There are a lot of people talking about AI in aviation. Jennifer Wimberly is building it.

Elevate Jet’s Chief Technology Officer sat down with CTO Magazine this month for an in-depth conversation on what it actually takes to operationalize AI in a high-stakes, highly regulated industry — and what most organizations get wrong when they try.‍‍

The full interview is worth a read. Here’s what stood out.

The Philosophy Behind AI at Elevate Jet

Most conversations about AI in aviation go straight to automation. Wimberly’s framing is different — and more honest about what the technology can actually do right now.

Her team’s core question isn’t what can we automate? It’s how do we help people make faster, more confident decisions? That distinction shapes everything about how Elevate Jet approaches technology development, from its client-facing tools to how its operations teams interact with data.

In a regulated environment where the stakes are as high as they are in aviation, removing human judgment from the equation isn’t the goal. Sharpening it is.

‍

Meet Ruby: 30 Years of Expertise, Instantly Available

The centerpiece of Elevate Jet’s AI strategy is Ruby — an intelligent platform that powers the Elevate Jet app’s dynamic pricing and real-time aircraft availability.

But Ruby didn’t just appear. Building it required converting three decades of private aviation operational data into something a machine learning model could actually use. That meant structured, clean, consistent inputs — not a shortcut. As Wimberly describes it in the CTO Magazine piece, it required treating data like a raw material: something to be refined and applied, not just stored.

The payoff is real. What once took hours of back and forth — pricing, aircraft availability, feasibility — now happens in seconds inside the Elevate Jet app. For clients who have flown privately for years and for first-time flyers discovering the category through the app, the experience is the same: their time is protected, and the answers are immediate.

Ruby is not the finish line. It’s the foundation. Wimberly is clear that the platform will continue to evolve — incorporating more data, expanding services, and getting sharper with every booking.

‍

The Business-First Mindset That Separates Real AI From Hype

One of the most direct takeaways from the interview is Wimberly’s call-out of the single biggest mistake she sees in enterprise AI adoption: chasing the technology instead of the business outcome.

It’s a trap that’s easy to fall into when the tools are genuinely impressive and moving fast. Wimberly’s antidote is straightforward — every technology investment at Elevate Jet ties back to a specific client or business outcome, defined before the build begins. That discipline is what keeps a team honest about what the technology is delivering versus what they hoped it would.

The second trap she flags is equally common: getting so deep in the planning phase that nothing actually ships. Elevate Jet’s approach is to get something real in front of clients quickly, listen to how they use it, and improve from there. That’s not a startup mentality applied carelessly to aviation — it’s a deliberate philosophy rooted in the understanding that 30 years of operational expertise will only get sharper when it’s in active use.

‍

Governance Isn’t a Checkbox Here

Wimberly introduced what may be the most useful framing in the entire interview for anyone building AI in a trust-driven industry: the can we / should we test.

Can we use a client’s travel patterns to build a more personalized experience? Often, yes. Should we? That’s a separate question — and both questions have to have good answers before anything gets built.

At Elevate Jet, data privacy isn’t a compliance exercise. It’s a design principle, built into every system from the start. In an industry where clients are sharing personal travel preferences and schedules with their operators, that trust is the product as much as the flight itself.

‍

What This Means for the Elevate Jet App

The Elevate Jet app was built to do something the private aviation industry had never done cleanly before: make instant pricing and real-time aircraft availability available in one place, for any client, at any experience level.

That promise only works if the intelligence behind it is sound. Ruby makes it sound. And as Wimberly’s CTO Magazine interview makes clear, the team building it has thought carefully — about the data, the governance, the client experience, and the long game.

If you haven’t tried the app yet, this is a good moment to.

Download the Elevate Jet instant booking app

Read the full CTO Magazine interview with Jennifer Wimberly

‍

Frequently Asked Questions About AI in Private Aviation

What is Ruby, Elevate Jet’s AI platform?

Ruby is the AI platform that powers dynamic pricing and real-time aircraft availability inside the Elevate Jet app. It is built on three decades of private aviation operational data, structured and refined to deliver instant, accurate answers to clients at the moment of booking.

How does Elevate Jet use AI in private aviation?

Elevate Jet uses AI to generate insight for clients and operations teams — accelerating decisions around pricing, availability, and logistics without removing human judgment from mission-critical processes. Its approach centers on the Elevate Jet app, which delivers instant booking capability powered by the Ruby intelligence platform.

Is the Elevate Jet app safe and private?

Yes. Data privacy and ethical AI governance are core design principles at Elevate Jet, not afterthoughts. As CTO Jennifer Wimberly describes it, every system is built with transparency and accountability from the start — and client data is treated as a matter of trust, not just compliance.

Who is Jennifer Wimberly?

Jennifer Wimberly is the Chief Technology Officer at Elevate Jet. She previously led AI, data strategy, and digital transformation at Abbott Laboratories and oversaw enterprise technology and architecture at Aviall, a Boeing Company. She holds a BBA in Management Information Systems from the University of Georgia.

What makes Elevate Jet’s approach to AI different from other private aviation companies?

Elevate Jet’s approach is grounded in business outcomes rather than technology for its own sake. Its AI is built on 30 years of proprietary operational data, governed by rigorous data ethics standards, and designed to enhance human decision-making rather than replace it — with the client experience at the center of every design decision.

Elevate Jet is a private aviation company built on decades of operational excellence and a commitment to making the private flying experience seamless for every client. Learn more at elevatejet.com.