February 21, 2024
Price, be it hourly rates or cost to buy into a program, is often a primary focus for buyers, at least initially. However, price, in the opinion of Private Jet Card Comparisons, shouldn’t be the be all and end all. While nobody wants to overpay, unless you are talking about flying on a King Air 350i instead of a Gulfstream G650, most of you who can afford the cheapest jet card out there can also afford the most expensive.
By comparing more than hourly rates, and even fleet source, things we think matter, such as aircraft sourcing standards and the minimum hours required for pilots, both overall and in the type of aircraft you will be flying, we believe we give you a 360-degree view. You probably know that surcharges on peak days can range as high as 40%, although some providers have no surcharge and others just 5% or 10%. Then there are surcharges for flying outside the Continental U.S. as well as to high-density airports. There are the segment and daily minimums, so if you choose the wrong program, that price that seemed great may not seem so special when you find your 70-minute flights are charged at 90 or even 120 minutes.
There’s also taxi time, which is charged between 0 and 12 minutes per segment, varying by the provider. At a $6,000 hourly rate, that’s an extra $1,200 per flight you need to add to the hourly rate – or not. Some providers quote you rates with the 7.5% Federal Excise Tax while others don’t. Some programs include hourly fuel surcharges. While most programs include catering, others don’t. You can earn roundtrip discounts up to 40% if you qualify, but what qualifies varies from program varies. Several programs give you discounts for booking at least a week in advance, others give you long flight discounts. And then there’s deicing – included by some programs, an extra charge with others. And don’t forget CPI escalator, which some have, some don’t. There’s also initiation fees, annual dues and even monthly membership fees that some programs charge while others don’t.
In other words, the price you initially see may not be the price you pay. Nevertheless, to help satisfy your curiosity we scanned our database to give you a top line overview of the bottom starting point when it comes to cost for various programs. By subscribing, you, of course, get access to all 65 + points of differentiation for over 250 programs in our easy-to-use spreadsheets.
Fleet Source – Starting Price Point
Charter Broker – Air Partner’s Jet Card Sterling 10-hour Light Jet card is $47,000, including 7.5% Federal Excise Tax (FET).
Charter Broker – Airstream Jets 25k Distance Card is $25,000 with flights costing $7 to $23 per mile not including FET.
Managed Fleet – Clay Lacy Preferred starts at $100,000 with hourly rates starting at $2,800 for aircraft it manages, not including FET.
Charter Broker – Concord Private Jet offers a 10-hour Turboprop card for $37,500.
Managed Fleet – Delta Private Jets card programs begins at $100,000, including FET. Members get Diamond Medallion status in Delta Air Lines SkyMiles frequent flier program.
Charter Broker – ECOJETS starts with a $20,000 deposit and $4,975 per hour for a Light Jet, including FET.
Fractional Jet Card – Executive AirShares uses a formula that combines hourly charges and days. Its entry level program stats with 10 days per year or 20 days of flying over two years.
Charter Broker – ExpertJet’s X-Card starts at $75,000 with hourly rates ranging from $4,350 to $13,050, including FET.
Fractional Jet Card – Flexjet’s Flex25 card featuring the best selling Embraer Phenom 300 is $161,976, excluding FET.
Fractional Jet Card – The Fly Aeolus Prepaid Persona Card begins with a membership fee of 10,000 Euros for 15 flights hours in Europe.
Owned Fleet – GlobeAir’s 25-hour Lifestyle Card offers rates for roundtrip travel in Europe at 1,700 Euros per hour for travel in Europe.
Jet Aviation Flight Services, Inc.
Managed Fleet – Jet Aviation’s Light Jet PT Card starts at $51,000 for 10 hours of flying not including FET.
Managed Fleet – The Jet Linx Club Card begins with a $12,500 membership fee and then pay-as-you-go rates starting at $3,375 per hour, excluding FET.
Charter Broker – Jet the World’s entry level jet card is for 25 hours at $5,240 per hour in a Light Jet, excluding FET.
