I don't always write trip reports, but when I do, I prefer to fly private (JetSuite)
Mar 3, 2015, 1:32 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Oakland CA
Programs: DL Gold, AS MVPG, Globalist
Posts: 1,008
I don't always write trip reports, but when I do, I prefer to fly private (JetSuite)
Airline: JetSuite
Origin: KSFO / 10:00am PST
Destination: KSUN / 12:41pm MST
Aircraft: Embraer Phenom 100
Seat: N/A
Miles Earned: Zero!
It was time to go visit the family in Idaho. United (Skywest) flies the route from SFO-SUN with once daily service, but having no status and with O/W prices approaching $600 (coach) and $1100 (first), I thought perhaps there's a better way.
Enter JetSuite. JetSuite flies the Embraer Phenom 100 all over the west coast -- its a VLJ (very light jet). Two pilots, four seats, and 250lbs of cargo. Max range is just under 1200nm.
Our day began with the drive to SFO. But not the normal SFO, which I've been to a thousand times. We got off 101 at the North Access Road. After a trip behind the United maintenance hangers, and past USCG Air Station San Francisco, we came upon Signature Flight Support, the private terminal at SFO.
We'd packed our car to the gills. As we pulled up, the attendant came out and said 'Oh, you must be Mr. Dordal. We've been expecting you.' She helped us load our baggage onto two hotel-style dollies, and we carted it inside. The valet took our car off to their onsite parking. One of the nice things about flying a private jet is the baggage allowance: except for a couple crew bags, you get the entire cargo hold. We had fourteen pieces of luggage. I can't even begin to think what the excess baggage charges on United would have been...
The private terminal looks like a first class lounge, albeit smaller.
Even the bathrooms are nice, and are well stocked with amenities.
If you're flying private, you can arrive as little as ten or fifteen minutes before the flight -- no 30 minute cutoff for check-in. There's no security, of course... you simply get out of your car, walk through the terminal, and onto the plane. (As for why there's no security -- don't get me started. This seems like a glaring hole in our security apparatus.. it's not like a terrorist group doesn't have the means to charter a private jet!)
I wanted to play things a little more cautiously, so we got there an hour early. At about T-40, our flight crew showed up, and introduced themselves. A quick intro to the flight, and they were off to load our luggage and prep the plane. At about T-10, the ground staff let us know that the jet was ready:
A couple quick photos, and we're on board:
Of course, no assigned seats or any such nonsense. Just hop in, and strap yourselves in. It's small, but there's plenty of room.
Jetsuite has their aircraft pretty well stocked. There's a minibar up front: ice, hot & cold water, soft drinks, coffee, tea, red and white wine, and some top-shelf liquor: Bombay Sapphire gin, Glenlevit scotch, Grey Goose vodka, etc. My favorite part was that they all came in those mini airplane sized bottles... maybe I'm not flying the right airlines, but I've never seen the good stuff in the mini bottles!
Under each seat, you'll find a snack basket:
as well as Bose Headphones. We didn't use it, but the aircraft comes equipped with XM Satellite Radio and free Wi-fi.
We were barely in our seats before we were on our way. SFO was taking off via 1L and 1R, and it's a LONG taxi over there. Signature Flight is on the far side of the airport, so we went Charlie -> Zulu -> Bravo -> Alpha to get to the runway. We passed some interesting sights I don't get to see that often:
The private jet ramp:
UAL Maintenance Hangers:
The Skywest jet we would have been on ( which left for SUN about 30 mins after us ):
The SFO fuel farm:
Finally, we're holding short of runway 1R, ready for takeoff.
It's kind of fun to be staring up at a huge United jet right in front of you:
The takeoff is short; we're airborne before crossing the 28's:
Soon enough we're passing Mt. Diablo:
The climb doesn't take long, and after a few minutes we're at 35,000 feet, our initial cruising altitude. Lake Tahoe is off the right wing:
The flight crew invite me up for a visit to the cockpit, which is about three steps away. We talk a little about the Phenom 100, our route of flight, and the avionics. We're just past Reno now, climbing up to our final cruise altitude of 37,000ft. The autopilot is engaged; heading is 040, speed just under Mach 0.65.
After the visit, time for a drink. Sure its just past ten in the morning... but it's five o'clock somewhere, right?
The view out the window changes from the lush forest of the Sierra Nevada to the brown scrub of Nevada, and then to the plains of Idaho's Magic Valley. It's not long now... all too quickly this ride is coming to an end.
We're a few miles from Twin Falls, and starting our descent. Passing 25,000, I snap another quick shot of the cockpit:
The mountains are starting to get closer now:
...and then the turn to line up for final approach into SUN:
The field is in sight:
Only a few thousand feet to go:
Tochdown!
