Private jet division of award-winning Qatar Airways, wants a bigger share of the fast-rebounding market of global private jet travelers.
Better known for its worldwide network of scheduled airline flights, spacious lounges at its Doha hub, and lavish Q-Suite business class, the company has been a significant player in the on-demand private jet charter market’s ultra-long-haul segment.
However, that’s changing. Its launch earlier this week of The Diamond Agreement puts it squarely into competition with Berkshire Hathaway’s NetJets and Vista Global Holdings’ VistaJet. Both offer programs that provide fliers one-way fixed rates with guaranteed availability.
That means, so long as you book a specified number of hours or days in advance, you have a set hourly rate. With ad hoc charters, each trip is priced individually.
The fixed one-way rates also mean you don’t have to pay repositioning costs. You only pay for occupied hours, the time you spend flying. On flights to remote corners of the world, the ferry flights can increase costs by as much as 50%.
Jet cards also typically offer service recovery. That means if the operator cancels the flight because of a mechanical or a pilot gets sick, it’s on your provider to find a replacement aircraft for you. With on-demand charter, the customer generally has to pay the difference, if there is a highest cost.
Source: forbes.com