Carpooling arrives at business airports
Who hasn’t dreamed of flying in a luxury private jet without breaking the bank? Now, with the options for private jet share, it’s possible.
A look at the midpoint between luxury aviation and low-cost airlines, offering a type of democratisation of business aviation.
The concept: private jet travel at affordable prices
In recent years, business aviation has been faced with two striking issues:
- the number of empty ghost flights.
- the high cost of private flights
This is what encouraged the French company Cojetage to launch its private jet share online booking platform. And you can even access luxury from your mobile as the start-up has also launched its app for iPhone and Android.
Private jet share prices
Unbeatable prices: how does it work?
These platforms offer a discount of almost 70% on the price offered by conventional private airlines. For example, it will cost 260 euros for a flight from Paris to Nice on-board a Cessna Citation, compared to the 10,000 euros initially planned. This seems excessive and yet it is based on a simple and clever procedure as it is a question of making aircraft return flights of the aircraft profitable. The ingenious idea is therefore to take advantage of these, often empty, return flights by sharing the transport costs. A win-win approach for private airlines and groups of passengers who then take advantage of this possibility. See our article on group flight charters.
5-star services on-board
The aim of this new model is to extend the top-of-the-range business jet services to a clientele who wouldn’t normally get to experience it. Now, passengers with more modest budgets can enjoy a journey worthy of CEOs: catering on demand, champagne, seats that become beds, Wi-Fi connection, and a panoramic roof. Moreover, these new platforms confirm, despite the low prices, a level of safety identical to that of a traditional private jet charter flight. Combining advantageous rates and unequalled comfort: private jet share sounds very appealing. However, there are some disadvantages, as we explain.
Disadvantages of private jet sharing
While this type of air transport is very attractive, there are a few drawbacks. By piggybacking existing flights, there is very little flexibility. All the flights and routes offered by this new transport model will indicate the number of passengers and luggage that can be carried on-board. The flight will have to be at the right time and place and it is necessary to find a different means of transport for the outward or return journey. Finally, this new system can hardly match the original private jet charter option in terms of follow-up and service quality. With this type of reservation, you will be assigned a specific type of business jet: a Citation Mustang, a Challenger 350 or a Falcon 6X. There are some compromises to make: a budget-friendly flight without the tailor-made service offered by hire sites.
In case of cancellation or delay?
Your flight can also be changed or cancelled at the last minute before boarding, meaning you have to be ready to deal with various contingencies such as change of destination, timetable or business airport. However, if you cancel or change your itinerary, you can request compensation from the platform in question.
Our air experts are at your service 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for your private flight on +33 (0) 1 44 09 91 82. Do not hesitate to go to our online quote to obtain a price estimate for your private flight.
