flyertalkrocks

I'm getting close to giving jettly.com a try for a ~12 hour flight this summer. Cost is about 25% less than flyvictor.com but I think Jettly is quoting smaller aircraft. Flyvictor's lowest quote was for a GIV and Jettly quoted a GIV at the same price as Flyvictor along with a Citation VI and VII and a Learjet 55 and 60 all much less expensive. Are any of these big enough to have a bed?

I'm a little concerned about safety with Jettly. I believe Flyvictor only quotes ARGUS gold or platinum operators and flights with two pilots while Jettly happened to only quote gold/platinum here but doesn't require that nor do they always require two pilots. That makes me feel a bit less confident in them.

Jettly doesn't have consistent change and cancellation policies and leaves that up to the individual operators. I'm not sure how Flyvictor works there.

The odds of finding an empty leg for this route should be good. How much should I expect to save if I wait for that?

Jack David Institute

Interesting to see that they're 25% less than Flyvictor. Sounds like a great deal. Although there is a big difference when comparing a midsize jet to the G-IV. Would you be willing to share the routing details? On longer trips a midsize might not cut it. With my experience, I prefer something larger than a midsize whenever the trip is over 3 hours.

flyertalkrocks

The flight is from Europe to California.

I haven't flown private a lot. Why is a larger aircraft better for longer flights?

Jack David Institute

Would you take your family on a dinghy from Los Angeles to Honolulu? Or would you rather go on a boat suitable for the trip?

With all due respect, I think jettly have lost their minds...

A midsize jet is not capable of doing a europe to california flight without taking multiple stops and there most likely wouldn't be a company that would be willing to do.

Good on victor for only quoting the Gulfstream, as that is the size of aircraft you will need. Seems like robots are running jettly and I won't bother using them.

nilsrtw

Well, neither the Citation VI/VII, Learjet or GIV will happen on a TATL from California. I'd suggest calling a few brokers (or jettly, etc.) especially if you haven't flown private a lot.

flyertalkrocks

What makes a larger aircraft safer for long hauls?

Jack David Institute and nilsrtw, it sounds like you disagree with each other on whether or not the GIV would be suitable?

flyertalkrocks

I just asked my Jettly rep and he said that all of the aircraft he quoted me do require a fuel stop. Is it better to book one that can do it without stopping? I suppose it would be safer with less takeoff and landing.

WhyPrivate

Nilsrtw is right, I don't even think a GIV could do it nonstop. That's a long trip! You'll need a Global Express or Falcon 7X or longer range Gulfstream.

I think what Jack David Institute was saying is that the mid Citations and Learjets will need MORE THAN ONE STOP. It's totally not worth considering.

Frankly, unless the start is somewhere in Europe where you can't get to LA easily then you're better off flying first class vs. chartering at all. Save time/money/more comfort than a cramped midsize.. The Gulfstream will have a bed, stewardess, and allow you to walk around a bit so that will be much nicer.. but i'm sure you'll be at a tick over 100 grand.

Can you share the prices you were quoted?

Nicoolio

Here's a comparison of the GIV and GIVSP

https://www.avbuyer.com/articles/jet...v-giv-sp-20243

If you don't have a lot of experience with charter, I would look to a traditional broker who can really explain the details -- including fuel stops (which might include de-icing - an extra expense) as well as other details that might be entailed with a flight like you're taking about - ferry fees, crew expenses, even ordering the catering, reviewing the operator's credentials including for the flight crew that will take you over some unforgiving territory - particularly i would want to make sure the flight crew had significant TATL experience.

While Victor may have good brokers - my several interactions with their salespeople didn't really give me much faith. They didn't seem to possess much knowledge of the operators and aircraft capabilities - even if this was just flights from the East Coast to Los Angeles and Las Vegas.

msm2

I agree with WhyPrivate. Save the money and fly 1st class on any of the major airlines. Much better experience all around. If you want to fly Europe to the US private. Check out VistaJet, they are not cheap but the jets are all basically brand new and it is a complete experience. Any of the jets you mentioned and though the brokers you also mentioned sound like more of a stressful experience and a waste of money.

flyertalkrocks

Flying commercial isn't ideal here because it would require 3 flights and I'm traveling with very young children.

This is starting to freak me out. Maybe I should avoid brokers altogether and just find an operator I trust in each location I need and always go to them? That's pretty much just home in California and in a particular location in Europe.

Nicoolio

What's the exact routing?

If you are flexible you might pick up some empty legs - although that is a far from ideal solution.

I think from pricing, the challenge is an N registered (US jet) as i understand it - after it flies you to Europe - can't fly more charters within the EU - so it then needs to dead head back to the US -- I think VistaJet avoids that by having a quasi global floating fleet - so they may have customers going from Europe to the Middle East or Africa - which I believe they can sell on a N aircraft - so less likely to have dead heads - but perhaps somebody more in the know can correct me. If I was in SoCal i would certainly get a quote from Jet Aviation or Clay Lacy - they may not be cheapest but they are both IS-BAO Stage 3 and probably as transparent as you are going to find. Solairus might be another option in terms of dealing with actual operators.

BusinessFlyer45

Just trialed Jettly.com to compare rates against jetmembership.com. Ultimately I was very disappointed with the response rate of jettly and the rates didn't compare to jetmembership.com. My current broker with is also getting very frustrated as I keep telling them the rates and showing them rates I have been receiving. Altogether even if I don't book with jetmembership.com to price check the market and my current broker works great and I am saving a nice chunk when I do fly private. Again I fly private when I need to, but mostly commercial with jetBlue or Delta.

Kagehitokiri

larger always better, partly because of pilots

can find pilots and travelers discussing this