Jenny McCarthy helps kick off new routes for private jet-sharing service
A story in Saturday's Daily Herald business section on JetSmarter incorrectly listed the membership fees for the app-based private jet ride sharing service. Membership for the service is $9,000 annually, with a $3,000 one-time initiation fee.
Would you be willing to pay $9,000 for the opportunity to fly in a private jet sitting next to actress and model Jenny McCarthy?
It's one of the perks that was offered Friday by app-based charter jet-sharing service JetSmarter, whose membership includes celebrities such as McCarthy, a St. Charles resident, and actor Jamie Foxx.
McCarthy, one of the company's celebrity members, was joined by her husband, actor Donnie Wahlberg, Friday at Chicago Executive Airport in Wheeling to kick off the company's expanded service. The couple posed for pictures and talked to prospective members as Joseph Gnaster, JetSmarter's senior vice president of business development, announced new members would have the opportunity to ride in a charter flight with McCarthy.
Celebrity rides aside, the Florida-based company is looking to tap into business travelers who are frustrated by commercial air travel, Gnaster said. For a $9,000 annual membership and a $3,000 monthly fee, members can use a smartphone app to find and book flights on private charter jets. The company contracts with charter carriers throughout the world to fill available seats on their flights, Gnaster said, and travelers can book any flight at any time, first-come, first-served.
While the price might seem steep to the average traveler, Gnaster said it makes private jet travel appealing to a broader group.
"Traditionally, the top 500,000 in the domestic U.S. can afford to charter at the day and time that they choose,' Gnaster said. "We're making that market more like 3 million people. We're significantly reducing the entry level price of business aviation."
Destination alerts can also be set up through the app.
"Once an alert pops up, you can book it immediately, very seamlessly, very quick," Gnaster said.
JetSmarter routes are now available from O'Hare International Airport - the planes do not use Chicago Executive Airport - to New York City, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Atlanta and Las Vegas. The company is working on establishing routes to Los Angeles, Gnaster said.
In addition to booking flights with celebrities, the company offers perks such as complimentary helicopter shuttles from Chicago's Loop to O'Hare through Chicago Helicopter Experience. In addition, members have access to other company services, such as the JetCharter service that allows members to customize a trip based on destination and aircraft, and JetDeals one-way package deals.