Apr 16, 2016, 7:33 am
Last edit by: elitetraveler
JetSmarter is a membership program that allows members to fly on empty legs of private jets (JetDeals) and seats on scheduled private jet shuttles (JetShuttle).
JetSmarter - discussion and experiences
Apr 24, 2017, 6:01 pm
#1201
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Los Angeles, New York, Lisbon-Portugal
Programs: BA Gold, UA Premier 1K, Amex Plat, GlobalEntry
Posts: 844
Best critique yet.
I must agree with all that you said.
I have more time freedom to find alternate routes between VNY-HPN, including OAK, LAS, MDW, and its "kind of" fun finding the routing. I accepted from the beginning that one way of the journey would be JetBlue Mint, usually the LAX-JFK leg because I like the chopper ride from Manhattan to HPN.
I too really don't get the celebrity-wannabe aspect, none of the people I've flown with seem to match that demographic. <shrug> On the shuttles that I fly I haven't seen the $10,000 carry-on bags. The members that I've met on flights have been 90% men and self-employed. The social media impression from Facebook and Instagram would indicate that the average traveller is 25 year old female head to toe in designer duds or a family with small children and a puppy, and not a plane full of the 45 year old guys who just want to fly between point A to point B and be left alone.
Steve
I have more time freedom to find alternate routes between VNY-HPN, including OAK, LAS, MDW, and its "kind of" fun finding the routing. I accepted from the beginning that one way of the journey would be JetBlue Mint, usually the LAX-JFK leg because I like the chopper ride from Manhattan to HPN.
I too really don't get the celebrity-wannabe aspect, none of the people I've flown with seem to match that demographic. <shrug> On the shuttles that I fly I haven't seen the $10,000 carry-on bags. The members that I've met on flights have been 90% men and self-employed. The social media impression from Facebook and Instagram would indicate that the average traveller is 25 year old female head to toe in designer duds or a family with small children and a puppy, and not a plane full of the 45 year old guys who just want to fly between point A to point B and be left alone.
Steve
My JetSmarter membership expired April 5, after I decided not to renew. I had been a member only one year and had originally budgeted for the renewal, but the value was just not there.
Let me start by saying JS handled my cancellation very professionally. I was asked to provide any feedback, that I deemed helpful to their service, and I spoke to a retention specialist for about 15 minutes the day my membership expired.
I did a lot of research before joining in 2016, but information was scarce. Once I made a connection with a sales representative - via the JetSmarter website - I got some more insight and started to learn about the cost and also the token system.
I had to think long and hard about a $9,000/year membership, but my logic was I would fly 8-10 roundtrips from San Francisco (Oakland, CA) to New York (Westchester, NY). The cost per trip was approximately double what I would have to pay for economy class at a major carrier. The benefits of flying in a business jet clearly were worth the extra dollars.
And then there was the aspect of the jets… I love planes, and I love flying. I have held a license, and have sat at airports looking at Gulfstreams, Citations and other business jets hoping that I would one day get a chance to fly one. I am grateful for having had that opportunity, and although all the coast-to-coast JS flights I’ve been on were all Gulfstream IV-SP, I’ve flown other types of jets over the last 12 months. I don’t know when such an opportunity will come along again. That part saddens me.
A side note here is the discovery of the term “footsie”. It’s a first-world problem if there ever was one, but sitting face-to-face with a stranger with a somewhat limited amount of legroom can be tiresome on a five-hour flight. I feel like a jerk writing this, but that part surprised me, and I see it mentioned in the online forums fairly often. It doesn’t help that I’m 6’4”. Sure, the chair swivel, but you’ll soon have four people claim the aisle way, and you are essentially blocking the way for the crew when doing so.
JetSmarter comes with a token system. My $9,000 membership got me in at the highest level available at the time, and I got two tokens. You use these when you book, and depending on the length of the flight; you have to use one or two tokens. The coast-to-coast flights require two tokens - each way. As such, you can not book your return flight until your tokens are re-deposited into your account; which typically happens during takeoff roll.
It quickly became apparent that this was a severe limitation of the JetSmarter model, and as the number of members grew, it became impossible to fly both ways in a reasonable timeframe. I took my last JS flight from OAK to HPN on March 31, 2017. The earliest return available was four weeks later! In fact, during the 12 months of my membership, I was only able to book a same-weekend return flight on a few occasions - both right after I signed up. Don’t let anybody fool you: Right now JetSmarter is essentially a one-way service forcing you to fly commercially one of the two ways.
I’ve raised this with JS on several occasions. In the beginning, I was told to sit tight - more flights would be added (never happened), and later I was told that I could just upgrade to the $50,000/year membership as that would guarantee early pre-booking and give me four tokens.