We pass the commercial terminal, where that United/Skywest jet with its $600 coach seats will be arriving shortly, and head to Atlantic Aviation, the private terminal:
They shut down the engines, and out we go:
One of the other great things about flying private is that you don't have to deal with baggage claim. Just pull your car up to the plane, and toss everything in:
A quick pass through another gorgeous terminal:
... and we're on our way home.
----
This was definitely one of the best flights I've ever had, bar none. That's including BA F, CX F, UA F (blech!), SQ J, NH J, NZ J, etc. Those were all great experiences, but nothing compares to driving up to a terminal, walking a few steps, getting on a plane, and just leaving. Right then and there. No PDBs because there isn't time for one. No security, and no hassles.
As for how I did this: JetSuite is (to my knowledge) the only airline that offers lowly folks like me deals on their empty legs. They call them SuiteDeals, and its usually $500 or $1000 (+ tax) for the whole plane. In my case, they'd dropped off a paying client at SFO the night before, and had another paying client to pickup in SUN that afternoon. They had to get the plane up there, and it would otherwise fly empty. Rather than making no money, the offered a SuiteDeal: $500 to take the empty leg.
Stay thirsty, my friends.
Origin: KSFO / 10:00am PST
Destination: KSUN / 12:41pm MST
Aircraft: Embraer Phenom 100
Seat: N/A
Miles Earned: Zero!
It was time to go visit the family in Idaho. United (Skywest) flies the route from SFO-SUN with once daily service, but having no status and with O/W prices approaching $600 (coach) and $1100 (first), I thought perhaps there's a better way.
Enter JetSuite. JetSuite flies the Embraer Phenom 100 all over the west coast -- its a VLJ (very light jet). Two pilots, four seats, and 250lbs of cargo. Max range is just under 1200nm.
Our day began with the drive to SFO. But not the normal SFO, which I've been to a thousand times. We got off 101 at the North Access Road. After a trip behind the United maintenance hangers, and past USCG Air Station San Francisco, we came upon Signature Flight Support, the private terminal at SFO.
We'd packed our car to the gills. As we pulled up, the attendant came out and said 'Oh, you must be Mr. Dordal. We've been expecting you.' She helped us load our baggage onto two hotel-style dollies, and we carted it inside. The valet took our car off to their onsite parking. One of the nice things about flying a private jet is the baggage allowance: except for a couple crew bags, you get the entire cargo hold. We had fourteen pieces of luggage. I can't even begin to think what the excess baggage charges on United would have been...
The private terminal looks like a first class lounge, albeit smaller.
Even the bathrooms are nice, and are well stocked with amenities.
If you're flying private, you can arrive as little as ten or fifteen minutes before the flight -- no 30 minute cutoff for check-in. There's no security, of course... you simply get out of your car, walk through the terminal, and onto the plane. (As for why there's no security -- don't get me started. This seems like a glaring hole in our security apparatus.. it's not like a terrorist group doesn't have the means to charter a private jet!)
I wanted to play things a little more cautiously, so we got there an hour early. At about T-40, our flight crew showed up, and introduced themselves. A quick intro to the flight, and they were off to load our luggage and prep the plane. At about T-10, the ground staff let us know that the jet was ready:
A couple quick photos, and we're on board:
Of course, no assigned seats or any such nonsense. Just hop in, and strap yourselves in. It's small, but there's plenty of room.
Jetsuite has their aircraft pretty well stocked. There's a minibar up front: ice, hot & cold water, soft drinks, coffee, tea, red and white wine, and some top-shelf liquor: Bombay Sapphire gin, Glenlevit scotch, Grey Goose vodka, etc. My favorite part was that they all came in those mini airplane sized bottles... maybe I'm not flying the right airlines, but I've never seen the good stuff in the mini bottles!
Under each seat, you'll find a snack basket:
as well as Bose Headphones. We didn't use it, but the aircraft comes equipped with XM Satellite Radio and free Wi-fi.
We were barely in our seats before we were on our way. SFO was taking off via 1L and 1R, and it's a LONG taxi over there. Signature Flight is on the far side of the airport, so we went Charlie -> Zulu -> Bravo -> Alpha to get to the runway. We passed some interesting sights I don't get to see that often:
The private jet ramp:
UAL Maintenance Hangers:
The Skywest jet we would have been on ( which left for SUN about 30 mins after us ):
The SFO fuel farm:
Finally, we're holding short of runway 1R, ready for takeoff.
It's kind of fun to be staring up at a huge United jet right in front of you:
The takeoff is short; we're airborne before crossing the 28's:
Soon enough we're passing Mt. Diablo:
The climb doesn't take long, and after a few minutes we're at 35,000 feet, our initial cruising altitude. Lake Tahoe is off the right wing:
The flight crew invite me up for a visit to the cockpit, which is about three steps away. We talk a little about the Phenom 100, our route of flight, and the avionics. We're just past Reno now, climbing up to our final cruise altitude of 37,000ft. The autopilot is engaged; heading is 040, speed just under Mach 0.65.
