[TiredOldHack]

Coo. That’s nice 🙂

[BeckyBoop]

VK, BA used to offer a private jet charter service through a third party. I cant remember which one it was i think CitationAir?

[no7agency]

Amazing private jet interiors https://www.facebook.com/no7agency?ref=tn_tnmn

Depending on where you are heading there are some great 1st Class options.

[LufthansaPrivateJet1]

Dear Hi_flier,

Please send your trip details to <a href="mailto:[email protected]“>[email protected] and I would be delighted to provide you with a quote.

Kind regards
Lufthansa Private Jet

[MartynSinclair]

Shameless LH – how about a free sample to us poor economy class travellers :))))

Out of interest, are the aircraft and pilots LH staff or 3rd party contract…

[hi_flier]

So I ended up booking a jet through the local operator I referred to earlier. I didn’t use any empty legs and have chartered it outright. The service so far has been fantastic and I’ve been able to tailor every aspect of the flight from catering right through entertainment through to having a rental car waiting at the FBO upon arrival.

I won’t divulge how much it is, suffice to say it’s not cheap. But this is a one off and I’ve been very fortunate work wise recently so it’s a bit of a treat for the family. Some people buy expensive cars, watches etc… my big weakness is travel!

And as much as I’d like to say I’m travelling on 737BBJ or Airbus equivalent, I’m not. It’s a far less glamorous Citation but excited nevertheless.

Thanks again for your advice and guidance.

[Tallinnman]

Priceless MS.

hi_flier, looks like a good decision and hoping to read the trip report. What are you doing with a rental car at the other end? Champagne really does taste better on a small aircraft and is always within arms reach!

[hi_flier]

Just to follow up on my original thread from earlier this year, I thought I’d just provide a mini trip report on how my chartered flights went.

I booked a return flight from Bristol to Switzerland (flying in to Zurich and out of Bern) through Bristol-based operator Centreline Air Charter on a Cessna Citation CJ2 (a six-seater light jet). As I mentioned earlier, the upfront service was excellent and I was able to specify every detail of the flight (newspapers, entertainment, catering) which was particularly useful as I was travelling with two very young children. They also helped ensure that my rental car I had booked would be waiting at the FBO in Zurich and that I could drop it off with the FBO in Bern.

Fast forward to the day of the outbound flight, we arrived at the private terminal in Bristol around 25 minutes before our flight. This was quite early so we were shown up to a lounge area by the pilots whilst they readied the plane and put our main bags in the hold. Around 10 minutes before our scheduled departure time we were escorted to the plane and helped onboard. The CJ2 is quite a small plane (6 seats – 4 in a club formation + 2 at the rear) but the seating is very comfortable with plenty of legroom. There was a well stocked minibar between the seating and the cockpit, a cool-box with plenty of champagne, wine and beer provided on a spare seat and a hamper with all the food we had ordered (selection of pastries, sandwiches and kids’ snacks).

We took off promptly – the plane packs quite a punch on its takeoff – and were quickly heading towards our cruise altitude of 39,000 ft towards Zurich. One of the pilots helped us with food and drink though we found ourselves around the cabin quite quickly. There’s certainly something special about drinking champagne in a private jet!

All too quickly we started our descent into Zurich where we arrived well ahead of our ETA. The plane taxied right in front of the Jet Aviation FBO terminal in Zurich where we were quickly escorted through a private passport check to our waiting rental car. We thanked our pilots and were on our way.

Two weeks later, after a wonder time in Switzerland, we found ourselves on the road to Bern/Belp airport. We were staying in Gstaad for the final week and Bern was the nearest airport we could arrange to fly from. Gstaad has its own airfield in neighbouring Saanen but very few operators are licensed to land here given the tricky VFR approach in mountainous terrain. We arrived at Bern airport around 10 minutes prior to our scheduled departure time, having done some last minute shopping locally, and were greeted curb-side by our pilots and a member of the local handling agent. We left our rental car outside the terminal building whilst we were escorted through the main terminal passport checks, bypassing all baggage security (not too sure why we went through the main terminal and not the GA terminal but it was a very swift process anyway). Within less than 10 minutes we were sat comfortably within the same CJ2 as we flew across with, the engines spooled up and taxiing towards the runway.

For our return flight we had sushi and sandwiches catered which went well with the chilled champagne. Despite a short delay in taking off due to some local traffic, we arrived early in Bristol and were quickly escorted through the private terminal to the parking lot where we had left our car. There was no need for a passport check in Bristol as we were pre-cleared prior to travelling which was great.

