Private Jet Card Comparisons - Know Before You Buy
Compare over 250 private jet card membership programs by 65 variables in 1 place
The Federal Aviation Administration has cleared Raleigh, North Carolina-based Jem Air Holdings, LLC. The update comes just weeks after alleging it operated multiple illegal charters.
The most popular private jet in the U.S. for 2019 wasn’t a jet.
The Swiss-made Pilatus PC-12 single-engine turboprop was the most popular private aircraft clocking 244,217 flights in 2019, according to Argus Traqpak.
Wheels Up yesterday unveiled a camouflage-painted Beechcraft King Air 350i aircraft as part of its Wheels Up Cares philanthropic initiative.
The Wheels Up Camouflage Plane has a custom livery that was created and painted by Textron Aviation Inc. and honors those in the military who bravely served and continue to serve our country, while benefiting the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS), a non-profit organization that offers compassionate care to those grieving the loss of a military loved one.
The Camouflage Beechcraft King Air 350i will remain indefinitely in the Wheels Up fleet to serve as a flying symbol of TAPS’ mission.
While there are many variables that separate the over 300 jet cards in the Private Jet Card Comparisons database – over 65 in fact, one difference means a lot to some people and nothing to others.
However, for both types of buyers, choosing the wrong type of program can make for a less than enjoyable experience despite the provider’s overall merits. Figuring it out before you sign can both save you money and make sure the program fits your mission needs.
There are essentially two ways that available aircraft are structured for fixed-rate (and usually guaranteed availability) programs by jet card providers.
One is by cabin-class or size. When buying into a cabin class you are assured of getting an aircraft in that class or larger if you are lucky enough be upgraded based on operational needs.
The other is by specific aircraft make or type, for example, you are buying into an Embraer Phenom 300. So while the provider may let you fly in other types, you know when you want a Phenom 300, you’re going to get a Phenom 300 and not some other type of light jet.
A world removed from those Gulfstream G650s and Bombardier Global Express private jets you read about in stories about what type of plane Jennifer Lopez or Elon Musk own are turboprops and piston aircraft. They’re also very popular.
In case you haven’t noticed, most jet card programs specify cabin size, then fulfill your needs from a variety of aircraft types in that cabin category. In some cases that’s because you are buying your jet card from a management company and they are clustering all of the aircraft in that cabin size category together. In other cases, it’s a broker program that is sourcing aircraft from charter operators, including management companies and fleet operators. You’ll often see a range of seating for the aircraft that apply to that category, so in the SuperMid category you could get a jet that fits eight people one time and 10 the next. In Large Cabin jets it’s not unusual to see a range of 10 to 14 seats.
Usually when private aviation makes the news channel it’s for alleged misuse, being it CEOs needing two planes at a time (although in the case of GE’s Jeff Immelt, there were certainly times it made sense), sending your artwork out of state in empty boxes to avoid sales tax (Dennis Kozlowski) or some other tawdry reasons. This morning during her hourly broadcast on left-leaning MSNBC the 9 am anchor Stephanie Ruhle entered into a discussion of Trump cabinet members who have been using private aircraft fresh on the news that Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin has racked up a $1 million tab for private flights.
