oenophilist

JetSmarter has been mentioned recently throughout Flyertalk. I have been a subscriber for about four months, about to take my sixth flight with them.

What is the current feeling about the service up until now? Overall, I have been quite pleased, but there has been some discussion as to whether or not the JetShuttle flights are a good business model.

Thoughts?

Edited to add: Please note, it is against the FlyerTalk TOS to post a referral code for financial gain. Please do not post referral codes in this thread.

TVCMH

Deleted

Kagehitokiri

TVCMH, the point of selling/buying seats is to avoid commercial airports/terminals

oenophilist

In terms of the shuttles, I think that the model works for some very specific audiences.

Such as those people who have two residences (e.g. LA and NY) and want to be able to travel between the two on an occasional basis. Or those that frequently take one-way flights between the two. I do not see the Shuttles as a complete substitution for commercial travel.

gooseman13

For the folks who are members - are you only flying empty legs/shuttles? Or have you actually booked a charter through the app?

oenophilist

I have only flown on Empty Legs but they don't have shuttles in Europe yet. If I were to book a charter (which is doubtful, those are much more expensive), I would want to do more research as to the price comparison, since JetSmarter is basically a broker and does not operate planes themselves.

By the way, the empty leg that I flew yesterday was the best yet. A legacy 650. I had the entire plane to myself, along with my own personal flight attendant. Too bad it wasn't a very long flight.

gooseman13

Are you traveling on the flights for fun, or are they available between places you need to travel anyway?

backdoc

The LA-NYC shuttle works great for me and allows me to go back and forth every other week. Flexibility is a must because the availability of seats is unpredictable. But, with the addition of Vegas/NYC shuttle I can see popping to Vegas by Southwest and then catching the shuttle to HPN.

Steve

gooseman13

Steve, how often were you traveling back and forth before Jetsmarter? Coach or first class?

mattack4000

Heading should be I LOVE IT

As my luck would have it, I found an open leg flight on Jetsmarter flying the same exact route and at nearly the same time as my Southwest flight. I was a little nervous as open leg flights don't get confirmed until 5 hours before departure. I had to wait until the last minute before I cancel my SW flight. Anyway the invoice ended up to be around $750, which was paid for with my $1000 Jetsmarter credit with no questions asked for this flight. The entire process was quick and painless, maybe a little too painless as I had to manually call to confirm some details since it was my first time.

Forgetting the plane one second, the entire EXPERIENCE flying on a private jet was unbelievable as people were friendly EVERYWHERE. From the staff at the originating airport, to the pilots and everyone else involved, they were just so sweet. One of the staff member texted the arrival airport that my toddler is coming, so they prepped a balloon and had candies for him at the runway. I barely get service like this when I drop 20% tips at a restaurant!

As far as the plane, we had an 8 seater for a family of 3. So there really is nothing to complain about except it was NICE. Couple things I didn't expect. #1 These planes are very smooth, propeller powered commercial region jets felt choppier. My wife was really nervous at first, but it was gone the moment the wheels left the ground #2 The plane is still fairly noisy, I think a 777 might be quieter? #3 The plane is much smaller than I expected. With the seats facing each other, I just don't know how you can sit across from somebody without playing footsie. For my one hour flight and it being empty, I had no problem. If I have to do the shuttles like this, I might not be as eager to jump onto the plane. (The airport experience might change it for me though)

Here is the $12K question. Would I buy in at this price? My answer would be NO and here is why.

#1 I can do mainly weekend trips, it would be extremely difficult for me to use it enough to justify the cost.

#2 The shuttles don't go to places that I want to go

#3 The 5 hours confirmation is rough, 12 hours would be easier to swallow.

#4 The planes are not that big, so they aren't as comfortable as I thought they would be.

On the other hand, I am not going to lie and say I didn't consider spending the money. I would buy it in no time if they allow me to pay say $5000 and in exchange giving up some of the shuttle service, maybe have a regional plan and different plans for folks flying across country. Heck, I might even buy it the way it is if it is like $8K, $12K is a little steep giving the limitation I have or maybe I will go in if they do away with the initiation fee and still give the $2000 credit that they are doing. It's definitely something I would consider, but I think they are a little bit too expensive at this point. A 4 figure price, I am in!

Also I want to say even though I am not going to get the membership and my credit is running out, I am going to keep monitoring Jetsmarter for open leg deals. The experience of flying by yourself with your family is just awesome. If I have to pay $750 on an open leg instead of $400 on commercial, I would definitely do it to save the hassle of dealing with the TSA and the people at the commercial airport (I HAVE GE and CLEAR TOO!)

Sully the Scarer

Thanks for this info - I've been watching the app for a while flashing up late deals and waiting for one as a test... Certainly has a lot of appeal against mainstream commercial!

aaron1262

I agree. I got the $1000 credit also and took a flight it was awesome.

gooseman13

For folks who have flown, did they ask you to send a picture of your credit card via the app?

ausstone

I'm actually a member and I'm quite happy with the service. Happy to refer someone interested in joining and answer any questions.

oenophilist

Yes.