New Private Luxury Charters Look to Fill Seats

NEW YORK -- If you thought snow was February's flavor of the month, think again: It's the allure of the luxury charter.

Within days of each other, two major travel companies, Delta Air Lines and Orient Express Hotels, launched initiatives built around the appeal of upscale travel.

For business travelers, Delta AirElite--the airline's private jet charter division--is offering a fleet membership program in which corporations can buy 25-, 50- or 100-hour blocks of flight time--without participating in the usual fractional ownership program.

Delta AirElite, which is based in Cincinnati, said it has dedicated a fleet of business jets to fulfill the needs of travelers who sign up for the membership program.

Twenty-five hours on a light jet--a Lear that seats six to eight passengers--costs $99,500.

The 50-hour and 100-hour memberships cost $193,500 and $383,500, respectively.

Clients only pay for flown hours and don't pay for empty legs or other methods to position jets, said Cameron Gowans, Delta AirElite's director of sales and marketing.

Travel agencies do not earn a commission for signing up clients for the membership program.

For leisure travelers, meanwhile, Orient Express Hotels launched a private jet charter program that enables customers to choose a scheduled itinerary to Europe or South America or create their own trip anywhere they like, as long as it involves a stay at an Orient-Express hotel.

Orient-Express said continuing reductions in first-class air service and a growing demand for multidestination itineraries fueled the concept.

The charter fleet includes Boeing Business jets; Airbus 319 corporate jets; Boeing 727-200s, 737-300s and 757s; and Embraer Legacys.

Scheduled one-week itineraries include air fare, accommodations, ground transfers and guided tours.

A seven-night Romance of Europe itinerary costs approximately $16,000 per person.

It uses Paris as a hub from which customers take the Venice Simplon Orient-Express train to Venice, Italy, where they spend three nights at the Hotel Cipriani.

They then leave Venice on a M-seat Canadair jet and lunch at the Hotel Splendido in Portofino, Italy, before flying to Carcassonne in southern France to spend three nights at Hotel de la Citey.

The last stop is Bilbao, Spain, to visit the Guggenheim, before returning to Paris.