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Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Chismillionare says- Take your jet travel private

You're sick of the stress of flying commercial airlines, but buying into a private-jet program seems prohibitively expensive. Now there are cheaper ways.

In years past, hiring an airplane and crew was a complicated, potentially risky affair that involved calling a local charter operator and negotiating for a plane and pilots. Fractional ownership, in which companies sell a share of an airplane, opened up the private-jet world by making planes easier to buy and schedule. That was followed by jet-card programs -- in which you can buy as little as 10 hours of flying for about $44,000 -- reducing the cost further.

John McKey, a retired advertising executive, charters jets twice a year to move between his homes in Boston and Florida to avoid "the appalling process now of going through commercial airlines." Leaving from Bedford, Mass., and flying directly to Vero Beach, Fla., saves a couple hours of driving, and since his wife has to travel with wheelchair assistance, the level of service the couple gets with a private plane is highly prized.
"It's not inexpensive, but it is easy to do," said Mr. McKey, a client of OneSky, a fast-growing three-year-old company that arranges on-demand charters and has its own command center to track flights and make customer arrangements. He pays about $12,000 to $13,000 for each 3½- to 4-hour flight. He and his wife invite friends to fill the other seats on their trips.

http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB118705417794296758.html



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