Friday 7/11 Edition - How to Fly on a Private Jet for Less than $200

No security lines or TSA pat-downs. Cushy leather seats and legroom for days. Fido curled up right next to you.

The perks of flying on a private jet used to be something only the rich and famous enjoyed.

But that’s changing — and in some cases, you can fly on a private jet or plane for the cost of coach (or less) if you know how to shop smartly.

A handful of sites and private jet companies are following the lead of hotels and hotel websites and offering last-minute deals on unused inventory, and others are changing the cost structure of private plane travel to make it vastly more affordable.

JetSuite.com, which flies to more than 2,000 airports, aggregates private jet flights with empty seats to offer daily “next-day” deals.

Some of its recent deals included a flight for four people from Los Angeles to Cabo San Lucas for $499 (that’s about $124 per person, which includes federal excise taxes and fees); for four people from Orange County to Chicago for $536 (that’s about $135 per person); and for six people from Teterboro (in New Jersey, near New York City) to Nassau, Bahamas, for $1,074 (that’s about $179 per person). (In all of the above cases, to get the per-person rate, you must book all seats on the plane.)

It’s not the only one offering these kinds of rates: Consumers may also get big last-minute deals, even when they aren’t advertised, by calling a private aviation company within a few days of when they want to depart and asking whether they have deals going on.

Waiting until the last minute isn’t an option for most travelers, of course.

For those whose schedules can’t accommodate a last-minute booking, there are other options, though they can be pricier.

West Coast airline Surf Air offers unlimited private plane flights to and from certain California locales like Los Angeles and Santa Barbara for $1,599 per month (plus a one-time $500 initiation fee), which includes all fees; if you take four or more flights on the airline, those tickets could amount to less than the cost of similar coach or business class seats.

The airline expanded to Truckee, California (close to Lake Tahoe), just last month and says it will get its multi-state license so it can cross state lines later this year.

And FLITE Air Taxi offers a la carte private plane flights for reasonable rates: A flight from Boston to Saratoga, New York, costs $541 per person (you will need six people to fill the plane, so $3,250 for the whole flight), as does one from New York City to Martha’s Vineyard and from Block Island to Worcester, Massachusetts; this does not include federal excise taxes (7.5 percent of the cost of the flight) but does include other fees.

How can these and other similar companies afford to offer such low rates? One reason is that sites like JetSuite.com are offering seats on flights that would have been empty or at least not full.
“Over 40 percent of flights that are flying private have empty seats,” says Steve King, the co-founder of private jet charter company AeroIQ.

Many times, these flights are simply repositioning so they can pick up passengers in another city, and the companies would rather get some money from passengers than no money.

Companies like Surf Air and FLITE Air Taxi can charge less than big-name competitors in part because they use different planes — like, for example, single-prop turbo planes — that cost less to operate because they use less fuel than larger jets.

“The operational cost can be a fraction of other planes,” says Justin Hart, vice president of Surf Air memberships.

To be sure, there are some significant additional caveats to discount private plane travel. Often these deals are only for one-way flights, so you will then need to find an alternative way back.

It’s also important to understand that there may be extra fees added to the cost of your flight — such as airport or landing fees — so read the contract to determine what’s included and what’s not.

De-icing fees, for example, can be significant and may be passed on to consumers, says Jeff Trance, SVP of private jets for the US for jet charter company Air Partner.

And typically, you can’t just buy one discount ticket on these planes; they’ll want you to pay for the whole cost of the plane, so you’ll need to find a group to go with you to get the most savings.

Plus, if you want to save big, you likely won’t get a brand-new primo jet, as these tend to cost more. And finally, there’s the issue of safety: Private chartered planes tend to get in more crashes than commercial jets — though they are still far safer than cars.

Most small-plane accidents were due to pilot error, so call the private jet company to determine how many hours of flying experience your pilot has.

Despite these downsides, the allure of private plane travel is strong thanks to how uncomfortable both the airport and flying experience have become. Here are some ways to save.

Be flexible

If you’re flexible both on when you fly and where you fly, you’ll likely get the best deals, says Trance.
Call the company and ask about the cost differences between, say, a Saturday and a Tuesday and see if you can fly into a nearby airport. Fridays and Sundays tend to be the most expensive times to travel, says Justin Sullivan, co-founder of FLITE Air Taxi.

And, of course, last-minute deals can be significant, so it may be worth waiting until about 72 hours before you want to fly to find deals, says Trance, though this is, of course, risky.

Know where the most likely deals are

The Northeast markets, California and the Northeast-to-Florida routes tend to have the most last-minute deals, says Bob Diener, co-founder of Hotels.com and Getaroom.com.

Shop around

Diener recommends checking out FlyVictor.com, as it compares the cost of private jet travel across different airlines. He says JetSuite.com is the best known for last-minute deals.
You may also want to consider having a broker do the heavy lifting for you, says Trance. Brokers typically work on commission, so ask them what their commission is before booking and how you pay it, and tell them your all-in price tolerance ahead of time.

Go with a small group — but not too small

Trance says that if you travel with a group of seven or fewer, you can often save significantly because you can opt for a smaller — and often less-expensive-to-operate — plane. You likely don’t want a party of two because most private aviation companies require you to rent out the entire private plane (typically four seats or more).
InformantDaily.com