Flying in Style with Chartered Flights

Private jet travel took off in 1980 on a chartered round-the-world expedition operated by Travcoa, and Intrav followed in 1987 using a Concorde on its circumnavigation. Nowadays, the market has grown to include a bevy of globe-circling and continent-focused trips to the world's most exotic destinations.

Signature features of this decidedly upscale travel product are specially fitted aircraft, top-of-the-line land arrangements, professional expedition staff and enrichment lecture programs.

A particularly important feature of private jet travel is the high number of passengers returning for a second or third trip, according to Jeff Drew, vice president of marketing for St. Louis-based Intrav.

In 2002, using both 44-seat 737 aircraft and 98-passenger 747s, Intrav is offering 14 departures focusing on continents (South America, Europe and Africa,) as well as three round the world departures.

One recent round-the-world departure introduced a new generation of 737 charters, carrying only 16 passengers. The 27-day odyssey started in Las Vegas, and traveled to Kona in Hawaii, Sydney (with an overnight trip on the Great South Pacific Express to Canberra), Hong Kong, Beijing, Jaipur in India, the Masai Mara National Reserve in Kenya and Paris.