Charter Broker – JetSet Group’s 25-hour Light Jet card is $117,000 including FET.
Owned Fleet – JetSuite SuiteKey starts at $50,000 with hourly rates beginning at $3,575, excluding FET for an Embraer Phenom 100.
Charter Broker – The Jets.com Light Jet Card Membership starts at 25 hours for $135,986, including FET, plus one bonus hour.
Charter Broker – Luxury Aircraft Solutions 10-hour Turboprop Card is $42,520 including FET.
Charter Broker – Magellan Jets entry level jet card is for Light Jets starting with 25 hours at $5,090 per hour, including FET.
Fractional Jet Card – The NetJets’ Marquis Jet 25-hour Light Jet Card featuring the Cessna Citation Excel/XLS is approximately $170,000.
Owned Fleet – The Blue Card from Nicholas Air provides 15 hours on any aircraft in its fleet starting at $4,980 per hour for the Pilatus PC-12.
Charter Broker – ONEFlight International’s BAJ25 card starts with a $50,000 deposit for 25 hours and then allows you to choose any of over 50 specific jets and turboprops each charged at an additional hourly rate.
Charter Broker – Paramount Business Jet’s Platinum Services Jet Card starts at $50,000 and features dynamic pricing beginning at $1,200 per hour plus FET.
Private Jet Service Group (PJS Group)
Charter Broker – Private Jet Services Group’s Light Priority Membership starts at 25 hours with an hourly rate of $4,793, including FET.
Charter Broker – PrivateFly’s jet card program starts at $50,000 and features dynamic pricing based on market rates.
Charter Broker – The Prive Jets’ Light Jet Card is $120,375 for 25 hours or $4,815 per hour, excluding FET.
Owned Fleet – ProspAir Air Charter uses the owned fleet of parent Dumont Group. Its entry level jet card provider 15 hours of flying on a Bombardier Learjet 45 at $5,000 per hour, excluding FET.
Charter Broker – Part of Direction Aviation, and a sister company to Flexjet and Skyjet, the Sentient SJ25 Light Select jet card is $127,325, including FET, or $5,093 per hour.
Managed Fleet – Silverhawk’s programs are focused regionally at Lincoln, Nebraska and begin at $100,000.
Managed Fleet and Charter Broker – Solairus Aviation’s Altitude FDP Level 1: Very Light Jets card being at $100,000 with an hourly rate of $4,590 not including FET.
Charter Broker – Blue Star Jets founder Ricky Sitomer is back and his Star Jets 25-hour Skycard on a Hawker 400XP is $139,000, plus FET.
Charter Broker – The brainchild of Exclusive Resorts co-founder Tom Filippini, StraightLine Private Air focuses on Piston, Turboprops and Light Jets using a dynamic pricing model with an average hourly rate of $1,297 including FET for Piston aircraft. Starting deposit is $50,000.
Fractional Jet Card – The laissez FARE Platinum Card from Tee Bee Jets is $99,500 for 25 hours on a Beechcraft 400E, including FET.
Charter Broker – Founder by former NetJets Vice President Kevin Diemar Unity Jets offers a dynamic pricing based deposit program beginning at $25,000.
Charter Broker – The Velocity Jets Light Jet Membership starts at $120,000 for 25 hours not including FET.
Owned Fleet – Known for its Nobu menu and Christofle tableware aboard its designer outfitted jets, programs start at 50 hours with rates being at approximately $12,000 per hour.
Owned Fleet – Founded by Kenny Dichter, who also launched Marquis Jet Partners before selling it to NetJets, Wheels Up features a pay-as-you-go program with memberships starting at $17,500 and hourly rates on the King Air 350i priced at $4,495, including FET.
Charter Broker -Wholesale Jet Club’s 25-hour Light Jet Card is priced at $107,000 for 25 hours, including FET.
Owned Fleet and Charter Broker – XOJET’s Select Access is based on dynamic pricing and starts at $50,000.
