The luxury of being able to afford to fly in a private jet seems the stuff of mere fantasy. However, with a little due diligence and some crafty thinking, a private jet just may be easier to secure for your next trip than you think.
Research and find your team
The first thing you really need to do is your proverbial homework and due diligence. The best thing about doing the research is to get to know what a flight on a private jet will cost and, perhaps, how to find a broker that will set everything up for you. The next thing you need to do is to assemble your trip team. The more people you can get on a flight, the cheaper the rate will be for everyone. Many private jets have six or more seats and may charge $3,000 and up for a particular flight. That ends up only being around $600 for each member of your team.
Make you choice and check for empty legs
After you have done your research and put together your team of travel companions, you need to pick the right plane for your needs. The lighter planes can take 4-6 people and run at around 1,200 mile range. A larger Lear can seat up to 8 passengers and have a range of nearly 1,800 miles and the larger jets can fit about 14 passengers and can have a range of anywhere from 4,000 – 6,000 miles.
To get a really great price, experts suggest you try and book what is known as an empty leg. That is a trip where one of the legs of the trip has no passengers aboard. Experts say that many of the private jet companies have to eat that labor cost as well as the fuel and there are, quite literally, thousands of empty leg journeys happening every year but people just don’t know about them. Remember, the empty leg is only one way. You may end up having to take a commercial flight one way or you could be lucky enough to find an empty leg that is going your other way. Empty legs are advertised at the private jet companies between one to three days prior to the flight so stay on top of the deals and have your bags packed and be ready to go.
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