NEW YORK, Aug. 17, 2003 — Allan Houston, the professional basketball player, likes the glass of fresh carrot juice that awaits him every time he climbs on a Marquis Jet Partners plane. It’s his favorite drink.
But that's not why the New York Knicks star started flying with Marquis, purchasing blocks of time on a private jet. It was the hassles of airline flying, which increased with tightened security after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
“It’s more convenient than flying commercially,” he said. “Privacy is important to me and I save a lot of time when I fly in a private plane.”
Even as they struggle with the same business slump as the airlines, private jet companies are coming up with new ways to lure passengers unhappy with airline cutbacks, delays at airports and other inconveniences of scheduled commercial flying.
They are offering the ability to fly closer to final destinations or to smaller airports instead of major hubs, and even the ability to change plans during a flight. There are also the kinds of special perks, like pickups and meals from a clients’ choice of restaurant, that appeal to well-heeled travelers, some of whom are being lured away from airliners’ first-class seats.
New York-based Marquis Jet Partners linked with Berkshire Hathaway-owned NetJets in 2002 to offer clients access to any one of NetJets’ fleet of more than 500 planes. It has attracted about 1,000 members, who buy flight cards to a particular plane for $110,000-$300,000 for a minimum of 25 hours.
Another company, Sentient, based in Norwell, Mass., also offers flight cards and has about the same number of members. But instead of its own fleet, it uses chartered planes
from - msnbc.msn.com
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