It is fashionable to save today: the new trend has already conquered not only catwalks, but also business aviation.
“The trend of business aviation in 2017 is cost optimization,” says Dmitry Petrochenko, project manager at BizavNews. – Clients are increasingly looking towards reducing the cost of flights, choosing more budgetary solutions; often give up ownership of their own aircraft in favor of charter operators. Savings for some items can be up to 60%. Small companies are trying to optimize the flight costs of middle and senior executives by transferring them to business charters or air taxi operators. Europe is experiencing a real boom in budgetary projects in the field of business aviation. “
His words are confirmed by Pavel Zakharov, Managing Director of JET24: “Choosing a charter, the client significantly reduces the cost of the flight due to the absence of costs (direct and indirect) associated with owning the aircraft. Consider: business jet parking – up to 3,000 euros per day, PIC's salary – up to 15,000 euros per month, maintenance – up to 700,000 euros per year, and even crew travel – up to 150 euros per day per person ”.
And if you take into account that choosing a business jet using a smartphone is no more difficult than ordering a pizza, the benefits become obvious. For example, the JetSmarter application, a kind of UBER for flights, is intended for those who prefer to optimize their logistics costs. A regular membership costs $ 15,000 a year, but it can pay off relatively quickly even on European flights alone.
A typical client who flies to Europe in business class of regular airlines, already on the fourth flight, lasting up to 3 hours, can “turn out to be a plus”. Distances on the continent are short (for example, a Moscow-London flight on a Legacy lasts only 2 hours and 45 minutes), so you can fit into such a limit almost without problems.
Scheduled shuttle flights operate from Moscow so far only directly to London, Nice and Geneva, but the continental network of airports is well developed, so with short transfers you can get to most major cities. Flights to St. Petersburg were opened the other day.
The further route from Europe to all JetSmarter destinations is paid additionally, although even here the cost differs from the costs of regular airlines to a lesser extent. The flight from London to New York will cost a member of the club about $ 2,000, but the further journey across the US can also be made free of charge.
Moreover, it is possible to pay for an intercontinental flight with significant savings and space for satellites on its “pass” – a British Airways business class ticket usually costs about $ 7,400, while a JetSmarter has only $ 5,900.
The main feature of such savings is associated precisely with the exact schedule according to which shuttle flights are performed. But a member of the club can form his own shuttle off-schedule, on any day for $ 10,980.
At the same time, a club member receives two seats on board, but it is thanks to the concept of a mobile application that other project participants will also see the created flight and, if they wish, will be able to fly away on it, thereby reducing the customer's expenses.
Such a system has nothing to do with the widespread version of the Empty leg, when you can take advantage of another owner's returning empty plane at the last moment with substantial discounts. In this case, when buying a charter, you yourself create your own shuttle for the rest and save a lot on it.
The club's membership system also has a more advanced version for $ 50,000 a year, which allows for relatively inexpensive transportation of family members, discounts on charter flights and other benefits.
Food on shuttles is usually soundly, but without frills. As with any air travel, it is possible to clarify your preferences in advance using the traditional aviation positions related to religious, medical and other characteristics.
Of course, a traditional plus, characteristic, however, for all business aviation, is the fact that in Moscow you can arrive at Vnukovo-3 just half an hour before departure, and in London Luton, five minutes after opening the plane door, you are already on the highway. leading to the city.
The shuttle has only one drawback: if all 12 seats are occupied, then you will not take a walk around the cabin too much. But unlike a regular regular flight, the door to the pilot's cabin is usually open during the entire flight, so the opportunity to admire the bizarre clouds from an unusual angle will be a pleasant additional bonus.
