Fohr Card had the opportunity to work with NetJets to send some influencers (see all posts here) down to Miami for Art Basel. I had never flown private before and it was, well, as amazing as you think it would be. The NetJets team takes amazing care of their passengers and I honestly didn’t want to get off the flight. Some things that stand out:
No check in, no security, no lines: you pull up to the terminal, get into a shuttle to your jet and you’re done.
Departure time: We were shooting some content by the plane for 45 minutes and didn’t have to rush, you leave whenever you want.
Take off: The plane is light and powerful so take off was substantially shorter than a commercial flight, when in the air it felt like we climbed much faster than a commercial flight.
Comfort: This is a given, we have 9 people in a jet that can hold 10 and it was supremely comfortable, the cabin was done up in beautiful tan leather and dark wood. I am honest when I said I didn’t want it to end, but then again its a 32 million dollar plane, it should be comfortable.
Music: There are speakers all around the plane and you can play whatever you like, whenever you like as loud as you like. We were talking a lot so didn't jam out too much, but you can see how it would be nice to have music going.
Flight: It is a little slower than a commercial jet, but flies 9,000 feet higher so you avoid a lot of the bumps felt lower as well as commercial airline traffic.
Food: I had a steak, so yeah, that was an improvement. We were also drinking Veuve Clicquot which I wasn’t going to complain about.
Bathroom: I didn’t go but it looked bigger than the bathroom in my apartment.
Staff: We had a flight attendant who was always there when you needed him and never there when you didn’t. Five star service.
Etiquette: Did you know there are rules to flying on someone’s plane? Of course there are! If you find yourself a passenger on a jet, let the owner enter first and pick the seat they want (usually first forward facing seat on the left), don’t be rude!
All in all private aviation is as incredible as you would expect and it comes at an unbelievable premium. The benefits of fractional jet ownership through NetJets is the barrier to entry is a bit lower ($8 million on this plane vs $32 million) and you get to use the plane 25% of the time and share the hard costs of ownership with your co-owners. Beyond that NetJets is providing peace of mind that everything is taken care of and running at 100%.
I don’t live in the world where private aviation is a part of my life, but for 3 hours from NYC to Miami I did, and my god, it was lovely.
