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Traveling on a Private Jet? Here is How You Can Save Some Cash
Save money. Travel on a private jet. Those may seem like two ideas that are far apart—but surprisingly, it may not be so. While using private jet charter services can be costly, to say the least, there are a handful of hacks you can use to save some extra bucks while enjoying the full benefits of a private flight. Wondering how? Check out the pointers below.
Ditch peak travel days
If it is not a matter of urgency, why not postpone your flights to days when the prices are friendlier? The cost of travel is usually high before and after major holidays such as Christmas, Easter, and the New Year. If you do not have to travel during such periods, don’t.
Take advantage of roundtrip discounts
Roundtrip flights on private airlines are not restricted to traveling to and from the same destination as they are with commercial flights. For a private flight, a roundtrip also includes two hours of return on the same day or four hours on the following day. You can benefit from qualifying roundtrips discounts and save money even up to 40%. The times you fly should be within the duty flight times of your pilots which means you will be using the same crew for your roundtrips.
Find local operators
Using the services of a charter broker can be a good place to start when you want to find local operators. They can help you find an operator who has planes on your departure site so that you can skip the repositioning fees.
Try using older aircraft
If you are a new private flier, you may prefer to go for newer flights, which is okay. However, they cost much more while you can get a better deal with older flights which are still in great condition. If you are using a charter broker to help with flight preparation, they will have greater restrictions finding you a newer flight and will probably take more time than if they were searching for an older flight.
Older crafts are in less demand and that is why you will get them at a much lower cost. Rather than checking the date when the airplane was manufactured, go for the date when it was refurbished, its safety ratings, and the expertise of the pilots who will be riding it.
Use smaller jets instead
Did you know that the size of your travel jet will determine how much deeper in your pocket you will have to dig? As much as you will pay less for shorter flight hours, you will still pay more if you are using a large or medium-sized jet as opposed to a small one.
Jets experience the most wear and tear during landing and take-off, and larger jets are harder hit compared to smaller ones. You will, therefore, pay more than your minimum flight time if you use a larger jet.
If you have more than six people traveling with you, you may have to go for larger jets. In such a case, there are still economical options you can use such as turboprops which can cost even up to 50% less than your usual larger jet.
How about empty legs?
Empty legs are a money-saver. You can make savings of up to half the price of the original charter rates. In case you do not know what empty legs are, they are the repositioning flights that you can get before or after the actual flights begins or ends. You only have to cross your fingers and pray that the plans of the original flight user do not change when you have already booked your empty leg.
Lastly, be flexible about your private air travel choices. You can combine full ownership, fractional ownership, on-demand charter, and jet cards and be ready to use any option when it suits you best. You should also have a great charter broker by your side—you might just need him or her when you least expect!
