Semi-private airlines provide a middle ground between purchasing your own Learjet and Ubering to the airport three hours early to stand in line and take off your shoes at a TSA checkpoint if you want to travel in elegance but can’t quite afford a private jet of your own.
With facilities that resemble those of a five-star hotel rather than an airplane, semi-private airlines provide every customer a true first-class experience on tiny, opulent jets with only a few other passengers. Some of them are pay-as-you-go, while others are membership-based. All, however, allow you to avoid the inconveniences that come with using commercial airlines.
Get accustomed to VIP lounges, concierge service, and luxury that is often only available to the 1% and bid farewell to queues, congestion, canceled flights, aggressive employees, and crowded conditions. Some semi-private airlines are very reasonable, even for the bottom 99, while others are by nature rather dear.
Here are the five greatest semi-private airlines and their flight prices.
Aero
Aero provides direct flights in first class exclusively to a few locations in North America and Europe.
The concierge staff at Aero assists travelers with pre-flight itinerary planning. Their favorite drinks will be available for them as they board, and everything from scheduling drivers and negotiating rates with five-star hotels is taken care of.
Passengers are individually escorted by the ground staff from Aero’s opulent lounge to the aircraft rather than through the congested airport terminal. Legroom, elegance, and good living are the order of the day on Aero’s modern, 16-passenger ERJ-135LR aircraft, which has hand-stitched Italian leather seats, mood lighting, and large windows. The concierge staff is setting up a driver to pick you up and move your stuff while all of that is going place.
As an example, depending on when you fly, a one-way trip from Aspen, Colorado to Los Angeles takes two hours and 20 minutes and costs between $1,800 and $3,450.
Tradewind Aviation
To dozens of locations in the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean, Tradewind provides semi-private luxury flights.
The TSA’s vigilance and the stress of airport terminals are exchanged by travelers for opulent jet lounges and VIP experiences. Every flight includes complimentary food and beverages, which may include champagne, cocktails, beer, and wine. The flights are conducted on the most luxurious Pilatus PC-12 and Citation CJ3 aircraft.
Depending on how many hours you fly, the cost of its premium private charter flight service ranges from $4,650 to $4,950 per hour. Its scheduled flights can be unexpectedly inexpensive, provide free route modifications, and have flexible ticket periods.
For $335, you may take a quick flight that takes little over an hour from Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, to Westchester County, New York.
