travelinmanS

Be afraid, be very afraid...

whimike

I have flown JetSuite quite a few times, but each time booked the entire plane, not just a seat.

I have taken advantage of many of the last minute "suite deals", such as SJC-LAS or SJC-SNA, for $499 - $599.

I have also done a standard charter with them on a Scottsdale - Oakland for around $2500.

I very much enjoyed it and recommend them.

I believe on their Suite Deals they do now allow you to book just a seat, but the planes are not that big and it's not a premium experience to be sharing such close quarters with strangers, at least to me.

84fiero

In fact the business aviation world has security procedures and standards.

But if you really believe that the only safe way to fly is with TSA's security theater in place, you may wish to become familiar with information such as TSA's own analysis admitting that terrorists are not planning attacks against civil aviation and there have been no attempted hijackings since 9/11. Or the fact that TSA has never foiled a terrorist attack attempt at a security checkpoint (or anywhere else).

The likelihood of a terrorist group targeting a corporate jet has not been shown to be an emminent or likely threat. And even if it were, it would be much simpler (and certainly within a well organized group's financial means) for a terrorist group to merely rent the entire aircraft in full and preclude any chance of interference from another random passenger.

FirstInFlight

My assumption is that you -

1. Just want to fly on any private jet - doesn't matter if it is a Gulfstream or a Citation etc

2. Don't care where the plane is going - you aren't trying to get from A to B - the point is just to fly on a private jet wherever it is going
3. You want the cheapest flight you can find

if those assumptions are correct then - as noted above - you want a repositioning flight. Charter companies fly you wherever you want to go. If you want to go from A to B they have to first fly to A. If they can't find another charter to A they will sell that flight (from wherever the plane is to A) at a discount.

When they get to B they would love a charter from B to C. But if the next charter is from C to D then they will sell the leg from B to C at a discount.

Some things to think about -

You have to get to where the charter starts and get home from where the charter ends. Easier said than done in some parts of the country .

Your charter can be cancelled if the "real" charter cancels - not often a problem - but if you bought commercial tickets you could get stuck.

These flights are always last minute.

whimike

Yes, be very afraid, those small private jets can do tons of damage!!!

Terrorists want to inflict maximum damage, that isn't going to happen with a small plane.

NewbieRunner

There was this (in)famous Lufthansa Private Jet promotion a few years ago where you could earn (a lot of) miles.

Herb687

Trying to book the cheapest private jet flight possible? That sounds like a great idea.

You won't find me flying on any low end Part 135 operators. There is a really scummy, corner-cutting, bottom-feeding segment of the charter market.

Professionally flown Part 91 corporate jets are statistically just as safe as airlines. Top-tier charter and fractional operators run great operations. Anything else and you are really rolling the dice.

747FC

+1

One gets what one pays for. "Cheap" means corner-cutting in personnel, equiptment, and processes.

timfountain

Agreed, this was my first thought also. I'm sure the FAA will be ruling on this pretty soon. Also not sure that many 135 customers will be interested in sharing their "unique" experience with the Hoi polloi.

Herb687

I'm not a Regs geek but I think you guys may be making too much out of a distinction that's not that relevant. Part 135 operators are air carriers. In fact, there are even scheduled airlines that operate under Part 135 and not Part 121 (think some of the Cessna Caravan airlines: single-engine, single-pilot IFR common carriage under Part 135).

Again, not a Regs geek, but I think the difference between whether ops must be conducted under 121 or 135 (or 125!) has more to do with the type (passenger seating capacity) of equipment. Part 135 operators are certainly certificated air carriers and may engage in common carriage under some conditions.

It's not the 135 vs. 121 distinction that would stop me from hopping on the cheapest charter on the junkiest high-time Learjet I could find!


Agree completely. There have been various attempts to do "charter by the seat" flights over the years. I'm not aware of any charter by the seat business venture that was a long-term success.

airmotive

It has everything to do with how you present your seat availability. That's why many of the other attempts to sell seats on private jets involved memberships.
If you present seats for sale on your aircraft to anyone, you are, by definition, a 'common carrier'. Anyone can buy a ticket. The only question is, are you a 'scheduled' or 'unscheduled' airline.
While many corporate flight departments operate to Part 121 regs as a matter of their internal safety management system, most do not. It's VERY expensive.

oenophilist

bump to move to new forum