JetSmarter app changes private jet booking

Private jets might be perceived as the most expensive way to fly, but a new app for Android and iPhones/iPads called JetSmarter is linking new customers to the private jet market and making it more affordable.

The app enables individuals looking to book a private jet based on origin, destination, date and time, just like any other travel booking application. But JetSmarter can save consumers money ”” and introduce new customers to private jet travel ”” through its “empty legs” search.

An illustration of the JetSmarter app on an iPhone.

Often, a private jet will fly between destinations with no passengers to position itself for a charter flight, creating a so-called “empty leg.” For private jet operators, as well as those who charter the aircraft, these flights make private jet aviation more costly. By selling travel on empty legs, the operator can add revenue and travelers can book a private jet trip relatively cheaply ”” often at a comparable price to commercial aviation.

A search of empty legs to and from Westchester County Airport on Feb. 11 returned flights available to Norfolk, Va., and Saratoga Springs, and flights to White Plains from Boston, West Palm Beach, Fla., Selinsgrove, Pa., and Hamilton, Bermuda. The outgoing flights, each on a Hawker 400 XP that can carry seven passengers, cost $1,094 to Saratoga Springs and $1,968 to Norfolk, which if you bring six friends along, would cost about $156 or $281 each.

Comparatively, a last-minute, one-way ticket search on Kayak.com for flights to Norfolk revealed the lowest fare available to be $493, while a commercial flight to Albany, the closest commercial airport to Saratoga Springs, would cost at least $580.

Of course, if you book an empty leg, you”™ll have to figure out how to get home, as there may not be a corresponding empty leg for a return trip. But if you have a sense of adventure, you and six friends could fly in somewhere in style on a whim ”” and relatively cheaply, too.