French Air Traffic Controllers to Strike
July 19, 2010
French Air Traffic Controllers are scheduled to strike on Wednesday of this week in protest against decisions to integrate French Air Traffic Control into a European System. Five unions representing civil aviation workers have given notice of a strike from the evening of the 20th through to the morning of the 22nd.
The DGCA which represents the unions is due to confirm actions today.
Strikes earlier this year were said to have affected up to 50% of flights at some airports.
If this action poses problems to your journey schedule call us to make alternative plans.
UK: 0800 6226 538
USA: 1 866 681 1889
World: +44 (0)20 3005 9808
Jet Booking Direct or NetJets?
July 19, 2010
Many people have heard of Netjets and when they think about private jet charter or ownership it’s one of the first names that comes to mind for many potential clients. They offer fixed price Jet Card accounts and Fractional Ownership which are both for regular users of private jets but is it the right choice?
There is no question that I write this with bias towards what we do but the facts and figures speak for themselves.
Private Jet Hire with us at Jet Booking Direct will offer you a modern fleet, an impeccable safety record, departures with three hours notice and all of the little extras that are associated with private air travel. All of this with no up-front investment, little or no positioning costs and very competitive hourly rates. Using a broker means that Jets are located on or near the departure point so you are genuinely paying for your flight time and not much more. Netjets don’t charge for positioning but after your initial investment their hourly rate is around 60-100% more than an equivalent flight on an identical jet.
Let’s look at comparing a flight profile for a regular schedule of flights from Southampton, UK to Nice, France and back again. That’s a flight time of around 1.7 hours on something like a Citation XLS. If you go for a 25 hour NetJets card you’ll be paying around £24,000 (GBP) for an overnight return so you’ll get 7 of those return flights on your jet card for £168,000.
Now, put that schedule on a Flight Account with us and you’ll pay around £13-15,000 for the same overnight return on a Citation XLS and, taking the worst case scenario, for the same 7 trips in the same type of aircraft you’ll pay a total of £105,000.
£63,000 is a lot of money to pay to have a fancy card in your wallet.
If you’re a regular traveller or even a NetJets client and you want to talk about a practical and sensible alternative give us a call and talk to us about what we can do for you.
UK: 0800 6226 538
USA: 1 866 681 1889
World: +44(0)20 3005 9808
Polo: Amateur Tournament Wins for Stagshead and Jet Booking Direct
July 16, 2010
For the first time in several years Ham Polo Club in London ran a tournament exclusively for amateur players. The members were encouraged to invite guests to play and six teams were entered. Two leagues were established to balance the handicaps and the games were played as two American Tournaments, one on Saturday and one on Sunday. Saturday’s League 1 games remained relatively even with teams carrying only half goal advantages over for the Sunday’s finals. League two saw a surprisingly good performance from the underdogs Jet Booking Direct.
On Sunday despite the lack of professionals the games were exciting to watch. Stagshead put in an excellent performance and after a convincing win over Nashama went on to narrowly defeat Potential in a nail-biting final chukka.
League two saw tremendous play from the Jet Booking Direct team consisting of Paul de Rivaz, Edward Banner-Eve, Nick Wills and Simon Chamberlain. The team gelled excellently and proved that four man polo is the way to win matches.
The next tournament will be the Summer Tournament. Please contact the polo office for more information on entries.
Jet Booking Direct are an official sponsor of Ham Polo Club and the club’s preferred & exclusive Private Jet Hire Partner.
Helicopter Landing Site In London
July 14, 2010
In partnership with Ham Polo Club we are very pleased to announce that we can offer Helicopter Landings at Ham Polo Club in Richmond with immediate effect. Only 8 miles from Hyde Park Corner and with great road and river links to Westminster and The City, Ham is very well positioned for all of your business and leisure trips to London. Why not combine the trip with an afternoon at the Polo or dinner at Gaucho’s which is only a few minutes by boat or a 15 minute stroll along the Thames from the Polo Club.
Landing fees and parking charges are reasonable and very competitive. If you need a location to park whilst your clients are in London give us a call as with prior notice we can arrange parking for a full day at very competitive rates.
