What do you do if you're a crazy, busy tech mogul or a famous A-lister who wants to travel fast and in luxury, but without all the hassle and expense that comes with owning a private jet?
This is the solution that subscription-based private aviation company Flexjet offers: the ability to use a private jet, without having to buy one, or maintain a crew.
Their pitch is simple. We take you where you need to be, and we do it in style. They asked me to give it a try - and it seemed rude to say no.
The appeal is immediately apparent from the moment I zoom along with the crew across the Atlantic Ocean from London to New York.
A driver picks me up from home on a weekday morning to take me to a private airport outside London. We walk straight onto the runway at Farnborough Airport and breeze through it as if we were taking a road trip.
There are no queues; no long waiting times before your bags are scanned. Instead, guests put on slippers and relax aboard a custom Gulfstream G650. The plane looks like something out of an episode of Succession and has a maximum range of 11,500 km and speeds of Mach 0.9.
It is this speed and comfort that attract customers, explains Marine Eugène, European Managing Director of Flexjet, to me on board.
The company's customers have two things in common: they have both the need to get somewhere quickly - and the means to pay for it.
"When you're in a program like ours, they want something that makes things simple," she says. "So when they think about buying another business or buying another house, it's all very complex.
"While if they come to us, we guarantee them that if they need to go to an airport, anywhere, anytime, whether they are in London, New York or Paris, we will come and pick them up. It's actually a way to make their lives easier."
In addition to the speed, those lucky enough to travel on a private jet have the flexibility to do it how they want. A fully staffed crew anticipates your every need while working or relaxing: a warm towel if you want to freshen up, a cup of coffee or a meal, a choice of wines, champagne and cheeses.
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This, I discovered, extends to indulging your inner child. I'm invited to sit in the cockpit as we depart Farnborough for the approximately seven-hour flight. We fly into the clouds with the chatter of air traffic code words playing in my ears.
Of course, not all normal flight rules are out the window: I'm politely asked not to talk, in case I accidentally cause an emergency with useless chatter, and to Certainly don't press anything.
Once in the air, the tables are quickly set. The food - eggs benedict for breakfast with smoked salmon and steak salad for lunch - is delicious and shows no trace of having been cooked thousands of feet in the air. It is offered with an invigorating Bloody Mary to stave off jet lag. I suspect it would also ward off any approaching colds.
The area is also the epitome of luxury. The decor is modeled on an exclusive Bentley Mulliner Bacalar sports car, which sells for up to £1.5 million. Every detail down to the stitching of the seat cushions is custom made.
The same crew can travel on every flight a customer takes, meaning they know the regular customers personally, right down to their meal and drink orders. The experience is so enjoyable that even a long-haul flight seems too short.
We land across the Hudson at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey and have time for a cup of coffee before being led to a waiting helicopter for the full Logan Roy experience. The airline recently launched its point-to-point service in Europe.
Just off the plane, a Sikorsky S-76 helicopter will take you to a helipad in the center of the city, so you can beat the traffic on the ground. It is now offered in London, at a landing site in Battersea, as well as in the Northeastern US and South Florida. For the time-pressured business manager, this saves time in traffic while rushing to meetings.
However, we take a quieter route. As a surprise, we followed a wide loop around Manhattan, passing the Statue of Liberty and One World Trade Center. It's breathtaking: a panoramic view of Central Park before cars on the ground take us from Hudson Yards to Aman New York on 5th Avenue - often called the most expensive hotel in the city.
It's a taste of luxury that few experience and is extremely stress-free, as long as you're not afraid of heights. "It's very addictive as a way to travel, it's very powerful," says Marine. But that comes with a hefty price tag.
The service is aimed at very wealthy individuals and companies who fly more than 50 hours per year. In practice, this means that your assets must be measured in the millions.
However, for those with the cash to spare, the convenience is worth it. Private air travel boomed post-Covid, when those traveling commercially faced long waits at airports. Others chose it over commercial offers for health reasons.
Peak demand in Europe is "starting to calm down" but is still above pre-pandemic levels. Flexjet is among the companies that say they don't yet know how many of those turning to private air travel will stay in the long term - but say they are "optimistic" about the market.
In the context of a climate crisis, you may wonder whether private travel is necessary. Shouldn't we all try to take fewer flights, I ask.
The company says it already offsets emissions from each flight by 300% to account for both carbon and non-carbon emissions, and that private aviation makes up 2% of all aviation emissions, which are themselves 2% of all global emissions.
But it is moving toward sustainable aviation fuel - a type of less-polluting biofuel that the industry hopes can be used in place of conventional fuel.
"The climate impact of air travel is another driver for change and at Flexjet we will continue to develop our sustainability offering in the coming years," says Marine. "Flexjet has committed that 12% of its fleet's annual fuel consumption will come from SAF by 2030 - the first and only private aviation company to set a tangible target that exceeds broader aviation industry targets."
Flexjet planned to merge with Horizon Acquisition Corp II, Chelsea FC owner and chairman Todd Boehly, and become a publicly traded company. Last year, the long-awaited, estimated $3 billion deal was called off, with Chairman Kenn Ricci saying he believed the move was "in the best interests of our aircraft owners, employees and other stakeholders."
However, this is not expected to slow growth. By the end of 2023, Flexjet had added more than 80 aircraft compared to early 2021 to meet demand. A further 1,400 additional employees were hired during the year, including 388 additional flight crew.
Customers who use the service will undoubtedly experience the most painless and probably luxurious trip of their lives. But for those of us who unfortunately don't have any money to spare, it's back to the economy. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.
