You might have considered chartering a private jet in the past. But for most, the price can sometimes be the deal breaker, especially when lengthy overnights are involved.
Aside from charter, you could hope that a discounted one-way, or empty leg, becomes available. But with empty legs comes unpredictability and the potential of cancellations or last minute route changes.
Not the best way to start your Formula One weekend.
Allow us to introduce you to semi-private.
Private for the price of business
At Airly we arrange charters and have empty legs booked on our app, but for years we’ve wanted to find a way to make private more affordable and predictable.
Thus we created a membership which allows a closed group of like-minded individuals the ability to book the seats they need, versus chartering outright.
And with the Formula One coming up, Airly members can simply initiate the flights they need risk-free. They also don’t need to worry about picking the right jet or the overnight fees associated with charter over a weekend.
What’s the cost?
Melbourne’s Essendon Airport is the best option for a Formula One flight. Featuring plenty of FBO’s, no slots and minimal congestion it is also a quick 15 minute drive to the CBD. Essendon is also very hospitable with helicopter pickup and drop offs should you want to one-up your experience into/out of Albert Park.
Flying to Melbourne / Essendon Airport, members pay:
$1,219 per seat from Sydney Metro / Bankstown Airport; or $1,395 per seat from Sydney’s Mascot Airport
What about other locations you may ask?
We do open up member flights between Melbourne and Byron Bay, Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast and Brisbane between December and February (2019/20).
What kind of jet?
Most of our member initiated flights are conducted on the modern and efficient Embraer Phenom 300E.
We do use other jets from time to time, but over a 12 month period you’d be far more accustomed to the Phenom over any other aircraft.
The Phenoms we regularly utilise via our Operator’s are only 12-24 months old.
Inside you’ll find a beautiful 8 seat cabin configuration with an enclosed lavatory at the rear.
There’s also ample luggage space which can easily fit skis, snowboards, golf clubs and more.
As part of our Project Green offset program the Phenom is a favourite of ours as its carbon emissions are about 50-66% lower than other jets in the same class.
Do I get any food or drink?
Of course you do. We have partnered with incredible catering suppliers who provide individually portioned meals for all dietary requirements.
You won’t have a cabin attendant, so rather than juggle platters or snack on a packet of chips, you can enjoy a super nutritious and delicious meal that’s also practical.
How do I book?
In order to fly semi-private you need to download the Airly app, register then upgrade to a membership.
Once we ensure you meet the criteria, you’ll be free to initiate your flights to the Formula One.
The best part is you won’t pay your reservation till the flight is confirmed!
Our member care team can also source hospitality tickets, helicopter or vehicle transfers or more. We’re just a WhatsApp message away.
Still want to charter?
Airly are more than capable of managing your charter requirements. Request your Formula One charter via our app, WhatsApp or call 1800 FLY AIRLY.
Business jet deliveries were up 7% in Q3 CY19 when compared to the same period last year.
According to the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) report, 183 business jets were delivered in Q3 2019, 12 more than the 171 delivered in the same period the previous year.
Of mention was the new Pilatus PC24 (pictured) up 83%.
As our membership continues to grow (effectively doubled this month alone) it’s been entertaining watching old habits of our members. The biggest one is automatically booking flights from Sydney’s Mascot Airport when in fact said member may live closer or equidistant to Sydney Metro / Bankstown.
This article, however, isn’t about the member who lives closer to Bankstown. This article is about the member who lives right near Mascot Airport.
Jamie booked his semi private flight on our app for The Fleetwood Mac concert in Melbourne (lucky him).
We activated his flight, and got everything organised in the background including aircraft selection, gourmet catering and slots at Mascot Airport. As this jet was based in Bankstown we needed to organise the positioning of the jet in time for pickup.
Things were looking great till the night before. Sydney Airport informed our operator that we lost our slot due to expected single runway operations and that there would be no room for us, as the capacity of Sydney will be halved.
Jamie would now need to depart Bankstown, as we couldn’t position to Sydney for the pickup.
For a guy who lives 15min from T3 drop-off, and 30 mins from Sydney Metro Airport Jamie wasn’t too thrilled with this news but agreed to travel with an open mind because the alternative of flying commercial was going to be far more painful.
Although it seemed a disadvantage, because of single runway operations, we felt he’d save hours overall for driving just that little bit further (plus our pricing is cheaper ex Sydney Metro). We were right.
Jamie arrived at the lounge at 10:45 and was wheels up by 10:55 landing in Melbourne a little over 70 minutes later. No slots, no long taxiing, no waiting.
While Jamie was en-route I sent him a screen grab of FlightRadar24 that showed the queue to depart Sydney as he departed Bankstown. I counted around 14 waiting.
Add that to the fact Melbourne were holding traffic inbound as well (Jamie’s flight was untouched all the way to Essendon) proved that on this particular day we saved Jamie in excess of 2 hours. If he had of flown commercial there was a greater chance of his flight being cancelled, and if it did go ahead the delays were not looking pretty on the flight board.
The 19th of January marked the final delivery of the Gulfstream G450 private jet. Since 2005, the G450 (formally known as the GIV-SP) was part of a thirty year legacy of the GIV family. Over 900 GIV-era airframes were delivered over the past thirty years. But what now for Gulfstream?
Gulfstream also continue to push innovative boundaries via the larger G600 and G650/650ER private jet.
Order uptick
Signals showed a growth in sales momentum following far from prosperous delivery figures in 2016. “The G650 boasts a 24-month backlog at current production rates. The G550 has a roughly 12-month backlog” says Jason Aitken, senior vice-president and chief financial officer at General Dynamics.
Bombardier have come out swinging as they gear up to deliver their newest private jet, the Global 7000, to customers by the end of 2018. Despite the whopping price tag of $93m, reports state that the waiting list is now four years long.
Bombardier Global 7500.
In what appears to be a clash of the titans, Gulfstream have comfortably held the ‘world’s private jet‘ crown for some time with the delivery of the G650 but it is the capability and offering of the Global 7000 that could make things interesting.
Boasting the longest range in the market of 13,700km the Global 700 would comfortably fly direct from San Fran to Sydney. It’s also nimble enough to land at London City Airport. And the cabin is in a class of its own. With a maximum capacity of 19 passengers you’re guaranteed the greatest of luxury on board with the world’s fastest in-flight internet, four living sections, a master bedroom featuring a large double bed and ensuite bathroom.
The long haul private aviation market is always interesting to watch and much like the hype generated for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner expect to see quite the competition between the two major private jet manufacturers.