In conjunction with our partners we can also arrange boat and road transfers from the club and offer fine dining packages both at the club and at Gaucho Restaurant, Richmond.
Your friendly and practical alternative to Battersea Heliport.
To download the Application Form and landing details CLICK HERE.
Open Air Concert at Leeds Castle in Kent.
June 24, 2010
Why not take a helicopter to spend a summer’s evening at the Leeds Castle Open Air Classical Concert on 3rd July in theVIP marquee – with a champagne reception and a menu prepared by The Swan’s creative director Mark Sargeant.
The luxury marquee will be situated with a superb view of the concert from a private viewing area and will include a cash bar and bottles of red and white wine on each table.
What’s included?
Price: £150 per person; £1,500 per table of ten.
• Open Air Classical Concert ticket
• Private parking
• Shuttle service to/from car parks
• Luxury marquee
• Champagne reception and canapés
• 3 course menu prepared by Mark Sargeant
• Red and white wine with your meal
• Private cash bar
• Flat screen TVs
• Private concert viewing area
• Post-concert snacks
Book now by calling 0845 652 62 62 or book online.
ChildLine Sunset Polo Event at Ham Polo Club
June 22, 2010
A Great Evening – Great Hosts – A Great Cause
We were very pleased to support the ChildLine Sunset Polo Event at Ham Polo Club on Saturday evening. ChildLine are such a worthy cause offering a counselling service to children and young people facing difficulties, often of the worst kind. They rely on many volunteer counsellors and invest in over 50 hours of training for each and every one. They rely on donations for around 85% of their funding each and every year and events like this play a big part.
Ham Polo Club and ChildLine did a fantastic job in preparing for the evening and laid on an unforgettable party. The weather was perfect with the rain only arriving after the polo and presentations were over, and we were all tucked away in the clubhouse ready for some dinner, some serious fund raising and some not so serious dancing – I do hope that most of what I saw wasn’t serious!
The evening was a great success with a sell out in the auctions and five tables offering donations of £1600 each to fund the recruitment and training of five new counsellors.
Rob Dore & Steve Blight of Jet Booking Direct with the President of ChildLine - Esther Rantzen & the JBD Team - Barnaby Parker, Mir Ahmed Hafeezuddin, Adolfo Casabal & Bruno Parodi
Jet Booking Direct In The News.
June 21, 2010
It’s great that some media channels still recognise the value and positive aspects of private jet hire and helicopter charters. In the middle of credit crunches and a global recession there is little good news attached to private jets. However, this is changing and we are starting to see more positive press. We have to say that it’s great to be a part of it thanks to The London Daily News who are very much in support of private flights for business and personal use. See what they say about us here.
Flights to South Africa for the 2010 Football World Cup Finals
June 18, 2010
Priority 1 – Safety & Security.
For those that take their personal security seriously and wish to travel to South Africa for the 2010 Football World Cup we are offering:
- Private jet charter flights to South Africa
- Personal Security Experts to meet you at the jet
- Ground Transfers
- 24 hour personal security protection
- Return secure transfers to the jet for your return flight
Whilst many changes have taken place in South Africa and the local police are very closely involved with monitoring activity in and near the stadiums, it is an unfortunate fact that robberies, personal attacks and car hijacking are still rife. South Africa remains as one of the most troubled countries in the world in regard to crime statistics. There are currently reports of allegations of robberies from player’s rooms at the team’s base camp hotels, and reports of English, Chinese and Portuguese media crews being mugged or robbed.
We have a number of aircraft available for individual and group flights to South Africa throughout the World Cup Finals. We’ll have additional aircraft on standby once we get to the knockout stages of the competition.
Call us 24/7 for details:
UK: 0800 6226 538
USA: 1 866 681 1889
World: +44(0) 20 3005 9808
Official Flight Partners & Sponsors of Ham Polo Club
June 16, 2010
We have completed our sponsorship deal with Ham Polo Club and secured our position as the official flight partner for the club, it’s committee and it’s members. We are proud to be associated with one of the oldest and finest polo clubs in the country and the only surviving polo club in London.
