Monday, August 29, 2011

Can a Limited Jet Card Do the job?

By Steve Markson


You've undoubtedly seen the adverts for fractional jet card programs which offer limited flight time, broadly speaking 25 hours, on aircraft which are area of the providers' fractional fleet at a set hourly rate.

How will you know if these programs are right for you? Start by looking at your travel profile and preferences and answering a few essential questions:

- How often can you fly? - Where when do you fly? - How far ahead of time would you plan your trips? - Exactly how many passengers and simply how much luggage can you simply take? - Do you prefer to fly on a fleet that's managed by way of a single operator? - Have you got specific aircraft preferences? - What is the better use of your capital?

A fractional jet card program could be right for you if:

- You fly around 25 hours each year. - You fly privately on trips with stays that last a lot more than a short time, because unlike the choice of conventional charter, you will not need to pay positioning charges to fly the aircraft back once again to its home base and back again to pick you up for the reunite trip. - You schedule trips on short notice so your fully guaranteed availability made available from jet card programs is of value for your requirements. - You fly to destinations which are within the service regions of the jet card programs. - You fly on days that aren't "blacked out" by the programs. - The aircraft available within your budget satisfy your passenger and luggage requirements. - You are uncomfortable flying through block charter programs that operate by way of a network of independent charter operators and therefore don't offer uniformity in fleet management, pilot experience, aircraft type, age, an such like. - That you do not want to make the longterm commitment that's needed is with a full fractional investment. - You are prepared to pay a bit more to fly than you'd be charged as a fractional share owner because that extra cost is more then offset by the get back you can realize on the capital you'd otherwise invest in buying a fractional share.

In the event that you decide that the fractional jet card is right for you, do your due diligence and appearance at all your alternatives. Make sure that you want the aircraft that you will be flying in. Comprehend when you are able fly so when you cannot, what additional charges you'll result in (fuel surcharges can raise your cost substantially), how your flight time will undoubtedly be calculated (most programs make use of a 1 hour minimum if you fly a lot of thirty minute flights you might lose half your flight time), and whether your card has an expiration date (in a way that you'll lose any flight time you never use before that date.)#)

Finally, and most importantly, review the contracts vigilantly. Although the fancy brochures get this look as simple as using your charge card, it's a substantial investment, the contracts can be lengthy, and we've found that there surely is room to negotiate.




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