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Up Close With Janet, the Super-Secret Airline
Zach Wichter
Aviation Industry Reporter
Zach has been interested in things that go since he was a kid. He previously worked at The New York Times and spent much of his time there covering the aviation industry, including contributing to the paper’s reporting on the 737 Max crisis at Boeing. He grew up in Bethpage, on Long Island, and graduated from Northwestern University in 2013 where he majored in journalism and gender and sexuality studies.
July 15, 2019
•
3 min read
Up Close With Janet, the Super-Secret Airline
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It's the secret airline hiding in plain (or should I say, plane) sight.
Little is officially known about Janet, the call sign of a government-contracted air carrier that ferries employees to secret US military sites. Janet is known as "the most mysterious airline in the world," and that's all that outsiders can be told about it. Some of its planes can regularly be seen at the Las Vegas airport, from where it ferries people, likely working on secret projects, to military-controlled sites like Groom Lake, home of the infamous Area 51.
Although the missions and purpose of Janet's flights are a closely-held government secret, the planes themselves largely depart from commercial airports. Janet maintains a big presence at McCarran International Airport, where TPG recently took a behind-the-scenes tour.
But before you think we are secret government agents: That was a behind-the-scenes tour of the airport, not of Janet. While being shown around LAS, our team got possibly as close as a normal civilian can to Janet's understated 737s. If you didn't know better, you'd think those were normal 737s — a little small, maybe: Janet flies the rare model 600, the shortest of all 737s around today. Their lack of airline titles might make you think they are private jets, not a rare sight at LAS, where high rollers like to arrive in style. But no. If you see an adorably pudgy, short 737 in all white with a red stripe down the fuselage, you're looking at Janet.
You don't need to be an AvGeek to see these mysterious Janet birds though. Just look out a right-side window on most landings at McCarran and there's a good chance you'll spot one. Here's what you should look out for:
Featured image by LightRocket via Getty Images
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