Luxury air travel not taking off

While other areas in the travel industry are talking about a recovery, luxury travel remains in rough shape. In fact, it’s only on long-haul flights that the big spenders are even asking for upgrades, let alone chartering flights or firing up their own planes. According to Peter Yesawich, CEO of travel marketing firm Ypartnership, “Luxury air travel has essentially been grounded.”

Meanwhile, the airlines are struggling for ways to restore the revenue they used to be able to pull in from its top passengers. Notes Yesawich, “It’s said that real profit in any flight is front of plane. The rest covers the overhead.”

While Delta and British Airways are playing with in-flight amenities for first class passengers, such as showers, it doesn’t compare to the relatively blissful conditions offered on the likes of Eos, which no longer exists. People with private jets are buying airline tickets more often, it seems, though fractional jet ownership remains fairly popular among those with means to access it.

Despite the shift in conditions, one thing remains true, according to Mike Weingart of Travel Leaders: “The super rich fly anyway they want.”

Daily Pampering: All your private aviation needs in one place

The fragmented private jet market is coming together, making it much easier for you to satisfy your needs in this space. For travelers who use a variety of different private options, it’s no longer necessary to establish relationships with a number of companies. Now, you can just work with Flexjet. With Skyjet fully integrated into Flexjet, you can now get everything a full spectrum of travel options in one place – including charter brokerage services (Skyjet), aircraft maintenance, jet cards and fractional ownership.

“Flexibility isn’t just in our name, it’s in our DNA.” said Fred Reid, President, Flexjet. “With these recent enhancements to our business model, Flexjet has firmly established itself as the only business aviation company ready to meet travelers’ challenges with a truly complete set of customizable options.”

Want to see what’s available? Head over to Flexjet’s newly redesigned website an check out photo galleries of the fleet, which includes the Learjet 40 XR, Learjet 45 XR, Learjet 60 XR, Challenger 300 and Challenger 605 business jets. I hope you like ’em yong – the average age of these planes is only around three years.

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Daily Pampering: The Only Way to Fly to the Masters Golf Tournament

Have you ever flown into Augusta, Georgia? It’s a tiny airport, and you’re not going to get amazing flights. It just doesn’t work that way. This poses a problem for those planning to go to the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club, the most prestigious event the game has to offer. So, instead of dealing with the misery of airline travel – does it get worse than flying with the great unwashed? – fly down in style. Don’t let a cramped sweaty flight taint the experience of watching the coveted green jacket on the person who can only be described as golf‘s master.

Linear Air is ready to make your experience perfect. Book your trip by the end of March, and you’ll pick up a 10 percent discount … but that’s not the point of flying this way. Go the exclusive route, and you’ll have an incredible experience from start to finish, rather than merely from arrival to departure. The tournament may run from April 8 – 11, 2009, but your experience begins with wheels up – not tee off.

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