Here’s what they knew that you didn’t.
The Australian Open final ended. Thousands of people poured out of Melbourne Park at the same time. Taxis vanished. Ubers surged. Three business owners didn’t feel a thing. Here’s why.
This wasn’t luck. It was planning.
Large events expose the weaknesses of commercial travel.
Airlines run fixed networks. Once evening flights fill or slip, there is no flexibility left. A delay doesn’t just move a schedule. It removes options.
That’s why late events almost always force an overnight stay. Not because people want one. Because the system leaves no alternative.
Private aviation operates outside that model.
Flights are planned around the traveller. Departure times are fixed in advance. Routes are direct. The return is scheduled before the event even begins.
When the final ends, the flight leaves.
Why Sydney’s curfew didn’t stop them
Sydney Airport enforces an 11pm curfew for commercial operations.
Private aviation functions under a different regulatory framework. With the appropriate approvals and planning, private aircraft can operate outside standard commercial constraints.
This isn’t a loophole. It’s how private aviation is designed to work.
The critical point is certainty. Same-day travel after a late event only works when the flight is planned around reality, not best-case assumptions.
The night in numbers
Here’s what that night actually looked like for the three Airly Jet Card holders, while the rest of Melbourne was still trying to get home:
10:30 PM | The final set is in full swing. The crowd inside Melbourne Park is on its feet. The atmosphere is unreal.
11:00 PM | Match point. The crowd erupts. Thousands of people start moving toward the exits at the same time.
11:15 PM | Three business owners leave Melbourne Park. Three separate aircrafts are already fuelled and waiting at Moorabbin and Avalon. Each one prepped before the match even started.
11:30 PM | First aircraft wheels up. Melbourne to Sydney. No check-in. No security. No queue. The second follows ten minutes later. The third shortly after.
12:47 AM | The last aircraft touches down in Sydney. All three are on the ground.
1:15 AM | All three are home. In their own beds. Not a hotel room in Melbourne. Their own beds in Sydney.
They didn’t skip the experience. They skipped the chaos that came after it.
So how did they do it?
No magic. No special connections. No calling in favours. Each of the three held an Airly Jet Card. That meant their own aircraft, their own crew, and their own flight plan were locked in before the match even started.
That’s the part most people miss. Private aviation isn’t something you sort out on the night. It’s something you set up in advance so that when the moment comes, at the end of a big event, late night, there’s nothing to think about. You just go.
And the Australian Open is the perfect example of why this matters. It’s not just a tennis tournament. It’s one of the biggest events on the Australian calendar. The crowds are massive. The timing is unpredictable, finals can run late into the night. And if you need to be in Sydney the next morning, commercial aviation out of Melbourne after 10pm is a nightmare.
Flights get cancelled. Delays stack up. The last few seats disappear. And Sydney’s curfew means there’s a hard wall after 10PM for options. Miss that window and you’re not landing until 6am.
For the three Airly cardholders, none of that was a problem. Three aircrafts. Three separate departures.
Why jet cards matter
This level of reliability doesn’t come from improvisation.
The business owners who flew home that night weren’t booking last-minute solutions. They were using jet card programmes.
Jet cards exist for frequent travellers who value predictability.
Here’s how it works:
- Aircraft access: 4–6 seat light jets like the Citation Mustang, Phenom 100 and Citation CJ2
- Core network coverage: Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Canberra, and more
- Concierge: Our team works with your EA or office to manage every flight
- Locked-in rates: No hidden positioning fees
- Booking in minutes: All through the Airly app or concierge team
- You fly when you want, not when a charter slot happens to be available.
Instead of solving travel one trip at a time, the structure is already in place when demand peaks.
The cost everyone ignores
People hear “private aviation” and assume it’s out of reach. For some, it is. But for business owners flying Melbourne to Sydney regularly, the math changes fast. Once you stop looking at the ticket price and start looking at the total cost.
A commercial return flight on that route: $400–$800. Sounds cheap. Until you add everything else. The time. The delays. The fact that after the Australian Open final, you’re not getting a flight until 6am. Which means a hotel room. Which means a disrupted sleep. Which means you’re showing up to whatever’s waiting for you on Monday at 70%.
An Airly Jet Card flight on the same route runs $4,000-6,000 per flight hour. That’s not cheap. But it covers the aircraft, the crew, the flexibility, and crucially the ability to fly when you need to fly. Not when the airline says you can.
The three business owners who flew home after the Open that night didn’t book a hotel. They didn’t set an alarm for 5am to catch a connecting flight. They watched the final, left Melbourne Park, and were in their own beds in Sydney before 1:30am.
The bigger picture
The Australian Open is one event. But it’s not the only one. Grand Finals. State of Origin. End of financial year. School holidays. Big client dinners in another city. These moments add up over a year and every single one of them is a chance to either lose time or keep it.
That’s what a Jet Card actually is. It’s not a status symbol. It’s a decision made in advance that says: when the moment comes, I’m not going to lose the night to an airport.
The real question
It’s not whether private aviation is expensive. It is. The real question is what you’re actually paying for when you fly commercial. And for three business owners after the Australian Open final, the answer was clear.
Everyone else paid with their time. Their sleep. Their Sunday night. Their Monday morning.
The three Airly cardholders paid once. And they were home before the rest of Melbourne had even found a taxi.
Should You Make the Switch?
At Airly, we believe that private aviation should offer leverage, not logistics.
Jet Cards are about:
- Predictability
- Transparent pricing
- Scalable travel
- Freedom from airline chaos and charter roulette
If you’ve flown private before and are ready to fly smarter, not just “more luxuriously,” then this might be the turning point.
Ready to stop donating Sundays to airlines? Jet Cards start at 5 hours. No commitments beyond that. If the math works for your routes, we’ll show you exactly how.
Want to see how a Jet Card would work for your business?
Tap here to get your real quote
Or compare our fixed rates to charter prices
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