The resonating theme of the Strategic Airline Event Vlad and I attended in the beginning on June was “It is the only way to fly“. The ‘it’ being referred to is private air charter. And I am not going to sit here and pretend I have flown privately for eons, because I have not. In fact, I have never. But the perks of flying privately really are worth the price. In fact, if you are traveling with a larger group, flying privately can be as cost effective as flying via a commercial airliner, minus the long wait, early check in, and delays.
Vlad and I attended an event held by Strategic Air, who specializes in worldwide private air charter, on June 11th in a private hangar at the Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport. Hors d’oeuvres and cocktails were served as the guests mingled and boarded the aircraft and a luxury motor home that Strategic Air provides. The guests chatted and as we made our way around I realized that flying with the Deltas and US Airways is not comparable to flying privately. When you fly privately you are treated like royalty, especially by Strategic Air. From arriving to the airport to arriving at your destination the company pampers you as, offering car service, catering, hotels, and personal protection. I really would only need the catering, as the rest I can handle, but the company covers everything so that you do not have to. An array of airplanes are offered, and again, if I had it my way I would travel in one of their Heavy Jets, which can hold between 12-15 passengers.
The event got me thinking about handbags, of course. When I travel, I meticulously decide which bag to take with me. I worry about packing an expensive handbag in my suitcase that gets checked under (what if my bag gets lost!?), don’t want to sit with my bag on my lap the whole flight or put a really nice bag under the seat in front of me, and my luggage just gets the job done, nothing fancy. But in my dream world, while I fly on my private jets I could take a Bottega Veneta Jewelry Case, a Louis Vuitton Steamer Case, a Bottega Veneta Trolley, and a Hermes Travel Birkin. Gone would be the worries of my luggage getting beat up, stained, lost, wet, and in would be traveling super chic. 
Private jets are truly the only way to travel, that is, if you can afford it. As I continue to dream of flying privately (with my hoards of expensive designer handbags), I will keep my beat up Samsonite luggage and dream of the perfect travel gear with the perfect private plane.
If you are able to afford to charter a private aircraft, make sure to look into Strategic Air.
Hey, a girl can dream…
Sounds like fun, but it’s also extremely environmentally irresponsible, particularly when it’s someone’s chief mode of long-distance travel (I know that’s not you). It’s akin to commuting by yourself in a 9MPG “luxury” SUV instead of spending all that money on a hybrid car or (gasp!) taking public transportation, which is essentially what commercial airlines are.
Sorry to rain on your parade Megs, and I know these companies will just raise their prices to compensate for the price of fuel instead of developing cleaner, greener technology, but I felt this should be mentioned amidst the glowing free press for this airline.
No problem Earth, I see your point.
Vlad and I were watching a show recently, Top Gear I believe, that spoke about an SUV vs a Prius and which was more environmentally friendly. Between all of the places the Prius parts/engine/etc had to be shipped to make it, it turned out being much worse for the environment compared to a US made SUV (sold to someone in the US). I found it really interesting.
But again, I do see your point! Still, I would love to travel this way… at least once
I ditto Earth.
My company has a private jet and I have the luxury of being able to fly on it on occasion. You are right, once you get spoiled by flying privately you will never want to fly commercial again.
No security, they know your name when you get to the FBO, rental car is a few feet from the plane ready to go. Not to mention you leave whenever you are ready with no need to get there early
. It’s definitely something I would pay for if I had the income.
There is a company called ElJet thats does something called “empty leg charters” it makes the cost of private jet charter a lot more affordable.
Thier website is http://www.ellejet.com