There are many options for booking a flight on a private jet these days - and the price may be much more affordable than you are expecting. It’s not only for the rich and famous any more.

BY DEBRA KAMIN | CNTRAVELER.COM

Charter open marketplaces

These days, all it takes is a strong Wi-Fi connection (and a handy app or two) to get yourself into a private plane. A number of newer services are connecting fliers directly with charter operators, allowing you to browse, book, and buy within minutes.

JetASAP

JetASAP, a free, self-service app that defines itself as an “AirBnb for air travel,” launched in November 2020, allowing fliers to secure and book private flights directly from their smartphones. There are no membership fees, and fliers are never required to pay a commission; just punch in a flight request, which includes your airport of departure and preferred flight times. Live operators respond with quotes and can answer any questions. 

FlyJets

Another newcomer to the private aviation sphere, FlyJets debuted in January 2020. The platform operates like a travel search engine, allowing customers to sort results via their preferred aircraft size, location, and desired departure time. Prices can be as much as 50 percent lower than the costs of an average charter, and booking options include full charters, seats on shared charters, and group-purchase among friends or colleagues; travelers can even offer bids on certain flights where there isn't a fixed price. 

Traditional chartering services

If you want to get in the air without strings attached, but need a little more guidance in which plane to choose, charters are a great option. Charter companies work with dozens of private air operators to locate your ideal flight and manage door-to-door logistics, with no long-term commitment required. Many also offer the option to purchase a jet card, which you can load up either with a fixed number of flight hours or with money you spend like a debit card. The field is a crowded one: along with Victor, Wheels Up, and Blade, there’s also Air Partner, Private Fly, and Jettly, among others. 

Victor

An on-demand charter service that offers access to more than 7,000 aircraft worldwide, Victor sources its flights from more than 100 select operators around the world; customers can also use its frequent flier points program, Alto, which launched in 2018. And fliers concerned about their environmental footprint will appreciate that all flights are carbon offset by at least 200 percent. (The cost, about 0.3 percent of each booking, is included in the fare.)

Blade

Blade is a popular choice for city-based travelers. It connects fliers not just with jets but also turboprops, seaplanes, and helicopters in their contracted fleet via a user-friendly app. Its Blade One planes offer seasonal service from NYC to both Miami and Aspen, too; a jaunt from NYC to Miami on BladeOne starts at $2,450 per leg, or $2,750 for fliers who want to include a helicopter transfer. There's no membership required and fliers can purchase multipacks of flight passes on certain routes.

Wheels Up

Founded in 2013, Wheels Up provides access to more than 1,500 aircraft, with a fleet that includes gold-standard planes like the King Air 350i. Initially, its offerings were only accessible via three tiers of membership. But late last year, it rolled out the Wheels Up app, which also allows non-members to browse and book one-off flights. Wheels Up Connect memberships have a $2,995 initiation fee plus annual dues of $2,495, and rates jump up from there; Core memberships, which cost $17,500 plus $8,500 in annual dues, include guaranteed access to certain tiers of aircraft plus a membership to luxury vacation club Inspirato. 

Fly-sharing

Fly-share companies are the easiest on the wallet. Companies like SurfAir, JSX (formerly known as JetSuite), and BlackBird enable travelers to snag a coveted seat on a private jet charter—sometimes for as little as $100 each way—sharing space with only a handful of other passengers and enjoying perks like no security lines and departure from private terminals.

Membership programs 

For more frequent fliers, membership programs can be attractive. Through tiered subscription programs, you’ll pay a monthly or annual fee that unlocks access to an entire fleet of aircraft that can then be booked on demand. 

Set Jet

With a $100 monthly membership fee and one-way flights starting at $446, Set Jet is one of the most affordable private air travel options on the market. Founded in 2014, the West Coast-based company currently offers domestic routes from Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange County, Scottsdale, Las Vegas, and San Francisco, with seasonal charters to Aspen and Cabo San Lucas. And it’s growing fast—its fleet of Bombardier aircraft will soon also be taking off from New York, with expansions into Florida and Texas also in the works. It offers good news for spontaneous travelers, too: Set Jet members can book a new flight up to 24 hours before takeoff, and snag a seat on an existing flight up to 30 minutes before wheels go up.

