Private Practice

So, your corporation got hit hard by the global economic collapse, and the bean counters took it out on the private jet fleet you had at your beck and call. Or maybe it was a pesky news organization camped out at the executive airport who called foul on your company’s private airline. Either way, the perk is gone. Or is it? A handful of new companies are joining some old standbys in trying to bring the joys of private air travel back to the executive class.

As the leader in the jet-card field, Marquis’s calling card is access to NetJet’s fleet of nearly 800 jets. If you’re hankering to fly a particular plane, Marquis has 10 models from a variety of makers on offer—including the elegant Gulfstream 450 and the Citation X, the world’s fastest business jet, with a cruising speed of nearly 600 mph. Long-range jets can take fliers to Europe and Asia without stopping. But for all this, expect to pay prices starting at $132,000 for a 25-hour card.

It was only logical that the company that brought us the iconic Learjet and Challenger jets would seize on the notion of giving mere mortals the chance to fly on one its jets for less than cost of full ownership.
The Bombardier cards give you a shot at flying with two different flavors: The Flexjet 25 jet-card program—minimum price: $107,000—and the Skyjet card, which requires a $100,000 deposit, which you can withdraw from as you start flying.

Cessna just rebranded its card under a new name—Citation Air Jet Card—in tune with what it describes as a “changing market.” Changing expense accounts might be more to the point, but Cessna is clearly betting that its sterling brand name will set it apart from the pack. Its jet card offers customers access to four Citation models, ranging from the seven-seat Citation Bravo, with a range of just under 2,000 miles, to the Citation Sovereign, which can fly nine passengers from coast to coast without stopping. Customers need to fork over a minimum of $100,000 to get on board—jets rent for hourly rates that vary by aircraft; the company says it’s fully refundable if you can’t use up the credit.

Sentient Jets is more like a private club, except you need to plunk down a hefty membership fee—around $100,000, for admission into an exclusive group of jet owners—from whom you can lease various jets at hourly rates. Owned by Macquarie Global Opportunities Partnership, the plan promises guaranteed access to three popular private jets: the Hawker 400 XP, Citation Excel, and Citation X.

The newest kid on the block is also the launch customer in the U.S. for the latest light jet: Embraer’s Phenoms, which are smaller—seating four passengers—and more fuel efficient than your average billionaire’s personal plane. If you can’t afford the $3.6 million list price to own one of these sleek contraptions, which can fly up to 1,100 miles without stopping to refuel, then an “all you can private jet” day card is the next best thing.

Two companies, Omaha-based CoGo Jets and Florida-based Greenjets, have set up websites that allow fliers to hop a ride with other like-minded travelers and thus cut down on the per-person cost of the trip. They work with fliers who may already have fractional ownership plans or jet cards on Marquis and its competitors, such as CitationAir, Flexjet, and Sentient.