Flying by private jet has become more accessible as companies offer lower fares by splitting the cost among several passengers, according to The New York Times. While this isn’t a personal jet, it does allow travellers to use private airports, which removes the hassle of airport security so fliers can arrive just five to 15 minutes before departure, the publication writes.
How Has the Private Jet Industry Changed?
The fall in cost is partly due to an increase in private jet brands, which has driven competition, Steve Wooster of Virtuoso tells The New York Times. The average price for a private jet flight dropped 13% between 2014 and 2016, while chartered trips increased 10%, according to research by Virtuoso cited by the publication. Furthermore, according to Euromonitor, there was an increase in the number of passengers who chartered planes in the United States—from 4.88 million in 2013 to 5.32 million in 2016, The New York Times writes.
Jetsmarter offers a membership for shared private flights, which costs a minimum of $15,000 a year, the publication Writes. Members book seats on scheduled flights using an app, with trips under three hours included in the base price, and longer flights costing an average of $300 per person, according to The New York Times.
There is an average of eight to 10 passengers, and trips usually cost up to $2,000 per person, which is considerably less than a traditional charter, which costs upwards of $8,000 per hour, Sergey Petrossov, Jetsmarter CEO, tells the publication. Members can also charter flights, and if all the seats on the flight are sold, the member who chartered the plane flies for free, according to The New York Times.
Blade does not require a membership, and flies a single route—Westchester County Airport to its terminal in Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport—between December and mid-March, the publication writes. This costs $1,285 each way, and includes a selection of amenities on board the 16-seat jet as well as weekend accommodation at Faena Miami, The New York Times writes. This route has been running for two years, with plans to increase the frequency of flights from two to four days a week due to its popularity, according to the publication.
Another way to fly privately for less is on empty legs, which are chartered routes without passengers, as selling seats on these flights can reduce fuel costs, Meredith Broder of Avenue Two Travel tells The New York Times. Options such as Jetsuite’s SuiteDeals allows fliers to book on these one-way flights for between $500 and $2,000, considerably less than the $4,000 to $7,000 per hour they would normally cost, the publication writes.
Fliers can also now find lower rates for custom charters, with Broder securing a flight from New Jersey to Las Vegas for eight people for just $3,500 per person, little more than the $2,000 cost of a first-class round trip, according to The New York Times.