It’s one part of the problem that you can’t book early, but it gets messy quickly because you are charged - sometimes very expensive - fees for canceling your flight. In other words: JS force you to book four weeks out and then charge you should you have to cancel or change your reservation. As other people have pointed out, you get a one-time courtesy cancellation. After that, you pay (and I have paid….) upwards of $1,000 for canceled flights.
Other things surprised me: I live close to SFO and got notified of repositioning flights originating as far north as Sacramento and as far south as Monterey - all labeled “San Francisco flights”. It would take you four hours to drive in between those airports!
The number of repositioning flights has gone down significantly over the last months. I also addressed this in the early fall of ’16. JS’s reply was that there was a general slowdown in the number of booked business jet flights and that it was expected to pick up the following month, but it remained the same.
Speaking of repositioning flights: I had my fair share of canceled flights and only managed to get onboard twice. One time I made to the terminal only to find out that the XO Jet decided to leave without us - we saw the plane take off. Not cool to stand there with invited passengers and purchased tickets to Disneyland. JS offered to fly us to SNA first class, but no seats were available according to their rep. The United app I was looking at told a different story.
Overall I’ve meet interesting people on the planes - wine growers, promoters, entrepreneurs, flight attendants and even law enforcement (running a side business). There have also been the loud ones that talked about money that it’ll never run out and a guy that was on the phone trying to raise millions to keep his company afloat. There have certainly been times I’ve appreciated being able to turn my noise canceling headset on, but the people I’ve met have been great. Nobody has been obnoxious - even after two bottles of champagne. And credit where credit is due: The crews I have met were all professional, and I’ve felt safe and well taken off.
I wish JS well - I really do. I can’t say, I understand their business model and the luxury aspect that they continuously push. Having a 24-carat gold-plated membership card is outright silly, and while I can see the appeal to a section of the member base, I think the same of their expansion of services such as house swapping, VIP events, and alignment with celebrities. The offering continue to change to become profitable (or sellable?). The turnover at JS seems high - I had four reps in a 12 month period.
I don’t see the current model sustainable, and recent articles seem to paint a picture of a facade that’s starting to crack.
Let me start by saying JS handled my cancellation very professionally. I was asked to provide any feedback, that I deemed helpful to their service, and I spoke to a retention specialist for about 15 minutes the day my membership expired.
I did a lot of research before joining in 2016, but information was scarce. Once I made a connection with a sales representative - via the JetSmarter website - I got some more insight and started to learn about the cost and also the token system.
I had to think long and hard about a $9,000/year membership, but my logic was I would fly 8-10 roundtrips from San Francisco (Oakland, CA) to New York (Westchester, NY). The cost per trip was approximately double what I would have to pay for economy class at a major carrier. The benefits of flying in a business jet clearly were worth the extra dollars.
And then there was the aspect of the jets… I love planes, and I love flying. I have held a license, and have sat at airports looking at Gulfstreams, Citations and other business jets hoping that I would one day get a chance to fly one. I am grateful for having had that opportunity, and although all the coast-to-coast JS flights I’ve been on were all Gulfstream IV-SP, I’ve flown other types of jets over the last 12 months. I don’t know when such an opportunity will come along again. That part saddens me.
A side note here is the discovery of the term “footsie”. It’s a first-world problem if there ever was one, but sitting face-to-face with a stranger with a somewhat limited amount of legroom can be tiresome on a five-hour flight. I feel like a jerk writing this, but that part surprised me, and I see it mentioned in the online forums fairly often. It doesn’t help that I’m 6’4”. Sure, the chair swivel, but you’ll soon have four people claim the aisle way, and you are essentially blocking the way for the crew when doing so.
JetSmarter comes with a token system. My $9,000 membership got me in at the highest level available at the time, and I got two tokens. You use these when you book, and depending on the length of the flight; you have to use one or two tokens. The coast-to-coast flights require two tokens - each way. As such, you can not book your return flight until your tokens are re-deposited into your account; which typically happens during takeoff roll.
It quickly became apparent that this was a severe limitation of the JetSmarter model, and as the number of members grew, it became impossible to fly both ways in a reasonable timeframe. I took my last JS flight from OAK to HPN on March 31, 2017. The earliest return available was four weeks later! In fact, during the 12 months of my membership, I was only able to book a same-weekend return flight on a few occasions - both right after I signed up. Don’t let anybody fool you: Right now JetSmarter is essentially a one-way service forcing you to fly commercially one of the two ways.
