Clients who spent at least six figures on private flights with Flexjet over the last 12 months were whisked off to Central Mexico earlier this year and treated to five-star hotel suites and a host of cultural experiences.
The event was the fractional jet ownership company’s third-annual Chairman’s Club getaway, and all of it was free, with the exception of the flights. Those cost guests anywhere between $7,000 and $23,000 an hour on one of Flexjet’s planes, Business Insider reports.
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This sort of over-the-top perk has become the norm in the world of private jet operators. Companies are now offering benefits like complimentary Super Bowl suites, in-flight facials, and unique menus created by world-renowned chefs like Nobu Matsuhisa as a way to attract new flyers
There has been a growing interest in fractional ownership over the last few years, which has led to fierce competition for customers between the various private flight companies. To attract and retain the ultra-high-net-worth clientele that uses these services, private jet companies are spending more than ever on luxurious amenities.
“We give them something they never want to get rid of,” Matteo Atti, chief marketing officer of VistaJet parent company Vista Global, told BI.
The vast majority of private jet customers come through word of mouth. “Birds of a feather flock together,” Doug Gollan, founder of private jet company comparison service Private Jet Card Comparisons, told BI.
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So when an existing client can bring a friend to an event like NetJet’s Art Basel experience or VistaJet’s Bordeaux vineyards tour, those events turn into marketing opportunities for the operators.
They also become great retention techniques when the negative aspects of flying, like mechanical issues or delays, inevitably pop up. Tickets to the Masters golf tournament or a Legends Box at a Yankees game “takes the edge off when something goes wrong,” Gollan said.
And when one company, like Flexjet or VistaJet, is offering perks like these, all the others are forced to follow suit or face losing customers to their competitors.
