I'm not even sure where to post this - the mods will move it if they have a better idea - I put it here because I know DL has a private jet program.

My wife lives in YYZ and flies to RDU to see me about 20 times a year. It occurred to me that maybe there could be someone much more affluent than us who for some reason makes the same trip on weekends in a private plane and has an extra seat. Yes I'm sure folks like that don't grow on trees and have their reasons for not mixing with the riff-raff, but it just might be different if the passenger was someone regular and not a random stranger for one trip.

Short of hanging out in places we can't afford to go anyway though, does anyone have an idea how we might find someone based in YYZ who makes frequent trips to RDU?

Sure....will pass it along .

If you find someone at DTW, I'd like to go too...I prefer a GIV (or larger). Thanks.

I commute back and fourth every week between the coasts and I know people who own PJ's and would never think of asking. The cost is anywhere between $5000-$25K+ per hour depending on the distance and equipment. That said I was given a 2.5 hour flight one time by a friend and it was amazing....BTW, smoking WAS allowed on that flight.

There is no free ride on PJs...

You probably should make sure they get your catering order correct and if private car service is picking them, please make sure they have enough room for you too!

I believe there are websites that offer spare seats against (discounted) payment. Might be worth checking.

^ Or search for "empty legs."

There are lots of sights/brokers that offer these. Check out this article:
http://travel.nytimes.com/2011/09/25...0leg%22&st=cse

Most people in private jets like them because they are PRIVATE!

In another thread "Dean1121" just posted that he has done private jet travel and doesnt think it is all that. I totally disagree. Did a trip LEX to Naples FL in a GIII and it was AWESOME! Cant imagine anyone with the means to travel like this allowing a stranger to share the ride even if you paid your part. If they were looking for someone to split the costs with them, they would fly DELTA.

Decades ago, when I was in college, there was a popular ride board so that students could get together for rides to their hometowns on weekends and holidays. Participants were usually expected to contribute at least their pro-rata share of the gasoline expense, and thoughtful, polite (and intellectually honest) people would contribute a bit more, realizing that gasoline isn't the only cost of driving. "I shouldn't have to contribute, since you were going anyway," marked someone as a undesirable cheapskate.

I presume that you and your wife are in the former category, not the latter. By any measure, her share of the cost of the trip would likely be substantially higher than an advance-purchase ticket on a commercial airliner. On top of that, her risk of injury or death on the private plane is likely many multiples of the risk assumed on a commercial airliner.

So why not just buy those 20 round trip tickets?

I have "bummed" rides on private planes when my own was down for maintenance away from home base. I hang out at the FBO and check who is going where and most times I got within driving distance. Coolest flight was a Citation deadheading to our home base. Got 1.5 hours in my log book since the Pilot in Command was a Certified Flight Instructor.

That said, I seriously doubt anyone with a airplane will volunteer to take someone multiple times for free. And if they accept expenses, the pilot better have a Commecial pilot certificate and some pretty good insurance.

Cheers

I am moving this subject over to TravelBuzz.

RSSrsvp - Moderator

Thanks for the input. It made me realize that what I'm looking for is not just a long shot, but an impossibly long shot. We actually have a fairly economical way of getting back and forth, on a nonstop flight, to an airport that's 10 minutes from my house. Unfortunately, during the summer (May-October) Air Canada changes the time of one of their flights, such that our weekends together, instead of lasting from Friday at 7 until Sunday at 6, last from Friday at 11:30 to Sunday at 2. I would need not only to find someone who for whatever reason travels between YYZ and RDU often, but also has a burning desire to get here at the earliest possible moment on weekends and leave at the last possible moment. It's not really a sensible idea. We know we have a pretty decent arrangement right now, but I'm always looking for better ones.

I'm so jealous you got free jet time. The coolest "free" time (work doesn't count) I got was on a lowly Cessna 340!

At those rates, it would be cheaper for the OP to get their private pilot license and just fly themselves on a prop plane.

Sure, introduce your wife to someone so wealthy he can shuttle her around because he is a nice guy.

Can't see any potential problem with that!