What is private jet charter dynamic pricing? Is it right for you?

Dynamic pricing is used for on-demand private jet charter flights, jet cards, and memberships.

So, what is dynamic pricing when it comes to flying privately?

What factors influence it?

How do those factors impact what you will pay?

Are there some rules of thumb to consider?

The alternative is jet cards and memberships, which offer fixed or capped hourly rates.

Capped hourly prices mean your contract stipulates the most you will pay per hour, but the provider dynamically lowers the price.

In other words, you sometimes pay less than the cap.

You could call it the best of both worlds.

Most fixed or capped hourly rates charge only for occupied hours within a primary service area.

That’s the time you are on the airplane.

Specifically, you don’t pay to reposition the empty airplane before or after your flight.

So, what factors influence dynamic pricing regarding renting a private jet?

First, as you would expect, it’s supply and demand.

If you must travel on traditionally busy days around major holidays or events like the Super Bowl or the Masters golf tournament, which require a lot of private jet charter capacity, prices will likely be higher.

Then there is the cost of delivering the product – your flight.

Travel to or from secondary airports or places with longer empty repositioning flights means more cost to the operator.

When the operator calculates your fare—directly or via a broker—it must account for those repositioning flights.

Likely, those empty leg repositioning legs flying you from North Dakota to Oklahoma will be more substantial than if you were going from New York to South Florida.

However, it’s not that simple.

That’s because charter operators use two fleet models.

Floating fleets go from customer to customer.

You want to fly from Atlantic City, New Jersey, to Palm Beach, Florida.

The airplane being used was last in Teterboro.

It flies to Atlantic City to pick you up, and to Palm Beach to drop you off.

In floating fleet mode, the jet may hop to Boca Raton, where the next customer will fly to Dallas.

Based fleets – often aircraft managed for owners – go back to their base after each flight.

A based aircraft would have flown empty from Teterboro to Atlantic City, taken you to Palm Beach, and then flown empty back to Teterboro, where it is based.

Whether that empty leg is resold doesn’t impact what you pay.

Your trip is priced so you pay for the costs to pick you up and return to base.

What other factors should you consider?

Fixed and capped rate jet card programs often provide a replacement aircraft at your original contracted price if a mechanical issue exists.

With dynamic pricing, you generally get a requote.

That is, the provider finds replacement aircraft options that are priced dynamically.

You can then either pay the difference or get a refund.

READ: Where does your jet card private jet come from?

Private Jet Charter Pricing & You?

When would you typically be able to save money via dynamic pricing?

Top of the list would be the flexibility to alter your travel dates.

Sometimes, you may take advantage of the ultimate dynamic pricing savings by buying empty legs.

READ: Private Jet Empty Legs: What you need to know before you buy

Are you going out and back on the same day or the next day?

If you use an aircraft to fly you out and back and your trip is short enough, the crew and airplane can wait for you and take you back; you essentially fly back on your empty leg!

These trips are almost always cheaper using dynamic pricing than fixed-rate programs.

Can you go to a nearby airport?

In our previous example, if you had been willing to find your way from Atlantic City to Teterboro, you may have saved a few thousand dollars.

In other words, the more flexible you are on travel dates and alternate airports, the more you can save money through dynamic pricing.

Perhaps the best way to determine when dynamic pricing will work in your favor is to judge whether you are flying from and to airports with a lot of private jet activity.

The fewer and shorter the repositioning legs, the less it costs to fly you, the better pricing you are likely to get.

Remember that dynamic pricing often carries more restrictive cancellation terms than jet cards or memberships with capped or fixed hourly pricing.

In other words, needing to cancel one time or the cost of a recovery flight can offset the savings of dynamic pricing on the other four or five flights.

Also, when you sign up for a fixed or capped rate program, the provider takes the risk of losing money on some of your flights.

In return, you know what you are going to pay in advance.

You don’t have to go back and forth.

READ: Comparing the 5 ways to fly by private jet