Private Jet Card Comparisons - Know Before You Buy
Compare over 250 private jet card membership programs by 65 variables in 1 place
Part 135 and 91k operators in North America – shared jets – clocked a record 2,699,184 flight hours in 2021, a 64% increase from 2020 and 24% above 2019, according to Argus TraqPak.
JetSmarter is gone, but the concept of sharing a private jet is finally taking off. By-the-seat and jet sharing private jet services are expanding as more consumers seek to avoid large airport terminals and big airplanes. A dozen providers now offer a network of by-the-seat and crowd-funding private jet services covering the U.S. and beyond. For the first time, Private Jet Card Comparisons has cataloged these services and options, giving subscribers an exclusive Guide to Shared Private Jet Services.
Ellen Leesfield, the arbitrator overseeing the class action settlement between JetSmarter and its members, approved the agreement on July 11, 2019. The next step will take place on Aug. 22 when a judge in Miami-Dade County will need to decide whether or not to confirm the arbitrator’s decision.
In her ruling, Leesfield, a former judge, overruled several objections writing, “Plaintiffs and the class faced a multitude of serious, substantive defenses, any one of which could have precluded or drastically reduced prospects of recovery.” She also noted JetSmarter has “consistently denied liability and indicated an intention to vigorously pursue its potential defenses.”
As of June 27, settlement administrators received 1,567 claim forms and 101 requests for exclusion. Previous reports had indicated close to 12,000 current or former members of the jet sharing service could be eligible.
Cash payments are expected to range between $250 and $21,000 with nearly $3 million to be split between the class and a similar amount going to the lawyers who represented the plaintiffs.
Thomas Flohr’s Vista Global group has been moving fast. Since the founder of VistaJet set up a Dubai-based holding company last September, he bought XOJET and JetSmarter. Then last month, he merged the two companies into a new brand, XO, and a new website, FlyXO.com.
The result has been an integration of JetSmarter’s Instant Booking private jet charter rates and seat sharing options into XOJET’s existing jet cards, potentially providing customers with a wider variety of options.
Of course, the devil is usually in the details. But first, a quick review of the program basics.