SuperSaint

I won't be renewing my SIMPLE membership (it no longer exists) unless I am able to have the current SMART membership (free shuttles under 3 hours etc).

JS is clearly moving towards a "private aviation" airline model which has been tried many times (and failed). Unless they are VERY competitive with their pricing, I just can't see people paying $7k a year for the "privilege" of paying J/F prices... especially if they have to squeeze into a tiny jet like a Pilatus or something similar.

dval44

Does anyone have details on the new "JetSmarter Membership" that will be the only membership going forward? They said most empty legs wont' be free with that membership? Hm?

dordal

I believe empty legs still will be free. I'm just not sure how much longer the empty leg program will be around...

dval44

WhyPrivate

Without the TMC Hawker 800XP inventory of empty legs, do we now just have XO on the Citation X and Challenger 300 and the TMC 400XP for paid empties? Or are they adding new operators?

mwood20

I'm up for renewal again on the smart membership grandfathered in rate. They want me to switch over to the one token system for trans cons but that might be a deal breaker for me, I really don't like that model.

mwood20

I don't think this is accurate.

Sergey Petrosov: We are lowering the fee of entry for new members to democratize the access point even more. Annual membership is now $4,950 plus a $3,000 initiation fee. These new members will pay more per seat than (existing) SMART members do now. The plan is to open up access to more people that fly even a few times per year versus more frequent fliers that are joining today with SMART membership for $15,000. Existing SMART members are not affected by this and keep their old membership with better pricing and perks.

millions

You don't think which part is accurate? It seems true that JS is no longer offering "Smart" memberships, and have just gone to a catch-all "JetSmarter" membership, while still offering the higher-end "Sophisticated" membership. Did you receive the email from Sergey a while back (March 23)? In it, he wrote, "As a founding member, this will not affect your membership in any way - you can either keep your membership as it stands, or transition to the new plan at renewal. The choice is yours." So, did your membership rep offer you the choice of moving to the new membership (presumably at $4,950), or explain the differences to you?

mwood20

You have a SMART right, when is your renewal? They offered me the grandfathered in SMART membership rate but just the change to the one token + dynamic pricing on trans cons. For some reason, I didn't get that email from Sergey.

luvtoflydal

There have been lots of changes in the past year: a) VIP Shuttles, b) crowdsourced flights, c) dynamic pricing differences, d) service providers & availability of empty legs, e) JetSuiteX, and f) some route additions/deletions/shuttle-frequency changes. Now, a different membership model.

I'm not sure how to interpret these. Presumably, they have been made because they are good for the company and make it more likely that members will initiate more shuttles and shared charters - which should be good for nearly everyone. Overall, are these changes good for typical members? How will these changes impact the types of members who join, renew, and fail-to-renew?

PbodyPhoto

Falcon900

Not sure why anyone would use Jetsmarter, they are simply a broker with higher than average fees, plus the membership dues.
My favorite aircrfaft to charter is a Falcon 900EX, and i always use my trusted broker over some smartphone app to get from A-B.

I almost went for the Wheels up/Wheels Down program, but they have a limited fleet with just the King Air 350 and the Excel, In the busy summerd and winter months, my charter broker always has good deals, I find it's the best way to utilize the busy charter market to your favor,

troyb

Just out of curiosity, can you share any examples of past charters you've considered good deals? I find myself considering charters more and more but have trouble benchmarking what a good deal is vs. a bad one. There are just so many additional variables (plane type / # of seats, speed, flight distance, etc.) and much less public information, compared to buying commercial tickets.

Falcon900

*Easiest way for me to spot a good charter deal is by simply looking at flight time and aircraft class/catagory coupled with price. This can be done with either a one-way or a roundtrip flight.

For example, i once chartered a Bombardier 'Global Express' for $13,000 from Miami Opa-Locka to Teterboro, NJ
It was a last minute deal my broker found for me (same day trip when i was stuck at the airport) If you are familair with Bombardier, the Global is a 13 pax machine, and throughly appointed withall the amenities.

Flight time on that trip roughly 2 1/2 hrs if the crew is on top of things, and the aircraft catagory is Ultra Long Range. So, i ponied up a swift $13,000 with tax included! Comes to 5,200 an hour for once of the largest PJ's around

Fly empty legs with a broker, and you will sleep well at night!

Nicoolio

How's your experience with empty legs? -- The people i know who 'buy' them tell me the cancel about half the time so you need to have flexibility.