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Established in 1950, Jet Delivery’ s journey has been nothing short of a true Californian success story. The company was founded by James Zahner, an entrepreneur armed with a Maytag washing machine and a dream. It all began when James sold the washing machine and used the earnings to get Jet Delivery off the ground, opening its first office on the corner of Venice and Main Street in Downtown Los Angeles. The business started out as a messenger and courier service with just a few vehicles and one person answering the phones, but has since grown into a leading logistics empire, offering everything from courier services to transportation, warehousing and freight brokerage.
Today, Jet Delivery operates from two key locations in California and continues to expand across the US, while staying true to its mission of making logistics seamless with speed, reliability, and expertise. In fact, 2025 marks a very special milestone for Jet Delivery. After decades of innovation, adaptability, and hard work, the company is proud to celebrate its 75th anniversary this year. This milestone is a testament to Jet Delivery’ s continuing commitment to providing the most efficient, reliable logistics services to all its customers. In celebration of this event, Transportation & Logistics International sat down with Jason Barbata, Chief Operating Officer at Jet Delivery, to discuss the company’ s evolution over the past 75 years and what the future has in store. Jason starts by reflecting on the qualities that have attributed to Jet Delivery’ s longevity and continuing success.
“ There are a few things that have really stood the test of time for us,” Jason begins.“ First and foremost: reliability. We’ ve built a reputation on doing what we say we’ ll do, and that matters in this industry. Our customers know they can count on us, whether it’ s a time-sensitive courier run or a complex freight move. We’ ve also always put relationships first. We take pride in being easy
to work with, responsive, and transparent. A lot of our growth has come from long-term partnerships built on trust and consistent performance. Part of building that trust is understanding what matters most to each customer. Every customer values something a little different— speed, reliability, or visibility. Our job is to understand what matters most and deliver it. In courier work, that means being fast, available, and giving customers the visibility they want. With freight and logistics, it’ s about securing the right drivers, the right equipment, and ensuring seamless integration with our customers’ systems.
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