April 3, 2024
Jet Club 4.0 from FlyExclusive is also offering a 10% discount for flying on 139 Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays, and a flexible departure discount option.
FlyExclusive is rolling out a new version of its jet card, Jet Club 4.0, to be exact.
“We’re constantly evaluating our Jet Club and fractional program to ensure we’re addressing the needs of our customers and exceeding their expectations,” said Brad Blettner, Chief Revenue Officer of FlyExclusive.
He added, “Our latest promotion was designed to give our customers more control over every aspect of their experience—from when they fly to how much they pay. As we enter the busy summer travel season, we’re thrilled to be raising the bar on what a luxury private jet experience can be.”
As usual, existing members will be allowed to renew their current program.
Some subscribers are still in Jet Club 1.0 and 2.0, so it’s a welcome approach that members have the option to choose.
The move comes as jet card prices are finally falling.
Hourly rates dropped 5.2% in Q1 2023, the first decline since 2020.
However, they were still 24.7% higher than during the FET-free promotions during the CARES Act.
Executives at FlyExclusive believe this fourth rendition will be attractive enough that existing members will want to move to the new program and they will continue to attract new members.
Either way, Fly expects to be doing a lot of jet card sales.
According to its Investors Day presentation last week, the fifth-largest U.S. fractional/charter jet operator projects $132 million in jet card sales this year and $219 million in 2024.
What’s not changing is the formula of using a daily access fee and an hourly rate.
You deposit $100,000, $200,000, or $400,000.
Funds are valid for 24 months, and you get a 12-month rate lock.
Previous deposit levels were $75,000, $150,000, $250,000, and $500,000, although funds didn’t expire.
The $1,000 per month membership fee continues.
Gone is the monthly fuel variable. You have your hourly rate locked for the next 12 months, although there are three new discount programs that can reduce your flight cost.
The flight cost formula remains a daily access fee, a lower-than-normal fixed hourly rate, taxi time, plus FET.
There are no daily or segment minimums, so the structure continues to favor multiple flights in the same day and longer flights.
Peak and High-Demand days drop to 35 from 45, and the surcharges on those dates drop by as much as 50%.
The standard non-peak callout remains 96 hours, and Fly offers guaranteed availability with as little as 24 hours’ notice with a surcharge.
Those surcharges also fall by as much as 50%.
Also, special events surcharges now only apply if you are going to the special event, not broadly to the day of event travel in other places.
They include Super Bowl, The Masters, Kentuck Derby, etc.
There are other discounts.
Welcome to Deal Days.
If you fly on 139 of 156 Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays throughout the year, you save 10% on your flight costs.
Then there are Flexible Schedule Discounts.
If you allow FlyExclusive to schedule your departure at their discretion between 8 am and 8 pm, you can save 5%.
You have to stipulate you want a flexible departure when you book. Fly notifies you of your departure time the day before your flight.
And lastly, a coast-to-coast super mid-nonstop flight cap of 4.5 hours is being added.
Eligible states for arrivals and departures are Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine to or from Arizona, California, Nevada, Utah, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming.
Discounts are not combinable. I did ask.
The idea is to spread out demand and encourage and reward behavior that is efficient for FlyExclusive.
And yes, it’s not all rose petals.
There is a surcharge of $4,000 for light jets, $5,000 for midsize jets, and $7,000 for super-midsize flights starting or ending in Washington and Oregon.
The move follows Wheels Up’s decision to drop capped hourly rates for large swaths of the Midwest and also the Pacific Midwest, starting next week, moving to dynamic pricing.
At the same time, other jet card providers have simply been decling to sell fixed-rate products to flyers in high-cost areas.
READ: You’re fired! Are you an unprofitable private jet flyer?
So, how do the new rates compare?
In looking at the previous Jet Club 3.0, where the hourly rate was adjusted monthly based on fuel, based on the jet fuel at $90 per barrel, we found marginal savings, except for coast-to-coast flights where you would save over $12,500 each way.
However, that’s not the point – Fly’s Deal Days encourage flyers to move their flights to lower-demand dates.
| Aircraft Size/Flight Minutes | JC 3.0 | JC 4.0 | New – Deal Days |
% Savings Deal Days vs. JC 3.0 |
| Light Jet – 75 minutes | $12,364 | $12,378 | $11,140 | 9.9% |
| Light Jet – 120 minutes | $15,856 | $15,519 | $13,967 | 11.9% |
| Midsize Jet – 90 minutes | $16,884 | $16,530 | $14,877 | 11.9% |
| Midsize Jet – 120 minutes | $19,231 | $18,920 | $17,028 | 11.5% |
| Super Mid Jet – Transcon Rate Cap | $51,171 | $38,696 | $38,696 | 24.4% |
In that case, a flexible flyer could see significant yearly savings.
For example, you take 10 two-hour flights per year. Under Jet Club 3.0, you would have paid $158,560.
If you can fly on Deal Days, you would pay $139,670 per year, saving $18,890, about 12% less than under the old plan.
If you did a similar 10 coast-to-coast flights, you would cut your spending from $511,710 to $386,960, a savings of $124,750, a 24% savings.
Current members can move into the new program with a minimum of $100,000 in additional funds.
Funds are non-refundable.
Also continuing is Fly’s recently launched Platinum Jet Club, which eschews memberships fees and peak and high-demand surcharges if you book at least 10 days in advance.
It is also offering a $100,000 incentive on its new fractional ownership program.
Paid subscribers can compare FlyExclusive’s Jet Club 4.0, Platinum Jet Club, and more than 900 jet card and fractional options by over 65 variables.