After the visit, time for a drink. Sure its just past ten in the morning... but it's five o'clock somewhere, right?
The view out the window changes from the lush forest of the Sierra Nevada to the brown scrub of Nevada, and then to the plains of Idaho's Magic Valley. It's not long now... all too quickly this ride is coming to an end.
We're a few miles from Twin Falls, and starting our descent. Passing 25,000, I snap another quick shot of the cockpit:
The mountains are starting to get closer now:
...and then the turn to line up for final approach into SUN:
The field is in sight:
Only a few thousand feet to go:
Tochdown!
We pass the commercial terminal, where that United/Skywest jet with its $600 coach seats will be arriving shortly, and head to Atlantic Aviation, the private terminal:
They shut down the engines, and out we go:
One of the other great things about flying private is that you don't have to deal with baggage claim. Just pull your car up to the plane, and toss everything in:
A quick pass through another gorgeous terminal:
... and we're on our way home.
----
This was definitely one of the best flights I've ever had, bar none. That's including BA F, CX F, UA F (blech!), SQ J, NH J, NZ J, etc. Those were all great experiences, but nothing compares to driving up to a terminal, walking a few steps, getting on a plane, and just leaving. Right then and there. No PDBs because there isn't time for one. No security, and no hassles.
As for how I did this: JetSuite is (to my knowledge) the only airline that offers lowly folks like me deals on their empty legs. They call them SuiteDeals, and its usually $500 or $1000 (+ tax) for the whole plane. In my case, they'd dropped off a paying client at SFO the night before, and had another paying client to pickup in SUN that afternoon. They had to get the plane up there, and it would otherwise fly empty. Rather than making no money, the offered a SuiteDeal: $500 to take the empty leg.
Stay thirsty, my friends.
Last edited by dordal; Mar 4, 2015 at 11:14 pm
Mar 3, 2015, 4:43 pm
#7
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Oakland CA
Programs: DL Gold, AS MVPG, Globalist
Posts: 1,008
Yeah, that's the big downside. We found out at 6pm for a 10am flight the next day. We'd been thinking about it for a while, so we were prepared to pull the trigger when it came up, but you definitely have to be flexible.
10K United miles per person.
10K United miles per person.
Mar 3, 2015, 7:20 pm
#9
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: SMF
Posts: 1,251
Wonderful trip report! I've wanted to do this for some time and one of these days I'll get around to it. I actually had a trip booked on one of their SuiteDeals last July but then the in-laws decided to make a surprise visit and didn't want us to take their grand-kids. I wasn't too happy about that but another opportunity always comes up.
Mar 3, 2015, 7:22 pm
#10
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Denver • DEN-APA
Programs: AF Platinum, EK Gold, AA EXP, UA 1K, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 21,598
Very nice! Private is really the only way to fly.
We're doing something similar tomorrow to LA. And also slumming it back home on UA.
We're doing something similar tomorrow to LA. And also slumming it back home on UA.
Last edited by SFO777; Mar 3, 2015 at 7:59 pm
Mar 3, 2015, 8:10 pm
#11
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: YVR - Vancouver, with most winter weekends in Whistler.
Programs: Aeroplan 35K, Alaska MVP, Marriott Titanium / Lifetime Platinum, Hertz President's Circle
Posts: 4,609
The advantage is how quick you can be off and out doing whatever it is you need to do.
No long concourses, or waiting for bags that don't always arrive. The flexibility is pretty cool.
No long concourses, or waiting for bags that don't always arrive. The flexibility is pretty cool.
Mar 3, 2015, 9:53 pm
#12
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 2,813
Thanks for the nice report on a little seen type of flying.
How do the airlines handle these types of flights? I get they had to fly the plane there anyways, but what if the SUN-XXX flight was cancelled or changed by the passenger. Would they lose a lot of money and still fly the $500 job? Given the often last minute changes by private jet customers, I would be curious to know how this works out for them.
How do the airlines handle these types of flights? I get they had to fly the plane there anyways, but what if the SUN-XXX flight was cancelled or changed by the passenger. Would they lose a lot of money and still fly the $500 job? Given the often last minute changes by private jet customers, I would be curious to know how this works out for them.
Mar 3, 2015, 10:00 pm
#13
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: DTW/MBS
Programs: UA 1K, HHonors Diamond, Hyatt Globalist, Formerly Starbucks Gold
Posts: 3,525
Thanks for this awesome report. You mention that you had been thinking about it if it were to become available, but from the looks of it the routes available are completely random...what am I missing?