So you want to see all of the world’s greatest sights … in 29 days?
Good news: For the first time ever, it’s a realistic proposition.
But there’s a catch: You’ll have to do it on a private jet. And it’ll run you $159,000 per person.
At least that’s what Edie Rodriguez, chief executive officer of Crystal Cruises, is proposing with the company’s soon-to-launch AirCruises, whose first “Around the World: Iconic Sights” tour will pit stop in Easter Island, Uluru, Lhasa, Jaipur, Victoria Falls, and Prague (among others)—all between Oct. 21 and Nov. 18.
Crystal isn’t alone. Luxury hotel companies from Peninsula hotels to Aman resorts and Four Seasons Hotels Ltd. are getting in on private jet tours; the latter has partnered with global star chef Rene Redzepi for a $135,000 culinary dream trip that spans much of Europe and Asia. So are safari outfitters such as Great Plains Conservation and AndBeyond, which is using private jets to link otherwise difficult-to-connect destinations, such as Kenya and Botswana. (The safaris range from $75,000 to $116,500 per person.) Top-notch operators Abercrombie & Kent and National Geographic are offering global vacations built around exclusive charters. And the list keeps growing.
A Whole New World of Opportunity
“Private jet travel inquiries have grown by at least four of five times in the last few years,” explained Michael Holtz, a travel specialist at SmartFlyer who is an expert on complicated aviation inquiries. “But up until about three years ago, only one or two companies were offering private jet trips at all, and none of them were really marketing in a big way.”
And why should they? There’s no sense in turning your company into a household name if almost all households can't afford your product.
That has started to change, though. Fractional ownership companies have put the Uber twist on the private jet industry, putting private aviation within reach for a far wider demographic.
And luxury hotel companies—all vying for a brand image that ties them ever closer to ultra-high-net-worth spending—swooped in to capitalize on a new market and a new world of opportunity.
First to market was Four Seasons. “We began offering Private Jet trips aboard a third party vendor in 2012,” President and CEO J. Allen Smith told Bloomberg. “The response was overwhelmingly positive, but the missing piece for our guests was an end-to-end seamless Four Seasons experience.” So he led the company to create a fully branded private jet—a 52-seat Boeing 757—in 2015, along with a custom 24-day, nine-stop, $119,000 debut itinerary. “It was a first for the hospitality industry and met with tremendous enthusiasm,” said Smith. “Every trip sold out that year.”