We all know private flights don’t come cheap – but what are we actually paying for?
For many, the first thing that comes to mind when they think of private jet hire is dollar signs. While it’s true that private jet charter has come down in cost drastically since its inception, there isn’t really any way of sugar-coating it: deep pockets are needed to hire private jets. There’s a difference between cost and value, though, and the mere fact that private jet charters move the decimal point slightly from economy-class flights doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re not worth it.
This article will take a deeper look at this idea, breaking down the constituent elements of a private jet flight to point out where your money actually goes. In the end, it should become a little clearer why it costs as much as it does to charter a flight, but it should also be clear why to some this can represent a bargain – and why so many return to providers like Skyllence to take to the skies every year.
“Private jet flights can be a little daunting at first glance – there’s no getting away from the fact that there are significant costs involved”, observes Skyllence CEO, Vilma Vaitiekunaite. “When we break down what customers are actually paying for, though, they’re often surprised that the bill isn’t larger. Premium experiences come with a premium price tag, but we’re confident that when we put together private charter flights we do so in a way that brings value to every customer.”
Ready to find out how airlines and private charter providers justify their prices?
Aircraft
Ok, let’s get the obvious one out of the way first: private jets aren’t cheap. The huge initial outlay that is required of businesses when it comes to aircraft of this nature has to be recouped somehow, and inevitably that’s reflected in the cost of a private charter flight. For the private jet charter company, it can be years or even decades before these investments pay for themselves, so when you see your jet rental bill it’s important to bear in mind the purchase price of what you’re renting.
Fuel
This one’s pretty simple, and applies equally to commercial aviation as it does to private flight. A private jet rental is still a jet, and something’s got to power it. The price of your private charter experience will involve the amount of fuel required to get you from A to B, and while they might not be as glamorous as the cost of champagne and caviar, boring logistical elements such as this are no less important.
The key difference between private jet charter and commercial flight when it comes to fuel is the number of people involved. A hundred or so passengers headed on holiday via a commercial airline can split the price of fuel 100 ways, whereas if there are only 6 of you then prices naturally rise. This is somewhat offset by the typically smaller size and reduced fuel consumption of private jet aircraft, but the point remains: you pay more fuel costs when you fly private.
Cabin Crew
This is a big factor in the cost of private jet hire services, as the ratio of crew to passengers dwarfs what you’d expect in commercial travel. Anyone who’s ever flown on a cheap and cheerful family holiday will be keenly aware that the cabin service on budget airlines is – shall we say – less than premium. That’s not a comment on the quality of staff – after all, there’s usually 6 or 7 of them per hundred passengers. Hat’s off to them for managing at all, to be honest!
When you fly private, though, the air cabin crew have strength in numbers relative to the passengers, as often every passenger can afford their own cabin crew attendant. This means that, quite aside from any extra skills or training they might possess, you’re guaranteed a better quality of service from your air host or air hostess simply because they’ve got more time on their hands to dedicate to your requirements. It also means that costs go up, naturally.
Not only are there more air crew per passenger involved, but the high-profile nature of private jet charter providers often means that the best and brightest are headhunted to join these teams. When you fly private, you get the privilege of being attended by some of the best cabin staff in the industry, and they in turn get the privilege of earning more than their friends working in commercial travel – a fair deal all round!
Other Staff
If you want to rent a jet, chances are you don’t just want to rent a jet. You’d also probably quite like a pilot, otherwise you’re essentially hiring some very expensive furniture to sit in on a large piece of tarmac. As with cabin crew, flight crew in the private charter industry are in a league of their own, and these charter jets are staffed by the best that the world of aviation has to offer. This adds to the experience as you can rest easy knowing that you’re in safe hands, but it also adds to the cost, as one might expect.
Maintenance
You can’t just park a jet in a hangar and wheel it out again every time someone wants to rent it for a private air charter. Long-term aircraft management incurs significant maintenance costs, and for safety reasons it’s important that private airline companies are able to conduct these procedures without feeling pressured to trim down the total price. Instead, they can diligently maintain these aircraft year-round even when not in use, and that’s exactly what your bill is paying for – not just the checks in the hours before take-off.
Next time you’re looking at the bill for your private jet charter flights, think about the maintenance costs with a sense of security – after all, they’re there for your protection, and by paying them you ensure that both your flights and those of passengers to come are kept as safe as can be.
