Private jet hire takes off amid commercial airline chaos

THE floor of an airport departure lounge is the closest many holidaymakers are coming to some rest and relaxation this summer. Others are having no such trouble.

Fed up with being repeatedly let down by commercial airlines, Rima Pau, 29, a finance worker from London, travelled on a chartered jet to a wedding in Turkey with eight friends.

After their easyJet flight from Luton was cancelled in May, the group paid another £600 each to fly on the next flight from Stansted, only to be told as they were about to board the flight that it would be delayed until 10 am the next morning,

“Everyone at this point really lost it. “It was 1am and we were knackered,” Ms Pau said.

“All the hotels in the area were booked up so at this point I went home because I didn’t want to spend any more money on flights. The next morning we all woke up to a WhatsApp message, saying one of the groom’s friends was flying out in a chartered plane and he had seven spare seats.”

“It was amazing, the best experience of my life.

“It was really fun and I’m not quite sure how I am going to go back to economy class now,” she said.

“We had champagne on tap.” Ms Pau’s flight is thought to have cost somewhere in the region of £30,000 to £40,000.

Despite the eye-watering prices, aircraft charter companies said they were experiencing a boom in demand, particularly from customers who have never flown in private jets before.

With the aviation sector plagued by cancellations and delays, travellers are seeing the value in removing the hassle and torment of flying commercial.

Rising commercial prices have also helped to bridge the financial gap.

Air Charter Service said: “Chaos with commercial airlines [has] resulted in a private jet charter boom.”