Flying incognito: How travel on private jets in South Florida has taken off

On a recent rainy Friday afternoon, travelers Pia and Carsten Trolle casually strolled into the JSX private jet terminal at Miami International Airport. After setting down their bags, the couple, comfortably attired in athleisure clothing, sat down to play with their two dogs.

There were no lines, no crowds of harried passengers and a single non-invasive security scanner.

The Trolles are among a growing number of regular travelers boarding private planes to fly for work or play. They were taking the pet-friendly JSX flight with their mid-sized dogs, Ivy and Oscar, to Westchester County, N.Y.

The rapidly expanding world of flying private no longer requires inclusion on the Forbes list of the world’s richest people or breaking the bank to get away from the the flying masses.

A JSX flight on an Embraer ERJ-135 or ERJ-145 can fit up to 30 passengers. The JSX round-trip ticket from Miami to Westchester can cost around $1,498 — not like flying Spirit Air, maybe, but comparable to business class or first-class fares on commercial airlines.

Private aviation companies such as JSX, which launched in 2016 and began flying from Miami in April 2021, are reinventing the way South Floridians fly. Since fares for commercial flights rose sharply last year after airlines weathered the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, private aviation has become an increasingly accessible and appealing alternative for more everyday travelers.

According to Fortune Business Insights, the global private aviation market was valued at $25.87 billion in 2021 and is projected to be valued at $38.34 billion by 2029. In North America, the market grew in value from $8.6 billion in 2020 to $9.23 billion in 2021.

At four private airports and terminals across South Florida — two private terminals at Miami International and private airports in Fort Lauderdale and Opa-locka — clients get VIP services at prices that are rivaling first class and business class tickets out of commercial airports.

With Miami International and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International jammed more than ever, private jet operators and passengers say it’s much faster to check in luggage and go through security at the smaller private terminals at each airport. The waiting areas and private jets — which typically carry no more than 30 passengers, in the case of JSX — are much less crowded.

“Before the pandemic, we were growing fast because people were buying convenience,” JSX CEO Alex Wilcox said. “We’ve made semi-private aviation more accommodating than flying commercial.”

Flying private or semi-private gives people more space and less stress. Gone is the frenetic pace that comes with navigating the public entrances to major airports. Patrons use private entrances to access their flights away from busy parking lots and garages.

In a 2022 busiest airport survey by Private Jet Card Comparisons, five of the 25 busiest private jet airports in the country were in Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties.

According to Unity Jets CEO Kevin Diemar, who is based in Miami, private aviation and semi-private aviation are separated by their offerings and business models. His company offers private charter flights that allow for clients to pay for use of an entire plane.

Unity does not use a subscription-based service or require people to pay for a certain amount of miles or flight hours, which some private and semi-private aviation companies opt to do.

“There’s no pressure to put up money upfront,” Diemar said. “We choose to keep things simple.”

On semi-private flights, passengers buy seats on planes that fly out of private airports and terminals, but they share the flight with other paying customers they don’t know.

Bernard Schwartz is the CEO of Fleet Club — a Miami Beach-based company that’s been offering service at three airports on the U.S West Coast and Hawaii and is the latest entrant into the Miami private aviation space. Schwartz saw a demand for service in Miami because of the growing number of high-income residents. The rising national interest in Miami among affluent travelers provides a major base for Fleet Club’s first foray into the East Coast, with flights to ski destination Vail, Colorado, beginning in November 2023.

Schwartz says the math works out to a profitable business and a reasonable fare for customers.

“Typically for most private flights, if it’s your own plane, those are $11,000 to operate,” he said. “South Florida is a hub of private jet activity. A round-trip flight on that route is eight hours. At $11,000 an hour, it costs almost $90,000. [Comparably] a commercial first-class seat costs between $2,000 and $4,000. We sell a membership where you have a minimum of 20 round trips a year as the middle ground between the trip options.”

Construction contractor Costas Reamensnyder never flew private before the pandemic changed the world in March 2020. Reamensnyder, a self-described “man of humble means” who lives in Northeast Ohio, now flies back and forth to work on construction projects in South Florida via private charter service.

Reamensnyder found taking private flights that allowed him to meet guaranteed completion times on projects on tight deadlines and keep clients happy.

“Everything is a cost-benefit analysis, especially when it comes to business,” he said. “I spent $30,000 to $50,000 on bringing a crew down for a project. You could pay $10,000 flying commercial versus $40,000 on private,” he said.

But, he added, “You’d potentially lose $10 million of business” if deadlines for projects are missed.

Saving time

Derrick Miles started his concierge healthcare services company in Miami Beach, CourMed, at about the same time JSX started flying out of Miami. He has been flying JSX to his home in Dallas ever since. With a promotional code from JSX, Miles gets a discounted rate by purchasing flying time in advance.

With a packed work schedule, Miles appreciates the time savings.

“It’s the fact that I’m saving time to go back to work and create value for CourMed and investors,” he said. “In the air, I’m having phone calls and working. I’m continuing to create value. For me, it’s about the additional money.”

As a side benefit, he enjoys the chance to fly with other entrepreneurs and high-profile public figures he would never otherwise meet. The last time he flew JSX, he said he met fellow passenger Deion Sanders, Jr., a social media star who creates content for his NFL Hall of Famer father and college football coach Deion Sanders.

“I was also on a flight with [two-time NFL champion] Von Miller to talk about a commercial for CourMed. I always make it my duty to have a conversation with people and expand my network,“ he said.

As CourMed grows, Miles is looking for similar flights in other markets. He recently signed up for Blade, another private aviation company that travels from West Palm Beach to New York City and offers helicopter service in New York City.

Shutts & Bowen attorney Paul Hechenberger, who has used private planes for work in the past, has been in the aviation industry for more than 30 years and sees private aviation as a resource that has been hidden from the public for too long. Citing membership-based private aviation company WheelsUp as an example, he said he believes companies like it are assisting in the “democratization of aviation.”

Now that more people are aware of its possibilities, Hechenberger says the new interest in private aviation that developed during the pandemic is here to stay.

“The use of private aviation by people who aren’t historic users of it has gone up significantly,” he said. “I don’t think the bottom will fall out, but I think the market will level as people aren’t worried about people coughing on them.”

As private aviation becomes more of a fixture in South Florida, it is broadening the ease, comfort and convenience for passengers, travelers say — like those who want to keep their pets with them.

At Miami International’s JSX terminal, the Trolles got up from their seats and smiled as they headed to the plane.

“Goodbye,” Pia Trolle said pleasantly as one of the dogs she had on a leash jogged ahead.