Destination
An airport is a complicated place, and though we don’t see it as passengers, they’re not charities. Landing fees, storage fees, passenger fees, breathing-in fees, breathing-out fees – those responsible for the administration of airports are rivalled only by concert organizers in their ability to extract every morsel from customers. The passenger is largely insulated from this process, but make no mistake: if you look hard enough, it’s always there in the background of your ticket price.
The same is true when it comes to private jet charter, only dialled up to 11. The relative inconvenience of a private jet arrival for an airport leads to increased costs – after all, they’re missing out on revenue in the departure lounges and duty-free shops as your plane will only have a few passengers on board. This means that you have to pay for the privilege, and this amount can vary drastically depending on a number of factors in your choice of destination.
Service
When you book a ticket on a commercial flight, you’re buying off the rack. When renting private jet travel, you’re heading to the tailor. Anything’s on offer here, from customising arrival and departure times to choosing what colour you’d like the napkins to be for the in-flight meal. Naturally, this level of service and attention to detail requires a team that are on-hand to cater to you at all times, and that isn’t free.
You’re not just paying for the jet itself to carry you from A to B, but for the time and effort of the backroom team who make it all possible and guarantee that your private charter flight experience is everything you want it to be and more. Because private jet rental companies operate at an exceptional level of service, it can seem costly to make use of their teams – but would you rather it be left to amateurs?
Time
Time is money, as the saying goes, and that’s true in any industry. Private jet charter flights are no exception, and the hours involved have to be paid for. Whether this is the backroom staff that organise your experience, the pilots that get you from A to B, or simply the time you’re renting an asset for – an airliner, in this case – the hours add up, and have to be paid for in the end.
There’s also the inverse relationship between time and cost to consider here. Private jet travel is often much faster than commercial, and advantages like this can rarely be found for free. The privilege of getting to your destination before others is what draws many to private jet hire, and if you’re ultra-time-starved then this can even mean that private jet charter can save you money.
Consider this: you’re a CEO who has to be in town early to secure a lucrative contract. If you’re late, the deal hangs in the balance. If you arrive early – by chartering a private jet and getting ahead of the crowd – then you have a better chance of achieving what you set out to do, and could stand to make a fortune. It’s this kind of logic that means that, for many, private jet charter is the only viable way to travel, as their time is worth far more to them than the considerable sums of money involved.
In-Flight Extras
If you’re used to the high life, you don’t want it to stop when you board your private jet. If anything, luxury and indulgence are expected to ramp up even higher when on-board, and for many this involves culinary delights and refreshments of all kinds. Lobster and scallops don’t come cheap at the best of times, but when you’re at 37,000 feet there are extra costs involved.
Often, private jet flights feature food and drink produce that is expensive in itself, but the process of procuring it, storing it, and serving it on-board a small aircraft means that the bill can start to climb. Ask yourself, though: is it worth chartering a private jet and then eating stale sandwiches and a bottle of water? Shouldn’t your in-flight food match the luxury on offer across the rest of the experience? If so, consider the catering element of your bill part of operational costs and enjoy the unique refined indulgence that only a private jet meal can offer.
A Custom-Built Approach
Anyone who’s ever had anything tailor-made – from a suit to a piece of furniture – knows that the little details soon add up. Chartering a private jet is a process, and it’s one that can be changed at any point to suit your requirements. While this is one of the great advantages of this mode of travel, it’s also its Achilles heel when it comes to cost, as minor modifications can incur significant overheads for private jet hire companies.
Keeping alterations to a minimum is a good way to reduce costs, but let’s be honest – if you’re hiring a private jet then you might as well go all-in and make the experience as memorable as possible. Having everything exactly as you imagine it is the very definition of luxury, and is what many come to expect when chartering private travel. Just don’t be surprised when those changes are reflected in your invoice!
Towards Transparency
Hopefully this breakdown of what the cost of hiring a private jet entails has made the whole process clearer. Next time you’re chartering private travel, you won’t be confused as to what you’re getting, and will understand exactly how far your money goes. Private travel can be costly, true, but it’s clear to see why to some this is a price worth paying – whether they’re actually saving money by saving time or just think the level of service is worth the price of admission!
Skyllence CEO, Vilma Vaitiekunaite is used to guiding customers through the private jet hire process: “Demystifying what goes on behind the scenes of the private jet rental process is crucial to customer engagement. The whole process is actually quite simple: find out what our clients need and get it for them. If they want to see what that involved after the fact, then we’re happy to let them inside our world – after all, it gives us a chance to show off how hard we’ve worked on their behalf!”