This was always going to be a one-off experience given the high cost of chartering a flight but it was an amazing experience. Whilst the comfort on such a small plane is debatable over a longer sector, the service, privacy and convenience more than makes up for this. Both crews were fantastic – friendly, professional and exceptionally client-focussed. Does it make economic sense to fly this way? Of course not but I felt relaxed and could focus my time on the family – who due to work I don’t see enough. The ability to bypass all aspects of the dreary and time-consuming airport experience is superb and I can see why high net-worth individuals and some professionals travel this way more frequently. I would thoroughly recommend this operator though if you’re ever in the market for a jet charter.

[LuganoPirate]

Sounds great hi-flier and certainly a very civilised way to travel. We love Gstaad and go almost every year for the Polo.

I’m curious, but if you don’t want to say that’s fine, but roughly what did it cost? For flights to Lugano ex LCY I’ve had quotes from £3,000 up to £7,500 one way. A same day return being slightly cheaper per leg. Ex Lugano the fare was about the same though I’ve not yet treated myself.

[hi_flier]

Hi LuganoPirate – the one-way fare was towards the upper end of what you’ve been quoted (around £6,500). It was a treat following a succesful year at work.

The cheapest fare I could find was just under £5k one-way but that would have been on a Citation Mustang and didn’t feel like being cramped in such a small plane.

And agree – Gstaad is a great place. So many places to eat and a wonderful location to explore the Bernese Oberland as well as some of the french speaking regions.

[MartynSinclair]

hi_flier, pleased you enjoyed the experience. You question whether a CJ” would be comfortable over a longer sector. About 5 years ago I travelled in a slightly bigger CJ3, from BKK to Europe (overnight in Dubai), back to BKK (overnight in Muscat) and then back to Europe (overnight on the floor in Dubai exec terminal).

Luckily some of the seats had been taken out, but it was still very comfy.

There are many options re jet charter pricing in 2013, but key, besides safety, is trying to get a price directly from the operator, without going through a myriad of middle men, who do very little for their commission.

[LuganoPirate]

Thanks hi-flier, so the quotes I received were not so far away.

While agreeing with what Martyn says about brokers, sometimes they can be useful. I remember we were quoted £2,500 for the o/w leg as it was an empty return from another charter. Trouble is he could not guarantee our return at that price. You can also get a good price from positioning flights and sometimes you can get dates in advance, but you do take a chance.

A friend of mine, now retired, who used to fly LUG-LCY-LUG regularly on full fare business tickets, would often call with as little notice as 12 hours, and get a great price on a o/w flight. If he couldn’t he’d simply use his full fare ticket. But he had the luxury of being the CEO of a £3bn financial company unlike lesser mortals such as myself!!!

[MartynSinclair]

I would only use a handful of brokers for empty legs. The market is very small and they all use the same research software advertising the empty legs.

Longhaul jet charter is the most competitive, I recently saw a London – NYC (area) for as little as $28,000 for 10 seats (no catering), by the time the empty leg came to the full market, that price had risen to $50,000+ with brokers adding their 10%..

European positioning flights are not so competitively priced at the moment, the market is saturated with older aircraft, who are pricing rock bottom.

In some respects a Citation Mustang may be preferable to some (over an older (CJ2) as it is a far newer and modern aircraft. When you get a quote, establish the likely age of the aircraft as well…….. as it may help your decision.

[Bath_VIP]

HiFlier,

Thank you for sharing your experiences. Like you I can see myself using a private jet as a reward for a successful year and it is good to know that Bristol is an option for me. I flew into Bristol on Friday and I was surprised at the amount of executive jet traffic going on, much more than usual This might be because of the recent closure of Filton airport. I also noticed that BMI Regional seemed to have put one of their E145 up for hire as it was parked over by the bizjet terminal.

[hi_flier]

Hi Bath_VIP – the E145 you saw parked outside the Bristol FBO will probably be the one Airbus use on the daily staff ferry flights between Hawarden, Bristol and Toulouse. Airbus have moved their flights from Filton to Bristol and use BMI Regional for the contract. The private terminal is now fully compliant for larger charter flights such as these, providing full screening facilities. But you’re right that Bristol has seen an increased amount of private traffic of late.

@MartynSinclair – amazing journey on a CJ3 you refer to. I’m sure it was quite comfortable though I’d love to know if you encountered any turbulence on the usual hot spots e.g. Bay of Bengal. You do feel the bumps in a smaller aircraft! And the toilets are a bit cramped…on a 1.5 hour journey I didn’t need to use the facilities but on a long sector like that I would imagine nature calls at some point!

[Author]

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