Private jet travel takes off in Hollywood amid pandemic

When veteran producer Bill Mechanic begins filming his latest movie, “The Divide,” in Australia later this year, he knows he will have to charter a private jet to fly out his lead actor.

Under normal circumstances, that would be out of the question. Typically, for a limited budget indie feature, all the cast and crew — even the stars — fly commercial, which is substantially cheaper.

But the Oscar-nominated producer is willing to pay the extra costs to fly the actor (whom he declined to identify) from Los Angeles to reduce the risk of a COVID-19 outbreak on set.

“That becomes, even on a tight budget, something you don’t fight, since if your stars tested positive, then you’d be shut down,” said Mechanic, a former Fox and Disney executive who produced the movies “Hacksaw Ridge” and “Coraline.” “There’s more money lost ... not being smart. Pennywise, pound-foolish sort of thing.”

It’s not only A-list celebrities who are demanding private flights. Increasingly, requests for use of such perks is coming from a wider group of cast and crew nervous about getting infected with COVID-19 while traveling on commercial flights, or because direct routes have been suspended as a result of the pandemic-related collapse in travel.

Some studios and producers have balked at the demands for private jet travel at a time when many are facing additional financial pressure brought on by new safety measures intended to prevent coronavirus outbreaks.

But, like Mechanic, many are willing to compromise because of the extraordinary circumstances caused by the health crisis.

“If a studio is making a star or makeup artist get to a certain place that requires air travel and the person wants to go, the financier-producer will make whatever accommodation they feel is appropriate. Then it becomes a negotiation,” said Los Angeles-based veteran talent manager Larry Thompson, whose clients include William Shatner.

The willingness by studios to make accommodations is a notable change, he said.

“‘There’s not enough money’ — you hear that on every movie,” he said. “You’re not hearing it now.”

Some businesses have profited from the growing popularity of private jet travel.

“We initially lost a lot of business due to cancellations but ended up booking more than twice as many flights in 2020,” said Richard Zaher, chief executive and founder of Paramount Business Jets, a Leesburg, Virginia -based charter broker that arranges private jet flights, including out of Los Angeles.

Zaher estimates that sales more than doubled over the last year, to more than $25.5 million in 2020. He attributes at least some of that to entrepreneurs, corporations and wealthy individuals who’d never flown privately before but now do so because of the pandemic.

Zaher says the entertainment industry accounts for a small but growing share of his sales.

At the end of December, a production company filming a Super Bowl commercial decided to charter a private plane to transport the crew and stars to Milwaukee and Green Bay, Wisconsin, Zaher said.

“People in production houses are also thinking about safety of their staff, just like everyone else, so yes, we are definitely seeing an increase in demand in that regard,” Zaher said.

The hourly cost of renting a private jet varies from $2,000 to $10,000, he said.

Some Hollywood studios own or lease their own jets, which are also used by executives.

KIRK MCKOY/LOS ANGELES TIMES Richard Zaher is founder and CEO of Paramount Business Jets, a company that saw its business more than double during the pandemic.