New jet charter service offers service from San Jose to ... Bozeman?
Wilson said he believes a significant part of the resort's membership comes from the Bay Area. Yellowstone Club could not be reached for comment by press time, but an anecdote in a 2012 Bloomberg article[1] identified Jim Davidson[2], co-founder and managing partner of Menlo-park based private equity firm Silver Lake, as a member.
While declining to identify specific names, Wilson described the flights as being run in "partnership" with several Bozeman resort owners, who will "cover part of the costs of the operations."
JetSuite uses Atlantic Aviation's facilities at San Jose airport to runs its private jet service, but JetSuiteX will use Signature Flight Support for its charter flights. Wilson said it was "just the right commercial decision for us" and also mentioned Signature's slightly larger hangars. JetSuiteX's 30-passenger Embrae 135s are larger than the private jet service's planes, which carry only two to four passengers.
The Bozeman route, which will run beginning June 30 through July 31, is somewhat of an odd duck — the destination and $672 one-way fare targets a different clientele than the Concord-Burbank route, which led JetSuite's press release and whose one-way tickets range from $109 (described as an "introductory fare") up to $299.
JetSuiteX starts service on eight weekday round-trip flights to Burbank on April 19 — five leaving Concord at 8:10 a.m. Monday through Friday, and three leaving at 5:10 p.m. on Monday, Thursday and Friday.
The launch of the new service marks a big shift for JetSuite, America's fourth largest private jet company, according to its press release.
Wilson describes JetSuiteX as filling a missing "middle" option for business travelers between high-end private jet services and commercial airlines. For a one-way flight from the Bay Area to the Los Angeles area, Wilson said JetSuite's private jet service would charge $5,000 per plane, a rate he said is substantially lower than larger private jet companies. Commercial flights on short notice would cost $250. A seat on a JetSuiteX flight will typically cost $20 to $50 more than a commercial flight.
Why will people pay the extra money? Time.
Because JetSuiteX's planes don't have more than a 30-passenger capacity, the company is not considered an airline. As a result, it's not bound to the same regulations as major carriers. Wilson said passengers can show up 15 to 20 minutes prior to a flight and still get on board.
"There's security, but it's not the TSA."
JetSuiteX passengers will fly in one of 10 Embrae 135 jets previously used by American Airlines. Wilson said the list price for the new planes is $19 million each, but declined to reveal how much the company paid for their jets.
He did share that JetSuite spent $1.1 million per plane on improvements, including soundproofing and wi-fi installation.
"The subscription is $3,000 a month," he said. "So if you think you pay a lot for Wi-Fi, we pay a lot more."
Besides the Bozeman and Burbank routes, JetSuiteX will also run one flight from Concord to Las Vegas on Friday night, with a return flight coming back Sunday afternoon.
Given that winter is Bozeman's most popular season, why is Wilson's new service "trying some summer flights," in his words.
The 2015 New York Times article offers a clue.
"Skiing is the primary draw. Yet more members are coming throughout the year to hike, bike, fly fish and golf."
Bryce Druzin is economic development reporter at the Silicon Valley Business Journal.
References
- ^ 2012 Bloomberg article (www.bloomberg.com)
- ^ Jim Davidson (feeds.bizjournals.com)