I own a charter company, Desert Jet. I can tell you that the operators Paragon Airways, Global Exec Aviation, Komar Aviation Group and my company all offer Citations in the price ranges I’ve quoted. These operators are all based in the LA/OC areas and Desert Jet is in Palm Springs. Desert Jet does not add fuel surcharges; I’m not sure about the other companies I’ve listed. The Citation V and Encore cabins are significantly larger than the Phenom. Just two weeks ago we had an former Jetsuite client fly with us on our Encore. His comments were that he loved the Encore because of the larger cabin size and the ability for the cabin seats to swivel, track and fully recline. He had a four hour flight on the Phenom that needed a fuel stop while our Encore did the flight nonstop. His comments were that our seats on a four hour flight were more comfortable than two hours at a time in the Phenom seat. Of course the Citation V and Encore have an enclosed private lavatory as well as XM radio, satellite phone and other nice amenities.

I think these days travelers are shying away from any travel program that requires them to place deposits or make commitments. With on-demand charter, you simply pay as you fly with no commitments. Plus, you’ll likely always have the same flight crew and fly on the same aircraft. Peace of mind when it comes to safety is very important.

I hope that helped answer your questions kb.

Which charter companies are chartering Citations for $1900 and the V for $2400/hour? I would really like to know. I have never encountered a quote that low and we’ve flown with everyone. I know the going rate with Marquis on a Citation V Ultra was $5000/hr. The cheapest quote we’ve ever received was from Clay for $2000 on a rinky dink Lear 35. Please let me know who you are using. Thank you.

Just to clarify, we’ve chartered with Jetsuite. Their pricing for charter is definitely lower than any other operator out there and it’s even cheaper when you buy into their membership program. I’ve never seen a flight from them for $4500/hour. Not sure where you got that from. Marquis is such a rip off. It is an insult to have the pricing that they have in this economy. I have a feeling their pricing will have to drop eventually in order to compete with the charter world and JetSuite.

You clearly do not fly privately. The inside of the Phenom is much bigger than that of the Lears, the cheapest “light jet” to charter on the market. The Citation’s price is at $5000/hour (double the cost of the Pheenom and not including all the other “blind” costs they don’t include in your quote) and the seats are not “wider” on the Citation by any means. I charter all the time for my boss and JetSuite’s model, in comparison to Marquis/NetJets/Sentient/Clay Lacy is definitely the most cost-effective for shorter hauls and makes the most sense for shorter business trips. It’s about time a company came up with an alternative for private flying and I have a feeling they will be in business for a long time.