Private aviation provider Surf Air is offering a new program targeting weekend leisure travelers with a $2,500 annual membership fee.
Surf Air is planning to launch a new product next month called “Escapes” that is aimed at the leisure traveler. It’s a hybrid approach to the company’s monthly membership “all-you-can-fly” model. The program was soft-launched last weekend.
For a $2,500 annual fee, Escapes members can access Surf Air’s scheduled routes within California and to Las Vegas from Friday to Sunday. Members then pay a per-seat cost ranging from $600 to $750. Booking is done through an app which also includes access to exclusive experiences. The app won’t be ready until October.
Some of the experiences Surf Air will offer include playing a round of golf at Pebble Beach, a private tour of Silver Oaks Winery in Napa or a night at the Wynn in Las Vegas. Packages will be updated on a weekly basis and members can find out what’s on offer by checking the App.
Surf Air has been in the news several times this year. Its U.S. version saw CEO Jeff Potter depart at about the same time it acquired Texas-based Rise, expanding its network beyond California. This summer, the European version of Surf Air took flight under former British Airways executive Simon Talling-Smith. After launching initial routes to Ibiza and Nice from Luton Airport outside London, it announced service to Zurich starting this month. Plans call for a number of additional routes.
In the U.S., Surf Air uses the Pilatus PC-12 while in Europe the fleet mixes the PC-12 with Embraer’s Phenom 300. The concept combines scheduled flights, members who buy into the flights by the seat, but operations from FBOs saving customers airport time. Passengers need to check-in 10 minutes before flights. On short hops where flight time might be about an hour, the concept can cut total travel time for customers by half or more compared to commercial airlines.