no problem. Here’s what you need to know.
JSX Offers Hop-on Jet Service to Wine Country
Since its inception in 2016, JSX has been offering flyers point-to-point flights on 30-seat Embraer aircraft. It’s technically a “hop-on” public charter jet service, meaning you’ll feel more like you’re on a private plane than at some airport cattle call.
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JSX flies out of a number of private terminals throughout the country, with two near wine country: Concord, California, and Oakland, California. At about 30 minutes from Napa, Concord is the closest, but if you want to add other attractions to your wine vacay, Oakland and Monterey are also solid options. There are direct flights to each of those destinations from Burbank, Orange County, and Las Vegas.
“A lot of people are flying up for wine weekends of tastings, and the flights are absolutely full both to Oakland and to Concord during crush,” says JSX Director Of Communications Ben Kaufman, referring to the popular harvest season, which generally falls between August and November.
There are a few big perks to flying JSX that you’ll notice almost immediately. First is that you won’t have to deal with a busy airport. Just get dropped off at your private terminal, go through security (no line!), and grab a comfy seat in the waiting area. You can be on your plane 20 minutes after you get to the terminal, and you won’t have to worry about turning your luggage in early enough to make it on the plane—you’ll be able to see the plane right in front of you, so you’ll know when it gets loaded.
The other big perk to JSX is that every seat on the plane is a premium seat. You’re never packed in next to another person, and you have ample room for magazines, drinks, and whatever else you want. Spread out to your heart’s desire.
Related: Forget Sonoma! Head to These Emerging California Wine Regions Instead
Can You Bring Wine on Board?
Yes! Because you don’t have to go through TSA-style security when you fly JSX, you can bring whatever liquids you want on board, including whatever wine you bought on your trip. Any carry-on must fit in the seat below you, meaning it has to be under 13” x 11” x 17”, but given that a good 12-bottle case of wine measures 12 ⅜” x 10 ⅝” x 14”, you should be able to cram a case under your seat without a problem. And, hey, if you just want to bring a couple of bottles on, that’s cool too.
Can You Check Wine?
Absolutely! JSX says that “provided it’s properly packed and doesn’t exceed the weight limit,” any amount of wine a customer wants to check is A-OK with them. If you book a “Hop On Fare,” you’ll be able to check two bags—or boxes—of up to 50 pounds each at no additional cost, and if you book an “All-In” ticket, you’ll be able to bring three bags that weigh up to 50 pounds each.
Can You Drink Wine on Board?
That’s a yes. JSX offers complimentary wine and cocktails, serving Murphy-Goode Cabernet Sauvignon, Line 39 Sauvignon Blanc, and Benvolio bubbly.
If you’d rather crack open that new bottle of Sonoma red you bought, you can do that, too. FAA regulations say that you’ll have to hand the sealed bottle over to the flight attendant, who has to open and serve it to you, but as long as the wine is served to you by the operating crew, you’re golden.
What Else Is Cool About JSX?
Given that jet-setting business travelers often use JSX, it makes sense that the carrier has gone to pretty decent lengths in an attempt to satisfy them. Part of that comes through the company’s Starlink Wi-Fi, which is free to all passengers and doesn’t require a login, credit card, or obligatory “watch this ad about our airline” barrier. It’s good Wi-Fi, too. Like the JSX CEO told CNBC, Starlink is just like your home Wi-Fi, but faster.
Are There Any Drawbacks to Flying JSX?
With fares starting at about $249 each way, JSX is a little more expensive than a traditional flight, but if you think about your time being worth money, then it’s not hard to justify the bump in price. Plus, the amenities you get mean you’re basically flying first class—and if you’re looking to make your wine country jaunt feel like a special occasion, it’s definitely worth the splurge.