Fly private jet 'empty leg' flights for a fraction of airlines' price
San Antonio is becoming a bigger hub for air travel. As more airlines announce more destinations, one type of travel is becoming increasingly accessible. It's a type of air service you probably wouldn't think of using - but you should.
Do you want to spread your wings in a gulfstream or a Learjet?
Travelers we talked to at San Antonio International Airport think the jet-setting lifestyle is too far out of their reach economically. The average price for a one-hour flight in a private jet is $4,500, but climbing aboard a jet can be affordable and is available in the Alamo City and it's not just for rock stars.
Eric Wells, chief pilot with Private Jets Incorporated says anybody can fly.
“The key point is we are flying, anyway," Wells points out.
There's an emerging market taking flight in San Antonio. The FAA reports 60,000 flights a year land in the Alamo City and hundreds of those are private arrivals with customers paying for the one-way trip.
Those return flights could mean luxury for you at a fraction of the cost.
Pilots call those return flights "empty legs." They are your opportunity to fly in a private jet, and it won't cost you an arm and a leg.
Wells says his empty leg flights out of S.A.'s airport can be purchased for a rock bottom price.
"You can neg your own price and general prices start at 50 percent of a round-trip commercial, and we're always willing to negotiate," he says.
And the negotiated price covers the entire plane.
Fill up a seven-seat Learjet 55, one of Private Jets' planes with family and friends.
“They can take a flight anywhere on this side of the globe,” says Wells.
Your negotiated price is a flat fee. There are no bag fees, no gate fees, and that price includes no lines, little security and no waiting.
But like any deal that sounds too good to be true, there are strings attached.
To take advantage of an empty leg flight, you have to be flexible...and spontaneous.
Wells says you can't pick the day or the time and you can't be late. But if you negotiate an empty leg price, you can go anywhere the private jet is already flying.
This is a new service where negotiating empty leg flights is wide open and going for any price.
Private charter companies are even allowing drop off points. An empty leg to Dallas means you can stop in College Station along the way.
For more on private jet companies offering empty leg flights in and out of San Antonio, check out these websites:
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