The club has an immense history and a modern and forward thinking approach to it’s own development with very dynamic, enthusiastic and dedicated committee members. After some very tough times in the seventies the club now stands proud on the banks of the River Thames and plays host to some of the biggest tournaments and players in the game on a regular basis.
You can see our latest press release regarding our formal partnership with the club below:
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Chukkas away as Jet Booking Direct announces new partnership with the Ham Polo Club
Ham Polo Club appoints Jet Booking Direct as their official flight partner
London 10/06/2010. Jet Booking Direct announced today that it is now the official flight partner of The Ham Polo Club. It is sponsoring the club and has also secured its position as the official flight partner of the Club for an initial period of one year. However, it is expected that the deal will continue for three years or more.
Jet Booking Direct currently flies members of The Ham Polo club committee as clients. The Ham Polo club recently used Jet Booking Direct to ferry players and spectators to the Ham House Tournament in May 2010. Jet Booking Direct sponsored the recent Ham House Tournament”.
Steve Blight, Director of Jet Booking Direct, said: “We are enormously proud to be an official partner of The Ham Polo Club. The club is one of the most respected polo clubs in the United Kingdom with a long and proud heritage. However, despite its deep-rooted traditions, it takes a modern view on how to efficiently transport its committee members. Our attention to detail and commitment to a speedy and trouble-free experience will ensure that we thrive as partners.”
“We provide our clients with a door to door experience managed by us at all times. They do not get any unpleasant surprises, we take care of everything. We only supply the safest jets on the charter market, we’re totally discrete and provide the reliability you do not get from any other travel experience.”
“The Ham Polo club can be assured that it is providing its members, through Jet Booking Direct, with the very best travelling experience in the UK. Whether they are travelling to a game or relaxing in one of our executive jets after the exertion of the last chukka we will ensure their comfort and security. ”
About Jet Booking Direct
Jet Booking Direct is a private aviation broker specialising in Private Jet Hire and Jet Charter Management. Its Customer base includes private and corporate clients, TV production and news channels, Premiership footballers, Formula 1 drivers and TV personalities. Jet Booking Direct has a reputation for reliable service and transparent billing and only works with fully approved operators who can guarantee first class service and safety records. www.jetbookingdirect.com
Our Latest Press Release (Private Jet Hire)
June 11, 2010
We have so much news at the moment and many exciting things are happening this year. You can see our latest press release below:
Jet Booking Direct’s profits climb 41% in 2010 as jet charter comes of age.
Jet Booking Direct announced today that its business has achieved a 41% uplift in 2010 as corporate and private clients move in increasing numbers from the commercial operators to embrace the reliability, quality of service and ease of use of private jet charter. The company is seeing more people turn to private jet hire, frustrated by the lengthy security checks at traditional airports, flight cancellations due to over-regulation and the unreliability of carriers such as BA during its current industrial relations troubles.
As BA struggles to deal with its staffing problems and the UK still appears to be governed with a nanny-state mentality Jet Booking Direct has seen a sharp uplift in passenger numbers who are increasingly using private jet charter to get them where they need to be with no lengthy security delays and minimal fuss. Using a private jet means that clients can be delivered to the airport of their choice thirty minutes before departure and assured of suffering no delays.
Steve Blight, Director of Jet Booking Direct, said: “The increase in our business shows that corporates, sports personalities and leading business people are tired of being treated like suspects at all of the major airports where they are forced to spend three hours each way in lengthy security checks when the alternative of a private jet frees up almost all of that valuable time.
We provide our clients with a door to door experience managed by us at all times. They do not get any unpleasant surprises – we take care of everything. We only supply the safest jets on the charter market, are totally discrete and provide the reliability you do not get from any other travel experience. The sharp increase in our business is not solely due to the improving economic climate – it is a direct response to the personal attention we provide for all of our clients and the premium we put of safety. We only use the most up to date jets – we refuse to use ageing aircraft. As our competitors try to emulate our service and safety record we are confident that our present growth will prove that our formula is the one to beat.”