Private Jets Coach Prices

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Those kinds of numbers were too compelling for Corregan Brown, an Atlanta-based software executive and frequent flier, to ignore. “I’ve been beaten into submission by the major airlines,” he says. “The situation is bleak. When Jumpjet came along, I jumped at it.”

Lots of travelers thought like Brown. By the time Jumpjet began accepting flight reservations on May 29, more than 700 people had signed up. More than 50 companies had cut customized corporate deals, too.

By Jumpjet’s estimates, about 2,700 reservations were made on the first day and more than 4,000 during in the first week. The reservation system—a combination of off-the-shelf and purpose-built software—promptly crashed. “We were a victim of our own success,” Ashcroft says blithely. Jumpjet arranged only 78 flight segments before canceling its remaining reservations.

Brown was lucky enough to get one of the Jumpjet round-trips he reserved. “My flights were great and I saved hours in ground time” by flying to and from DeKalb Peachtree Airport rather than Hartsfield International, Atlanta’s chaotic commercial airport. More importantly for Jumpjet, Brown says he’s prepared to wait for the company to relaunch rather than bail.

Ashcroft claims Brown is like most of Jumpjet’s charter members. All were offered refunds, but only 19 bailed. After all, he says, “your only other choice is to go back into the commercial system.”

I’m not much for conventional wisdom about the airline business, but I’m one of the many who can’t figure out how Jumpjet can ever make money at its current prices. At least for now, as much as I would like to believe in the concept, I think corporate jets for the masses are too good to be true. But $1 Hawaii fares and $999 business-class flights to Europe don’t make sense to me, either, and I know that they exist.

The Fine Print
Jumpjet has no planes of its own. Its flights are operated by a charter company called Private Flight Group. Ashcroft, a one-time commercial helicopter pilot, says that Jumpjet is upgrading its reservation systems and expects to resume limited service in late July. They are not accepting new members, but are adding names to a waiting list for membership.

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