I’ve raised this with JS on several occasions. In the beginning, I was told to sit tight - more flights would be added (never happened), and later I was told that I could just upgrade to the $50,000/year membership as that would guarantee early pre-booking and give me four tokens.
It’s one part of the problem that you can’t book early, but it gets messy quickly because you are charged - sometimes very expensive - fees for canceling your flight. In other words: JS force you to book four weeks out and then charge you should you have to cancel or change your reservation. As other people have pointed out, you get a one-time courtesy cancellation. After that, you pay (and I have paid….) upwards of $1,000 for canceled flights.
Other things surprised me: I live close to SFO and got notified of repositioning flights originating as far north as Sacramento and as far south as Monterey - all labeled “San Francisco flights”. It would take you four hours to drive in between those airports!
The number of repositioning flights has gone down significantly over the last months. I also addressed this in the early fall of ’16. JS’s reply was that there was a general slowdown in the number of booked business jet flights and that it was expected to pick up the following month, but it remained the same.
Speaking of repositioning flights: I had my fair share of canceled flights and only managed to get onboard twice. One time I made to the terminal only to find out that the XO Jet decided to leave without us - we saw the plane take off. Not cool to stand there with invited passengers and purchased tickets to Disneyland. JS offered to fly us to SNA first class, but no seats were available according to their rep. The United app I was looking at told a different story.
Overall I’ve meet interesting people on the planes - wine growers, promoters, entrepreneurs, flight attendants and even law enforcement (running a side business). There have also been the loud ones that talked about money that it’ll never run out and a guy that was on the phone trying to raise millions to keep his company afloat. There have certainly been times I’ve appreciated being able to turn my noise canceling headset on, but the people I’ve met have been great. Nobody has been obnoxious - even after two bottles of champagne. And credit where credit is due: The crews I have met were all professional, and I’ve felt safe and well taken off.
I wish JS well - I really do. I can’t say, I understand their business model and the luxury aspect that they continuously push. Having a 24-carat gold-plated membership card is outright silly, and while I can see the appeal to a section of the member base, I think the same of their expansion of services such as house swapping, VIP events, and alignment with celebrities. The offering continue to change to become profitable (or sellable?). The turnover at JS seems high - I had four reps in a 12 month period.
I don’t see the current model sustainable, and recent articles seem to paint a picture of a facade that’s starting to crack.
Last edited by backdoc; Apr 25, 2017 at 9:43 am
Apr 24, 2017, 6:43 pm
#1202
Join Date: Apr 2006
Posts: 469
JetSmarter comes with a token system. My $9,000 membership got me in at the highest level available at the time, and I got two tokens. You use these when you book, and depending on the length of the flight; you have to use one or two tokens. The coast-to-coast flights require two tokens - each way. As such, you can not book your return flight until your tokens are re-deposited into your account; which typically happens during takeoff roll.
It quickly became apparent that this was a severe limitation of the JetSmarter model, and as the number of members grew, it became impossible to fly both ways in a reasonable timeframe. I took my last JS flight from OAK to HPN on March 31, 2017. The earliest return available was four weeks later! In fact, during the 12 months of my membership, I was only able to book a same-weekend return flight on a few occasions - both right after I signed up. Don’t let anybody fool you: Right now JetSmarter is essentially a one-way service forcing you to fly commercially one of the two ways.
I’ve raised this with JS on several occasions. In the beginning, I was told to sit tight - more flights would be added (never happened), and later I was told that I could just upgrade to the $50,000/year membership as that would guarantee early pre-booking and give me four tokens.
It quickly became apparent that this was a severe limitation of the JetSmarter model, and as the number of members grew, it became impossible to fly both ways in a reasonable timeframe. I took my last JS flight from OAK to HPN on March 31, 2017. The earliest return available was four weeks later! In fact, during the 12 months of my membership, I was only able to book a same-weekend return flight on a few occasions - both right after I signed up. Don’t let anybody fool you: Right now JetSmarter is essentially a one-way service forcing you to fly commercially one of the two ways.
I’ve raised this with JS on several occasions. In the beginning, I was told to sit tight - more flights would be added (never happened), and later I was told that I could just upgrade to the $50,000/year membership as that would guarantee early pre-booking and give me four tokens.
Apr 25, 2017, 10:51 am
#1203
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Los Angeles, New York, Lisbon-Portugal
Programs: BA Gold, UA Premier 1K, Amex Plat, GlobalEntry
Posts: 844
For those not renewing... Chopper Service available with DeltaOne
This press release today from Delta:
"The fastest way to travel between Manhattan and New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport just became even easier for Delta customers. Delta will enable a fully integrated, streamlined airport transfer experience through an exclusive partnership with BLADE, a digitally powered aviation company that arranges on-demand helicopter service between its Manhattan heliport lounges and JFK.
