The trek through the airport at glacier speed has proven less and less fruitful and more and more deflating. Ticket agents are less helpful as automated check-in’s take over. Security grinds to a crawl of lines and pat-downs and your airport arrival time moves earlier and earlier. Boarding and storing carry-ons is a bizarre, serendipitous experience. Leg room is gone. Civility never makes it on board, from airline employees to passengers. Tickets with specific seat assignments are proving worthless. It is an exercise of exasperation punctuated with moments of disbelief.
Photo Courtesy of Delta Private Jets
Travelers are exiting the public terminals in larger numbers. Across the runways, on the other side of the airport, as well as at the smaller airports, are the small, personal and friendly portals to your destinations. The more able and discerning travelers are now much more willing to fly in the surroundings of luxury and personalized service than ever before.
Photo Courtesy of Private Fly
In South Florida, through avenues of on-demand charters, last minute deals on unused inventory, fractional ownership, on-line booking and mobile apps, the private jets cater to tens of thousands of discerning persons who want to travel on a different plane (pun intended). Providers such as XOJET, PrivateFly, NetJets and Wheels Up are but a few of the available carriers who can allow you to drive up, hand your bag to the pilot and be on your way according to your own schedule.
Photo Courtesy of Wheels Up
The real benefits of flying privately are access and time. The Cessna Citation X is one of the fastest on the market with a top speed of 700 miles per hour (Mach 0.92), getting you from LA to NY in just 4 hours. You can leave from less-congested airports and terminals and land closer to where you need to be. This venue of travel has even seen Delta Airlines launch its own subsidiary, Delta Private Jets.
Photo Courtesy of Private Fly
So, the next time you’re running the northeast corridor to or from Miami, or anywhere, think about the alternatives. Make the trip match the destination and you will certainly be LivinLux Miami Style!
Martin Aujeli can be reached martinaujeli@gmail.com