What’s the Class Above First Class? New Service Adds Options to Air Travel

PlaneFinder.com is the first online resource allowing travelers to anonymously search and book empty leg flights on private jets. It launched this week with more than 1,000 flights available to the most desirable vacation and business destinations.

It is the first online resource allowing travelers to anonymously search and book empty leg flights on private jets and is now a wheels-up enterprise with more than 1,000 flights available to desirable vacation and business destinations.

“All our flights are empty leg flights. Empty leg flights occur after an aircraft drops off the previous full paying charter passenger and is now in transit to another airport, empty,” said founding partner John Paul Beitler, who is also a pilot as well as a Chicago real estate magnate. “Empty leg flights make up 30-50 percent of all private jet flights. At PlaneFinder.com, travelers pay no charge for our service, and every booking is conducted directly with the aircraft owner or operator.”

Because PlaneFinder.com revolves around empty leg flights, the company is able to unlock access to the space that exists between first class airline travel and customized jet charter. For the traveler, this means a new third option in flight mode choices.

As an example, a party of eight passengers traveling one-way from Chicago to Miami would expect to pay around $500 per ticket ($4,000) for first-class seats on the airlines, while an eight-person custom charter would cost around $20,000. On PlaneFinder.com that same route on an eight-seat private jet costs around $9,500.

PlaneFinder.com allows viewing of all the flights available to hundreds of destinations around the country, along with their price. Powered by an exclusive algorithm, it also allows customers to search for and see each aircraft both inside and out, with additional information including aircraft amenities, age and safety rating.

“PlaneFinder connects the traveler with hundreds of empty leg flights and private aircraft from operators all over the country, with absolutely no fee, no club to join and card to buy,” adds Beitler. “And you’re booking the whole plane, not just a seat. You have total control over who is on board, whether it’s your associates, your family, your golfing foursome, or your fellow adventurers – all at one set price with no booking fee of any kind.”