25 May 2018

10 cost saving tips for private jet travel

Private jets may be perceived as a luxury travel solution (and there’s no doubting the appeal). But many of our customers are smart decision makers – and that includes making the most of their travel budget. Here are some top tips from our flight team experts, on how to get the most efficient price for your private jet charter.

1. Consider a prop

If you’re looking at a short flight, do consider a prop for a more cost-effective solution. Many can also land on shorter runways, offering you more airport choices. Some turbo props such as the King Air or the ‘posh prop’ Piaggio Avanti feel just like a jet on the inside, but can cost up to 20% less.

2. Compare your options

Just like booking airline travel, private jets have come of age when it comes to price comparison. At PrivateFly we offer a marketplace of over 7,500 aircraft worldwide meaning you have the transparency and control to see all the options online or via app, with the aircraft operators competing for your flight.

3. Downsize your aircraft

Making smart aircraft choices can make a big difference to pricing. If there are only a couple of you and you’re flying a short distance, a VLJ (very light jet) will be thousands of pounds less to charter, than a medium jet. When you charter, you choose the best jet for every trip requirement (and whichever aircraft you choose, you still have the same time-saving and flexibility benefits on the ground).

4. Choose airports carefully

Changing your airport choice can mean lower landing and handling costs, if you’re able to be flexible. For example in London, using Southend, Stansted or Biggin Hill instead of London City Airport, could save you over £1,000 on your flight price. Read more: London airports by private jet

5. Reduce positioning costs

Your charter budget can also go further by departing from airfields where aircraft are already based, meaning there are no positioning costs. (Our team will advise on this, and that’s also why PrivateFly’s technology is integrated with the live location of many aircraft, to be able to pinpoint this).

6. Group up

You pay the same price for the charter if there is one person on-board or if you fill all the seats. So a group travelling together can be more cost-effective than you think: whether that’s four people in a Citation Mustang paying around £900 each from Nice to Milan; or a privately-chartered regional airliner, which can work out as little as £500 per person on a shorter route if all seats are filled.

7. Older can be wiser

Some clients insist on newest possible jets, but YOM (year of manufacture) is only part of the picture. A ten year old aircraft can cost less to charter, but still be refurbished with a high-spec interior and excellent maintenance schedule – with no safety compromise. And it’s worth remembering that many airline fleets are over 20 years old. The average age of aircraft chartered by PrivateFly customers last year was just 6 years old. Read more: Is a newer private jet better than an older one?

8. Empty legs

If you are prepared to be flexible (and book at the last minute) one-way empty leg flights can give big savings of up to 75%. This can sometimes offer the chance to fly by private jet at prices that are closer to airline prices. But empty sectors are volatile, so make sure you know the conditions around the booking.

9. Ask for no frills

Believe it or not, this can still apply in private jet terms. For example, if you really don’t want catering on board, then you can sometimes negotiate a reduction in the charter cost. So it’s worth asking if you really don’t want to eat on board.

10. Waive goodbye to extra de-icing costs

In the winter season, de-icing can be a legal requirement before an aircraft is safe to take off. This is an extra cost on top of the private jet charter price, and varies according to the amount of de-icing required. PrivateFly offers customers a de-icing waiver, giving you peace-of-mind insurance against these potential charges.

For private jet charter pricing or advice, contact us or call our 24 hour team of private jet experts on +44 (0)20 7100 6960.

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