Private Air Travel

"I and Daniel have always dreamed of private travel, but it's a deluxe we never thought we'd be able to afford," Raymond said.

It was a "suite deal" of the private JetSuite group. Disposable private jets within the United States are available for between $500 and $2,000, and the Raymond's cash was conveniently within their budgets. The JetSuite is one of several private airlines trying to make private air travel available to travellers who are not part of the billionaires' or millionaires' sets.

Often these airlines, such as Blade and JetSmarter, are able to provide attractive fares by sharing travel with a small group of other people. Whilst these are not private planes with the goal of having a whole aircraft for themselves, travellers travel to and from small, private airfields, where they normally have nothing to do with Transportation Security Administration and can reach only five to 15 min before their flight-times.

Raymond's $500 journey is a more radical example of how little private plane travel can afford, but branch analysts say that air travel is cheaper today than ever before. Virtuososos research shows that the mean fare for a private plane fell by 13 per cent between 2014 and 2016.

Virtuoso's stats show that the number of private voyages rose by 10 per cent between 2014 and 2016, and Euromonitor's research shows that the number of U.S. air passenger charterers rose from 4.88 million in 2013 to 5.32 million in 2016 (this figure does not apply to chopper charter).

JetSmarter, in operation since 2013, is an example of a private aircraft provider that sells joint ventures. Our enterprise works according to a member model: Passengers must spend a minimal $15,000 per year and reserve places on planned travel through the JetSmarter application, which daily schedules more than 150 national and internationals.

Travel under three hrs is covered by your subscription, while longer journeys aver $300 per capita, according to Sergey Petrossov, the company's CEO; most travel averages eight to ten people. A member who wants to define their own timetable can generate a trip and send it to the JetSmarter application so that other interested members can buy places on the trip and lower the costs of chartering; if all places on the aircraft are sold, the member who generated the trip will fly for free.

Typically, these crowdsourced tours exceed $2,000 per capita, a fraction of the $8,000 or more per class unit it can costs for a handed-down property class. "It is my aim to make private aviation less elitist," said Mr Petrossov. Blade, which does not need to be a member, also offers air travel, but only from December to mid-March and on a one-way basis, between Westchester County Airport (with or without Manhattan chopper transfer) and its own Miami Grandpa Locka Executive Airport terminals.

Starting at US$1,285 per flight, passengers will travel on a Bombardier 16-seat retrofit civil aircraft and enjoy a range of benefits including Dean & Deluca catering snacks and iPad first-film professionals, as well as accommodation for the week-end in Faena Miami, a luxurious beach resort.

Miami Routes debuted two years ago and was so loved, said firm promoter Rob Wiesenthal, that this year' s Miami Routes will be available four nights a week from two. "It' not much more than a first-class full fares ticketing, but a small fraction of what it would take to travel on a private aircraft chartered," he said.

However, for travellers who only want their own aircraft without paying an excessive fee, there are certain travel plans such as JetSuite's suite deals. "Whilst the company's main activity is private chartering aircraft at between $4,000 and $7,000 per hour, "SuiteDeals" is the sale of aircraft known as "empty legs" - a route on which aircraft are expected to continue without a passenger.

Ms Broder often book private aircraft for customers and receives a monthly empty legs schedule from several private aircraft operators for the following weeks (other private aircraft travel agent also receive similar schedules). The most recent departures were an $8,500 flight from Naples to Cleveland on a Beechjet 400A, a seven-passenger aircraft, and a $6,500 flight from Scottsdale, Ariz.

Leaning is cheap, as passengers usually have no option on the itinerary, but some travel agencies can also find cheap fares for individual choices. Ms. Broder chartered a New Jersey to Las Vegas aircraft this March for her customer Steven Michaels, an executive from Cherry Hill, N.J., and seven of his mates.

Presented with both choices, Mr. Michaels said it was child's play to meet privately. Privatjets are no longer only intended for the C.E.O.. What do we use them for?