Ways You Can Save Money on Private Jet Memberships

There are a lot of benefits to getting a jet card to gain access to a number of charter jet options. Forbes has put out a piece on all of the ways to save money on these memberships. They report that more than 35 companies provide these cards for private jets. Moreover, there are well over 250 different programs to help people with private jets for charter.

1. Jet memberships can make flying in the winter cheaper. If you have ever taken a commercial flight in the winter, you know that the flight personnel does not pass around a hat to take care of the costs of de-icing the plane. When you are flying on a private aircraft charter, you will have to pay extra for this service. In general, you can expect to be charged between $1,000 and $10,000 for the de-icing service. The price differences are due to the different size of the plane and the airport you are flying out of. This is one area where a private jet membership can help. Most memberships build in the price to de-ice a plan into the monthly fee they charge. If you know, in advance, that you will be a frequent winter flier, make sure your plan has this included. You should add up how much more you would spend on a membership that has this vs. paying for it each time you fly.
2. They can make it cheaper to book roundtrip charter flights. The definition of “roundtrip” flights is different for commercial airlines than it is when you are dealing with private jets. Typically, people think of it as leaving from and returning to the same location. When it comes to charter planes, your trip cannot be more than one night. Some travelers have multiple stops to make. They start in place A, go to place B, and then onto Place C, after that, they head back to place A. Most of the time, a company that offers private jet flights needs you to pay for a minimum of two billable hours every day. If you have a private jet membership card and this is the kind of travel you will be doing, you can save a lot of cash. Some private jet memberships offer as much as 40% off the rate they charge per hour if the roundtrip excursion meets certain criteria.
3. Find a membership plan that helps you avoid peak days. If you find that you need or want to travel on a peak day, you will spend more and will need to reserve the private jets further in advance. Cancellations will also have to be made very early. Every program has its own set of peak days. Some have as few as 10 days and others have as many as 60.
4. There are upgrades and downgrades with charter air travel. The problem arises in the fact that charter companies do not have the same definition as commercial airlines. When you upgrade or downgrade on a commercial flight, you are generally moving from coach to business or first class or back. When you are using private jets, these terms refer to the size of the plane. If you think the size of the plane that you will need is going to change, you should look for a plan that allows that.
5. Look for discounts based on advance planning and distance. There are programs out there that will provide customers with a discount if they book well in advance or if the trip is longer than four hours. If your travel plans include either of these possibilities, you should look for a membership plan that does this.
6. Read the fine print about other charges and fees. Most of the time, you will spend about 12 minutes on the tarmac doing the taxing process. There are air charter companies that will charge after six minutes. There are some memberships that charge for fuel surcharges. Before you sign up for any charter membership program, you should read everything before you sign up.

When it comes to luxury and convenience flying on private jets cannot be beat. The right charter membership can save you money on these trips.