T-15.01

Who knows? They don't own planes, they own the membership list. 6500 people paying 10k per year is worth at least 65 million. And it's a sure bet they'll be monetizing that list in time any which way they can. The unlimited notion is plausible except it's inaccurate. LA to East Coast offers only 4 scheduled flights per week (NY or FL) which in seat terms = 48 seats. Safe to assume there are lots more LA members than 48. They've probably gotten a good deal on the advance buy of flight hours on mostly 20+ year old G IVs that were otherwise not well used. They probably make money on member initiated shuttles and cancellation fees are a money maker! empties are likely costing them next to nothing, but entice lots of people to join giving them immediate revenue.

Gabrca

Just as an update Air Hamburg (Euro operator) has cut free alcohol and snacks on their JetDeals.

To be fair I don't think it was ever supposed to be included, but in my past 6-8 flights with Air Hamburg has never been a problem. Yesterday I was told a pretty stern no from the captain when getting a drink from the cabinet of a Citation XLS+. He said there had been problems with "your fellow Jetsmarter members". That I probably don't digress, but its a shame to see some flight crew a bit disgruntled with JS passengers overall.

Has anyone else heard feedback from pilots about JS passengers?

imperialg

The last few XO Jet flights that I went on had the snack and drink drawer cleared and the alcohol cabinet was locked.

dval44

Yes, absolutely. I make it a point to clean up every ounce of trash and leave the cabin in perfect condition on empties. I also chat up the pilots (on empty legs) and stewardesses (on shuttles) about JS and their thoughts. It's important to remember that they personally are not benefiting in most cases, yet they have to do a lot of extra work. I go out of my way to tip, etc. Here's some of the convos I've had:

XOJet pilots
"we have talked amongst ourselves about making a jet etiquette video. Sometimes we have a 30 minute turnaround for a live leg and the cabin is a mess. Some people spill, leave crumbs everywhere, and make our jobs hard. Some people bring selfie sticks and film promotional videos, which gets old fast."

"We have had JS members clean out our catering, and literally dump all our alcohol into their bags. We were told now that we can charge for that if it happens again. You are welcome to grab a few drinks and enjoy yourself! Here, let me give you some wine!"

Stewardesses on shuttles
"These flights are definitely way more work, as usually these jets fly with 4 or 5 people on business. But the plus side is they offer a predictable schedule so my life is less hectic."

I would plead with everyone here to do their part and go out of their way to be awesome in order to help the JetSmarter reputation. I tried to do a holiday tip drive for operators, but JS did not like the idea.

dval44

Flight canceled 20 minutes before takeoff! Has anyone else experienced this?

Was at the FBO for an XOJet empty that was confirmed and scheduled to leave in 23 minutes. My phone had an alert from JetSmarter:

"We are sorry, your flight is not confirmed. Have a nice day."

"WHAT?! I am at the airport and have made many nonrefundable reservations for this trip."

"We are sorry, there is a mechanical issue. Because this is a mechanical issue, there is nothing we can do to help. We can't cover any costs. Our concierge can quote travel services for you."

This was pretty crappy. Has anyone else had this? I guess if the flight cancels for weather OR mechanical issues (which is pretty much all cases), then JS has zero responsibility? I am skeptical that the "mechanical issues" weren't known til 30 minutes prior, as the XOjet pilot sitting next to me was (he called ops). I am waiting to hear back on when exactly the plane was scheduled for maintenance, but it sounds like it was scheduled all day.

On the one hand, mechanical issues happen, and they shouldn't bear the enormous cost of re-positioning a flight for empty leg clients. But on the other hand, this was enormously costly and inconvenient for me, and it stinks that there was simply nothing except "Sorry" for what happened. Any thoughts? Thanks!

Gabrca

Has happened to me twice. One we were literally on the plane taxiing to the runway when there was a mechanical issue with the plane. That I can't blame them for. $500 credit offered

The other time was give approximately 15 hours notice, but even then it wasn't made completely clear if the flight was actually going as it remained on the app.

Gabrca

It must be a crazy transition as a pilot from having 30% of your flights fly empty, to having them filled with people who are quite new to the experience.

PbodyPhoto

This is the number one reason I haven't signed up. If their cancelation policy was more user friendly I wouldn't mind them canceling flights without compensation but they seem out to stiff the customer.

DLH441

Have you downloaded the new JS update ? It's definitely harder to find and book a flight now.. Is there a way to downgrade the app ?

Gabrca

Agreed, don't love the new layout. On the flip side they seem to have finally optimised it so it's nowhere near as data intensive. I'm seeing about 200kb a refresh as opposed to 5mb.

Sykes

I generally tend to discuss it with any of the empty leg pilots I talk to who is interested in making small talk before the flight. One of the pilots I talked to was pretty succinct: about 90% of JetSmarter passengers are responsible, kind, and a pleasure to have on board. The other 10% are a massive hassle. Pretty much all of the members I've personally met have been great, but they've told me of other members that have cleared out all the minis on a flight. All of the empty leg pilots I've had were wonderful though--super friendly and easy-going. On my last flight to Scottsdale, both the captain and the FO were from the area, so between the two of them they came back 4 times to give us some fantastic recommendations for what to do while we were in the area.

Officially, food and drinks are not included on empty legs. The Charter Terms specify that for empty legs (only) they can charge us $50 for each mini consumed, and a flat fee of $100 if we consume any sodas or snacks. In practice, I've never seen it and I doubt they have ever actually enforced it aside from occasionally locking the liquor or hiding it away. (I've only had that happen once.)


I've had two flights cancel within 1 hour of departure, and both were mechanical issues. JetSmarter was no help. They do guarantee the shuttles and will find alternate accommodations if a shuttle cancels, but they seem to have moved past the days when they would take care of empty leg passengers.

millions

I have seen the liquor cabinet locked on about 50% of JetDeals. I have also flown with several loud, obnoxious passengers who brought back multiple minis at a time (typically to mix with things like coca-cola or ginger ale).

JetSmarter obviously doesn't really care about the rep of its passengers, as demonstrated by the expanded ability of non-members to fly unaccompanied on empty legs. I recently flew with a young man on his first private flight, who was "very nervous" flying, and attempted to mitigate that nervousness by downing several bottles of whiskey and soda on a 45-minute flight.

As for late cancellations, I've only had one. JetSmarter acknowledged that XOJets "pulled the flight" during the confirmation window (it was about T-1.5), and offered to accommodate us on commercial flights.

Townshend

I've only had one issue with an empty leg and it wasn't even the plane but the heli transfer to the plane. While I couldn't make the empty they did take care of me. 9 months in and I'm still a very happy member.

For the empties, if you want to drink just bring your own if it's that much of an issue. Last empty I took I didn't even check, they gave us a bottle of water and that was fine. I asked for the trash upon exit and the pilot said he'd take care of.

millions

They explicitly prohibit you from bringing your own alcohol onboard.

Sykes

Its not just prohibited by policy alone--it's outright illegal to consume any alcohol that is not "served" by the operator of the flight (14 CFR 135.121(a)). Having said that, I don't imagine that they'd care much.