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DieselDragRacer

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jumpjet: The Costco of private jet travel

I found this in the Atlanta Business Chronicle:




by Racel Tobin Ramos

Staff Writer

A startup company in New Mexico is looking to revolutionize private jet travel by taking "private" out of the equation.
Jumpjet LLC of Santa Fe is offering, for $1,500 a month, to fly people twice a month within the United States on a private plane such as a Falcon, Gulfstream, Lear, Hawker or Boeing business jet. The deal includes allowing members to bring along three guests per trip, plus pets, at no extra cost.

That works out to less than $200 a ticket per person -- which rivals even discount airfares to most destinations east of Las Vegas, which will be the outer limit for members from Atlanta, for now.
And, it's a far cry from the thousands of dollars per hour charged by most charter companies for a private flight. For example, Kennesaw-based FlightWorks Inc. charges $5,600 an hour to charter a Gulfstream IV from Atlanta. The cheapest charter the company offers is aboard a Bell 407 Helicopter, at $1,550 an hour.
Fractional ownership and full ownership are much pricier than that.
Jumpjet service will launch nationwide on May 29. Other cities that will get the service are Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles/Orange County, Miami, New York, San Francisco, Seattle and
Washington, D.C. Members will be able to fly to more than 5,000 airfields nationwide, wherever there's a fixed-base operator, such as Mercury Air at DeKalb Peachtree Airport.
Will Ashcroft, CEO and founder of Jumpjet and a helicopter pilot himself, says he's already signed up four Atlanta members, who say they will either save money over charter flights or save time over commercial flights.
"I sometimes say we're the Costco for private jets," said Ashcroft, whose goal is to make private jet travel cheaper than it's been in the past 100 years.
"We have a 'no-cattle mentality' at Jumpjet. I'm never going to pack people into an aircraft. The idea is to let them enjoy the private jet experience."

The Jumpjet model will work, says Ashcroft, because the costs will be spread out over a broad membership. His company will be profitable with only 200 members nationwide, he said. Still, he's hoping to sign 100 members in each of his 12 startup markets, who will get "founding member" status, entitling them to more benefits.
The $1,500-a-month membership rate is the lowest, or silver level, not including a one-time $500 sign-up fee. Silver members are allowed two round-trip voyages a month, with the right to bring three guests per trip. Those members must book flights 14 days in advance.

"This is not for the person who wakes up and wants to go. It's not a last-minute thing," Ashcroft said.
The highest membership is platinum, for $4,000 a month plus the $500 sign-up fee. Platinum members can fly four times a month round-trip, and bring five guests per trip, with only a five-day advance booking requirement.
Trips are booked first come, first served basis.
For example, if an Atlanta customer asks for a trip to Fort Lauderdale at 5 a.m. on June 1, and a plane is available out of Atlanta, the customer will get that slot. Then, if another customer is willing to fly the same route at the same time, that customer can fly on the first customer's itinerary.
But Ashcroft said he won't cram members into a plane by booking every seat.
Each flight will include meals, and some planes will have flight attendants. A Jumpjet customer service representative will greet members to help them board flights, store their luggage and figure out the planes' features, he said.
"Many of our members will never have traveled on a private jet," he said. "We'll meet them at the airport and ... make sure they're happy, comfortable and understand how features work, like Internet and phone service."
A major bonus, he said, is that travelers won't have to be at the plane until 15 minutes before takeoff.
His low startup costs should make it easier for him to reach profitability. Jumpjet will book time on planes that are leased, owned or chartered by Private Flight Group, which is based in White Plains, N.Y. Jumpjet will fill time available on more than 300 private planes in Private Flight Group's network.
Atlanta members will be allowed to fly as far west as Las Vegas. Ashcroft plans to add flights to Mexico, Canada, the Caribbean and eventually across the pond to London.
Still, Jumpjet will cater to relatively high-income individuals. The ideal Jumpjet customer makes a minimum of $70,000 a year, and has been flying first class, business class or full-fare economy class, said Ashcroft.
He believes his potential market is 65 million U.S. travelers. That's according to data from the federal Bureau of Transportation Statistics, which shows that of the 650 million U.S. airline seats sold annually, about 10 percent are first class, business class or full-fare economy.
And he's not worried about private jet owners turning up their noses at the new crop of travelers that will be traipsing through fixed-based operators across the nation.
"No matter how wealthy you are," Ashcroft said, "wealthy people love to save money."
Reach Ramos at [email protected].
 
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