You’ve tried and enjoyed all-you-can-eat buffet. Now, you’re about to do the same with executive private jet. As crazy as it may sound, the business model offered by Surf Air actually entitles you for unlimited private jet flights, as long as you pay £2,500 (US$3,238; RM12,960) every month.
In the United States, Surf Air flies its members to small airports near major business and tourism destinations including: Los Angeles, San Francisco, Reno (via Truckee), Palm Springs, and Napa. The company’s fleet is comprised of Pilatus PC-12 NG aircraft, which are eight-seater business turboprops, with cabins designed by BMW DesignworksUSA.
Surf Air is a California-based airline that offers unlimited flights (billed as “all-you-can-fly”) for a fixed monthly fee. It charges US$1,950 per month plus a US$1,000 signup fee. In Europe, where membership starts at £2,500 (€3,250; US$3,238; RM12,960) every month plus £1,000 (€1,300; US$1,295; RM5,184) signup fee, the service will be launched from October 2016.
Also called the “Netflix of business travel”, Surf Air will ply routes between London, Zurich, Geneva, Cannes and Dublin when it launches in Europe, plus some fun weekend places like Ibiza and Mallorca. Destinations to be added in Europe at a later stage include Amsterdam, Edinburg, Berlin, Milan and Barcelona.
Simon Talling-Smith, the European chief executive of Surf Air said the service is aimed at regular business travellers, offering them a quick service when they get to the airport. He said – “We fly to the private terminals and you only have to arrive 15 minutes before you fly. You’re greeted at the terminal by a Surf Air concierge; you have a coffee and walk onto the aircraft.”
Since it was founded in 2011, Surf Air has about 3,000 members in the U.S. It manages to keep costs down by having a small team – currently less than 200 in the United States. Unlike conventional airlines which try to fill every seat on the plane, Surf Air actually limits the amount of passengers per aircraft to make sure there are always places available.
By managing the load factor to 70%, Surf Air is making good of its promise that there is always a seat to book. While the company is competing with “Wheels Up”, which charges its members for hours flown after a lower annual membership fee in the U.S., Surf Air is looking at fiercer competitors such as Vista Jet, NetJets and JetSmarter, which lets its members book unused seats on someone else’s private jet.
Subscribers can book online or via smartphone using the Surf Air app. Members can cancel right up to departure but any cancellations within 24 hours of departure is discouraged because they are unhelpful to members who are on wait-lists. The aircrafts are slightly different for Europe though, where the Cessna CJ4 or the Embraer Phenom 300 twin-engine light business jets are to be used.
Membership is charged for a minimum of 3 months, but after that members can cancel with one full month’s notice. What if you don’t want to fly at all for a specific number of months? Apparently, there’s a “Hangar” option where members can park and retain their dormant membership for £300 per month, up to a maximum of 3 months.
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July 9th, 2016 by financetwitter
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