XO

One of the largest private aviation firms in the U.S., XO’s fleet includes the Challenger 300 and the Citation X. Members also have access to 70 large-cabin planes, which can seat up to nine. Memberships start at $595 per year; all levels offer access to both private charters and shared flights.

Fractional ownership 

With fractional ownership, your piece of the pie is allocated in hours. Owners purchase a portion or share of an aircraft, which is doled out in hours of flight time. The bigger the share, the more hours you get in the air; and unlike membership programs, it's a one-time investment. Companies like NetJets, the granddaddy of private aviation companies, and Flexjet, whose young fleet includes Embraer's super-light Phenom 300 and the ultra-long-range Gulfstream G450, offer ownership starting at a one-sixteenth interest in an aircraft; buyers should still be prepared to shell out at least $500,000 and often much more.

Why Flying Private Is Here to Stay

BY CNT EDITORS | CNTRAVELER.COM

In the past year, the private jet industry has been one of the few bright spots in an unprecedented travel downturn. The reason: an influx of new patrons, who have turned to private planes—which come with more flexibility over scheduling and the ability to choose your fellow passengers—in times of uncertainty.

“Last year, a large number of people were introduced to the benefits of business aviation,” a sector that covers both chartered flights and privately owned planes, says Ed Bolen, head of the National Business Aviation Association. “They now understand that it is a remarkably flexible and safe way to reach places, especially those that don’t have frequent airline service.”

The statistics bear that out. As of early 2021, scheduled air travel was still down by about 65 percent from pre-pandemic numbers; for chartered flights, after a dip last spring, demand is almost back to pre-COVID-19 levels, and analysts estimate that flight activity for the first half of 2021 will grow by 25 percent.

Some see this as part of the “democratization” of private flying that was under way even before the pandemic, as new apps and ride-sharing options made private air travel more accessible. “Those who previously considered private flying a luxury now see it as a necessary means of travel,” says Lee Applbaum, chief marketing officer at Wheels Up, one of the largest private aviation operators in the country. “They’re using our services to reunite with friends and family after periods of quarantine, safely transport elderly family members throughout the course of the pandemic, conduct critical business trips, and much more,” he says.

In fact, 96 percent of private jet newbies said they plan to continue to take charter flights, at least occasionally, even after the pandemic eases, according to a survey by website Private Jet Card Comparisons. The poll also revealed that 41 percent of these converts will fly privately on a regular basis from now on, according to Doug Gollan, founder of the site.

Beyond that, there’s a significant untapped market for private aviation, Applbaum says. A recent study by consulting giant McKinsey showed that 93 percent of people who could afford to fly private currently do not. One way Wheels Up hopes to attract first-time private flyers is through an app that allows members and non-members to book private aircraft easily.

Another major advantage for private air travel is that the customer sets their own itineraries. Most flights, therefore, are point-to-point, and you determine when you depart. On-demand charter operators have access to around 5,000 public-use airports in the U.S., putting any destination, no matter how remote, within reach.

And then there’s the fact that on a private trip you’re likely traveling with a small group of people whom you know well—be it a family pod or business colleagues. The industry likes to measure trips in terms of “touchpoints,” Gollan says, or in other words, all the places and people you encounter on your journey. The average private aviation trip has fewer than 20 touchpoints in all, he says; in terms of exposure, that’s probably less than what you’d experience in a typical trip to the supermarket. Private airport terminals (where passenger wait times are minimal) are also rolling out new touch-free technology to further reduce these points of contact.

Ultimately, it’s likely that some private jet operators will become more like multi-service travel companies, says Applbaum. That could include partner benefits at hotels and resorts or regular shuttle flights from bigger cities to vacation destinations like Nantucket or the Hamptons. These longer-term changes will make private travel much more accessible—and have a major impact on the air travel industry as a whole.