Monday, January 15, 2007

The Skies are Much Friendlier with One Sky

Monday's NY Times ran an article about One Sky, a company that runs a private jet membership program in which members can either prepay for their flying or pay as they go. While the prices might still be considered steep by some - a one-way from Newark to Tampa in a light jet started at around $5300 - they certainly beat the costs associated with owning your own jet.

The charter airplane market isn't exactly new, but One Sky is making it easier to get a slightly deeper discount by allowing people to reserve an "empty leg" - a return trip for a plane that's only been reserved one-way, similar to a cruise's repositioning trip. Their website has an easy search engine allowing you to look up available empty legs. We won't go into all the nuts and bolts here - the article sums it up quite nicely and One Sky's website is very simple to use - but we thought it was worth a mention. At the prices you might pay for the whole family to fly anyhow, the comfort and convenience of a private jet could well be worth the higher price tag. If you've flown with One Sky, let us know what you think...

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

With all the recent coverage of commercial airplanes sat on runways for hours - leaving passengers "hostage" with little food etc - it certainly starts to make you think about private flying. There are a variety of options out there, and chartering is the easiest way to get started.

Leian Elizabeth Welch said...

Most definitely. I cannot even imagine sitting on a runway for TEN HOURS - furthermore pregnant and with a toddler, with overflowing toilets and nothing but blue potato chips as food. I would be suing the hell out of JetBlue right now. Perhaps the only good thing to come out of this is that Congress is now considering a bill that would force airplanes back to the gate if they have been on the tarmac for more than 3 hours, and also to carry enough food to cover 3-hour delays. I hope it passes because for too long passengers have been at the whim of the airlines and it has only gotten worse after 9/11 - you show the slightest bit of anger or frustration at incompetence or miscommunication and next thing you know you're not being allowed to fly because you're a potential "danger".