“Our customers value speed and reliability, and so do we. We’re proud to be the only airline facilitating an on-demand helicopter transfer that is curated specifically for Delta customers and in line with the enhanced premium amenities and services they have come to expect from our brand,” said Tim Mapes, Delta’s Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer. “Partnering with BLADE in the New York City market — home to and destination for many of our most discerning travelers — highlights Delta’s commitment to enhancing every aspect and detail of the travel experience, including getting to and from the airport.”
Delta’s JFK customers can book an expedited, seamless experience that begins and ends at one of BLADE’s three Manhattan heliport lounges where they may relax in a full-service lounge prior to their five-minute flight. Upon touchdown, a member of Delta’s Elite Services team will welcome the customer, collect baggage and personally escort them from the helicopter via awaiting ground transportation to the departure terminal, expediting security clearance as they head to their departing aircraft. When it’s time for the Delta flight, the customer is escorted to their seat on board. Bookings are available via the BLADE app.
Delta customers arriving into JFK, including those on transcontinental service from Los Angeles and San Francisco and trans-Atlantic flights from London, can also enjoy a seamless helicopter transfer experience. Delta’s Elite Services will meet customers on the jet bridge as they disembark a Delta flight or immediately after they clear customs, reclaim baggage and whisk them directly to the door of a waiting helicopter for the five-minute flight to Manhattan."
"The fastest way to travel between Manhattan and New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport just became even easier for Delta customers. Delta will enable a fully integrated, streamlined airport transfer experience through an exclusive partnership with BLADE, a digitally powered aviation company that arranges on-demand helicopter service between its Manhattan heliport lounges and JFK.
“Our customers value speed and reliability, and so do we. We’re proud to be the only airline facilitating an on-demand helicopter transfer that is curated specifically for Delta customers and in line with the enhanced premium amenities and services they have come to expect from our brand,” said Tim Mapes, Delta’s Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer. “Partnering with BLADE in the New York City market — home to and destination for many of our most discerning travelers — highlights Delta’s commitment to enhancing every aspect and detail of the travel experience, including getting to and from the airport.”
Delta’s JFK customers can book an expedited, seamless experience that begins and ends at one of BLADE’s three Manhattan heliport lounges where they may relax in a full-service lounge prior to their five-minute flight. Upon touchdown, a member of Delta’s Elite Services team will welcome the customer, collect baggage and personally escort them from the helicopter via awaiting ground transportation to the departure terminal, expediting security clearance as they head to their departing aircraft. When it’s time for the Delta flight, the customer is escorted to their seat on board. Bookings are available via the BLADE app.
Delta customers arriving into JFK, including those on transcontinental service from Los Angeles and San Francisco and trans-Atlantic flights from London, can also enjoy a seamless helicopter transfer experience. Delta’s Elite Services will meet customers on the jet bridge as they disembark a Delta flight or immediately after they clear customs, reclaim baggage and whisk them directly to the door of a waiting helicopter for the five-minute flight to Manhattan."
Apr 25, 2017, 10:56 pm
#1204
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: New York / Shanghai / Taipei
Posts: 119
None of this really applies to new members (or those that renew starting next week). As has been discussed previously, under the "new" Smart plan, even transcons require only one token, plus a fee. So booking return trips are no longer a problem, but they're also no longer free.
Apr 26, 2017, 8:26 am
#1207
Join Date: Apr 2006
Posts: 469
The point is, there will be no more OLD-Smart renewals starting May 1. All Smart memberships renewed starting then will be under the "NEW-Smart" terms.
Apr 26, 2017, 2:46 pm
#1209
Join Date: Apr 2016
Posts: 90
Wow I guess I got in with just a week to spare to keep the OLD-Smart membership. Per usual, absolutely no transparency here.
Apr 26, 2017, 4:18 pm
#1211
Join Date: Apr 2006
Posts: 469
Right now, for SMART members who renewed between Jan. 1 and May 1, they were given the option of keeping their old shuttle benefits (2 tokens required for flights over 3 hours, but no fees except for transcontinental flights and any shuttle routes begun in 2017) or the new rules (longer flights only require 1 token, but require an additional payment). If they kept on the OLD plan, those benefits should remain until the next renewal.
All renewals since helicopter transfer charges were instituted have required payments for those, and all new shuttle routes are subject to additional charges for everyone.
