| Type | Private aviation |
|---|---|
| Inventor | Sentient Jet |
| Inception | 1997 |
A jet card is a private aviation product that enables holders to use different aircraft at agreed-upon fixed hourly rates. Jet cards are offered by large and small fleet operators and charter brokers. There are as many as 65 variables between jet card companies, according to Private Jet Card Comparisons, a buyer's guide to jet card programs.
Traditional jet card programs are prepaid hours of occupied flight time on a given aircraft or size of aircraft. Some programs include not only jets, but turboprops. The term "jet card" can also refer to prepaid private jet charter programs that have similar attributes.
Notable jet card providers include Air Partner, Airstream Jets, Flexjet, Marquis Jet (NetJets), and Wheels Up.
The first jet card was created in 1997 by Paul A Svensen, the founder of Sentient Jet, a charter broker located in Quincy, Massachusetts. The jet card was developed in response to the highly popular fractional ownership programs of the time offered by NetJets and Flight Options. The attraction to fractional ownership and ultimately the jet card was the consistency in pricing over charter and the reduced complexity of owning a jet, which were the only other options prior to NetJets.
The term "jet card" was devised to create a marketing product for what equates to block on-demand charter. Jet cards were created as a way to offer flight time to private aviation users flying up to 50 hours per year. Rather than purchasing a whole aircraft or investing in fractional ownership, a jet card can be a cost-effective option for frequent leisure travellers or users of business aviation.
Jet cards have evolved from the original card in 1997 which simply made charter pricing more consistent by guaranteeing fixed hourly rates to membership programs which offer free or discounted empty leg/re-positioning leg flights and individual seats on private jet shuttles.
Here are some examples of the varying types of jet cards offered today:
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