June 18, 2007

World

Born Again Virgin

By Tiffany Hawk

Bid on a bargain with Branson's new online charter service.

They say you can’t be all things to all people, but Richard Branson thinks he can. So far his undertakings include private islands, gay clubs and spaceships. For a man like that, launching two airlines in one month just isn’t enough — turns out he’ll also be dabbling in private jets with Virgin Charter, a just-announced online flight brokerage set to go live this fall. Like its competition, the site aims to connect travelers with around 2,500 charter operators, most of whom rep private owners eager to rent out their unused aircraft. Yet with a Priceline-like model, Virgin Charter encourages bargaining, ideally helping users to snag an empty leg (which constitute nearly 40 percent of all private flights). Book one of those and you’ll be saving thousands — though just like using any discount travel-booking site, you’d better be flexible. For the jetsetter who needs to travel on short notice or during peak times, we recommend a “jetcard” membership program like Marquis Jet Card or Sentient or fractional ownership options such as NetJets or Flight Options.