Apr 26, 2017, 4:48 pm
#1212
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Oakland CA
Programs: DL Gold, AS MVPG, Globalist
Posts: 1,008
But if you're in at, say, $12K, the math starts to look much worse. Say you take the mid-tier t-con price ($450 o/w), and you do six t-cons a year. That's $5400, which now makes your membership $17.5K. Not only that, but with tcons booking out 3-4 weeks in advance, your tokens are used six months of the year, meaning you can't take any other flights.
Jetblue, etc. start to look pretty attractive: 6 t-cons would be maybe $9K ( $1500 RT depending on when you book, but I'm assuming a month out since that's when you have to book shuttles ). So you're paying an extra $8.5K to be able to use short-distance shuttles for the other six months of the year, plus empties anytime, plus save two hours not having to go through security when flying commercial. Of course, you're being penalized by schedule, and by the huge cancellation fees.
I wish JS would say "Look, our current model isn't sustainable, but we understand the business better now, and we can see either of these two models working: X or Y. Members, please discuss and vote, and we'll move forward with the one you pick." It would let them solve the problem they clearly have, actually stay in business (!), and get members rooting for them rather than against them. This whole thing with unannounced changes and then backchannel communication doesn't engender any trust.
Apr 27, 2017, 5:59 pm
#1213
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Denver • DEN-APA
Programs: AF Platinum, EK Gold, AA EXP, UA 1K, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 21,600
And yet another "special offer". LOL.
Dear SFO777,
I know you’ve been checking out JetSmarter but haven’t yet pulled the trigger. I’ve got a weekend promotion that I think you’ll like.
Buy two SMART memberships for $26,000 this weekend only. That’s a $4,000 discount on the cost of both memberships.
Membership gives you access to on-demand private and shared charters, complimentary seats on global shared shuttles, a full menu of lifestyle services, and more.
Just give me a call at (954) 315-0051 and I’ll get you set up.
I Iook forward to speaking with you.
Best,
Jim
Dear SFO777,
I know you’ve been checking out JetSmarter but haven’t yet pulled the trigger. I’ve got a weekend promotion that I think you’ll like.
Buy two SMART memberships for $26,000 this weekend only. That’s a $4,000 discount on the cost of both memberships.
Membership gives you access to on-demand private and shared charters, complimentary seats on global shared shuttles, a full menu of lifestyle services, and more.
Just give me a call at (954) 315-0051 and I’ll get you set up.
I Iook forward to speaking with you.
Best,
Jim
Apr 27, 2017, 6:20 pm
#1214
Join Date: Jun 2016
Posts: 32
And yet another "special offer". LOL.
Dear SFO777,
I know you’ve been checking out JetSmarter but haven’t yet pulled the trigger. I’ve got a weekend promotion that I think you’ll like.
Buy two SMART memberships for $26,000 this weekend only. That’s a $4,000 discount on the cost of both memberships.
Membership gives you access to on-demand private and shared charters, complimentary seats on global shared shuttles, a full menu of lifestyle services, and more.
Just give me a call at (954) 315-0051 and I’ll get you set up.
I Iook forward to speaking with you.
Best,
Jim
Dear SFO777,
I know you’ve been checking out JetSmarter but haven’t yet pulled the trigger. I’ve got a weekend promotion that I think you’ll like.
Buy two SMART memberships for $26,000 this weekend only. That’s a $4,000 discount on the cost of both memberships.
Membership gives you access to on-demand private and shared charters, complimentary seats on global shared shuttles, a full menu of lifestyle services, and more.
Just give me a call at (954) 315-0051 and I’ll get you set up.
I Iook forward to speaking with you.
Best,
Jim
Apr 27, 2017, 11:11 pm
#1215
Join Date: Jan 2013
Programs: DL, UA
Posts: 594
And yet another "special offer". LOL.
Dear SFO777,
I know you’ve been checking out JetSmarter but haven’t yet pulled the trigger. I’ve got a weekend promotion that I think you’ll like.
Buy two SMART memberships for $26,000 this weekend only. That’s a $4,000 discount on the cost of both memberships.
Membership gives you access to on-demand private and shared charters, complimentary seats on global shared shuttles, a full menu of lifestyle services, and more.
Just give me a call at (954) 315-0051 and I’ll get you set up.
I Iook forward to speaking with you.
Best,
Jim
Dear SFO777,
I know you’ve been checking out JetSmarter but haven’t yet pulled the trigger. I’ve got a weekend promotion that I think you’ll like.
Buy two SMART memberships for $26,000 this weekend only. That’s a $4,000 discount on the cost of both memberships.
Membership gives you access to on-demand private and shared charters, complimentary seats on global shared shuttles, a full menu of lifestyle services, and more.
Just give me a call at (954) 315-0051 and I’ll get you set up.
I Iook forward to speaking with you.
Best,
Jim