Last month we reported NetJets restructured its jet card program eliminating fuel surcharges and cutting prices.
It also added jet cards with the Cessna Citation Latitude and Bombardier’s Challenger 350 and 650 in its Classic Card (nee Marquis Jet) and Elite Card formats.
The new private jets replace previous offerings for the Dassault Falcon 2000 (pictured above), which exited last year, and the Citation X.
Additionally, it designated its formerly named Cross Country Card as a specialty card under the Red banner. That means $2,500 from each sale goes to fight AIDS through the Global Fund. Overall, NetJets now offers 15 distinct jet cards.
On its website, the company said, “Given the significant scale of our fleet, we are also now able to offer new jet card options to help meet today’s unique travel needs.”
What’s the difference between Elite and Classic jet cards?
The Classic Cards are offered in 25-and-50 hours with 30 peak days. There is no peak day surcharge. Validity is for 24 months, although with the 25-hour cards, availability isn’t guaranteed on peak days in year two. Lead time for reservations is 24 hours or 120 hours on high-demand days.
The Elite Cards differ in that they have 45 peak days and carry a 25% peak day surcharge. They only are sold in 25-hour units and non-peak booking is at least 24 hours prior to departure.
The new Red offers the Citation XLS for flights under 3.5 hours. For longer flights, it offers a mission-capable midsize or super-midsize aircraft, up to eight passengers. Like the Elite cards, it only comes in 25-hour units.
Each of the below aircraft are sold in both the Elite and Classic jet card programs.
NetJets also noted since it records the taxable event when you make the purchase instead of each flight, unused balances flown next year will not be subject to FET. As part of the CARES Act, the government is waiving the 7.5% Federal Excise Tax until the end of the year.
While NetJets doesn’t publish prices, the cost of its Elite Phenom 300 card was dropped 11% from $189,000 to $168,000 as part of its Coronavirus related revamp. The reduction reflected both the tax holiday and declining fuel costs.
Last year the world’s largest private jet operator added the Phenom 300 and Citation Sovereign to its jet card offerings. The unit of Berkshire Hathaway has said around 20% of flying is on its card programs. Jet card customers often upgrade to fractional shares or leases.
