Need to fly now? Private-jet operator unveils short-term deals
New demand seen in face of pandemic
Brother, can you spare a jet?
More companies are asking that question as they face the need to move employees around the country or world at a time when a deadly pandemic has limited flights and raised the risks of public travel.
Vistajet is responding to the new wave of demand by offering short-term leases so that its charter- plane customers can have exclusive access to private aircraft to help meet their travel needs.
“We’re seeing more and more requests coming in from people about taking an aircraft full time, for a period of time,” said Ian Moore, chief commercial officer of the Malta- based private flight provider. “So we wanted to design something particularly over these next couple of months that fixates on that demand.”
Among charter companies, Vistajet is in a unique position to offer short- term plane leases during the pandemic because the company owns its fleet. Most charter companies don’t own planes and arrange on- demand flights from idle aircraft enrolled in their charter program.
For l eases of one to three months, Vistajet will provide companies with crew and maintenance to go with one of its 115 jets, which include the 8- passenger Cessna Citation X and 14- passenger Bombardier Global 6000s, Moore said in an interview. For business in the time of coronavirus, many companies need an extra plane to shuttle between cities as more countries impose travel restrictions, or to keep the jet close to C- suite personnel in case of emergencies, he said.
Private flights have j umped as commercial flights have decreased sharply.
Moore said it’s getting more difficult to find private aircraft on the open charter market as owners want planes available only to themselves, in part to reduce the chance of someone bringing the virus onto the jet they’re travelling on.
Moore has seen different waves of demand for private flights since the virus began to spread.
The first was in Asia as executives sought to leave China, he said. The second came when people in Europe and the U.S. sought to ride out the outbreak at vacation homes.
Then customers repositioned themselves and family to areas with good infrastructure and hospitals as more countries locked down non-essential travel.
Now, the wave has come full circle. Companies are reactivating in China and executives are on the move to get their companies operating again.
“Some of those locations have been in hibernation for a couple of months and now there’s a need to go see their businesses and get them moving again,” Moore said.
A NEED TO GO SEE THEIR BUSINESSES AND GET THEM MOVING.