Height of luxury: Private jet tours

Strong demand

A seat on the trip of A & K Wildlife & Nature Trip This Autumn from Hawaii to Fort Lauderdale (through Fiji, Tasmania, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Mauricio, Zambia and Brazil) costs about $ 168,000 per person. The private Jet product is the most expensive A& K offer, and “it is absolutely on the rise,” said Epping.

Demand decreases and grows with global economic health. Private jet tours after the 2008 recession were eliminated, for example. But the mode seems to be moving to a new era of gold: for A & K, five private tours will be offered next year, and six in 2026.

“We see that the investment of the villages on trips is still strong,” said Karen Magee, president of Valerie Wilson Travel and participant in the A & K flight. “Especially when we have clients who have more time. Maybe they are recently retired; They have worked hard their entire career, and now they can take a 28 -day adventure. People seek to travel as a way to improve their general quality of life. ”

On board, the plane is warm and cozy, with an attentive and friendly team. It is operated by Iceland, with whom A& K has worked for about 20 years. When the association began, the plane was configured for executive class seats; It was updated to first class seats in 2014.

A & K put the plane during the duration of each itinerary. To go into service for A & K, 50 leather, logs are installed, they are charged with champagne and other gastronomy provisions, Molton Brown Bath products are placed on the washing machines and the plane is painted with the A & K book. Once the letter ends, the seats leave, the free is painted and the jet is prepared for a different service.

A & K’s jet is not the only one that crosses the skies on the routes. TCS World Travel is a known leader in the segment. He has operated his own private jet tours for almost 30 years, but also the private jet tours of white labels for four seasons hotels and resorts, Smithsonian and Kalos Golf trips. Last year two Airbus A321neos operated by Titan Airways entered service. Every time the plane enters service for a brand, it obtains a specific cabin configuration, soft products and outer free.

“There was a great boom after the pandemic,” said Shelley Cline, president of TCS. “We were very close to our guests, we had a lot of accumulated demand.”

National Geographic Expeditions, which announces half a dozen private jet tours in 2024, and Adventures de Disney, which offers the opportunity to travel around the world to their parks (in addition to stops in India and Egypt) twice this summer, also uses a Iceland 757.

Just this month, Four Seasons opened an option for guests to create their own custom tours using the plane. Marc Speichert, Executive Vice President and Executive Commercial Director of Four Seasons, said in the announcement that he decided to offer full letters “in response to the many consultations we have received from families and groups of friends interested in custom itineraries and trips for celebration events . A reservation for up to 48 guests served by 10 crew starts at $ 115,000 per day; Transfers, accommodations during the night, meals to the location, tours and tickets would be extra.