Private jets I 49help position business jets as
a productivity tool rather than
simply a luxury item. “The
ride-share and membership-
based models are an exciting
development in business aviation,
making the accessibility of
business jets even greater,” he
says. “With just a few clicks, the
latest mobile apps enable users
to book a flight on a private jet
quickly, while giving the operators
the opportunity to optimise
the use of the private jets. We
believe these models, which were
introduced primarily in North
America, have the potential to
grow to other markets, of course,
including Asia.” nbooking to boarding? Carol
Cork, marketing director and
co-founder of Privatefly, says:
“We had a jet card customer go
from enquiry to airborne in 31
minutes last week from Miami
to Chicago. On average, almost
a third fly within 24 hours of
booking, and 66 per cent within
a week.
“In general, jet cards came
about as a natural evolution of the
private jet market. First, you could
own your own private aircraft,
then fractional ownership was
created for those who wanted a
share in a specific fleet, then a jet
card became desirable, offering a
block of flying time, but without
the full or part-share financial
investment of the aircraft asset.”
Journalist and jet expert
Doug Gollan says doing
your research is essential,
which is why he founded
privatejetcardcomparisons.com,
a site designed to help you work
out what suits you best. He says:
“Do rich people really buy these
programmes without reading
the fine print? All the time. What
happens? They get very upset
after they see their first invoice.”
Embraer’s Froes is optimistic
that these developments willClockwise from top
right: The Honda Jet
and its interior; Sentient
Jet interior; inside
Luxaviation’s Embraer
Legacy 600; and
Skytime Jet’s Embraer
Legacy 500