Private jet travel, once a sliver of a
niche market for only the very affluent, is now growing so robustly
in popularity that it surprises even those who market the product.
Abercrombie &
Kent, which has been offering private jet programs since 1989,
recently established a division devoted to the offerings to keep up
with demand.
Abercrombie &
Kent unveiled a 22-night Private Jet South America tour this past
February, with a little under a year for travelers to book the Oct.
30 departure. And according to the operator, the seats were all
sold out before the end of February.
Signs that the
affluent market is growing are all around, and with the lightning
sell-out of the South America trip, A&K was ready with a quick
follow-up.
This month,
A&K presented the 22-night Nine World Wonders program, its
first private jet offering for 2007, departing March 11. The
included nine wonders are: the pyramids of Tikal in Guatemala; the
giant stone moai heads on Easter Island, Chile; the Sydney Opera
House in Sydney; Angkor Wat in Cambodia; the Shwedagon Pagoda in
Myanmar; the Taj Mahal in Agra, India; the souks and mosques in
Dubai, United Arab Emirates; the lost city of Petra in Jordan; and
the Egyptian pyramids of Giza.
A&K is able
to tie this collection of remote sites into a single itinerary by
use of the private jet concept with the use of a Boeing 757-200
reconfigured for 48 passengers instead of the usual 186. The
private jet enables the operator to create routes that are not
offered by scheduled aircraft, and customs and immigration issues
are greatly simplified when all passengers on the aircraft are
traveling as a group with a reputable tour operator.
The extended
itinerary allows plenty of time to stretch out and experience each
destination with activities such as horseback riding on Easter
Island, a seaplane ride over Sydney and Rose Bay in Australia, a
helicopter trip to the Beng Meala temple in the jungle near Siem
Reap, and a look behind the scenes at a thoroughbred racing stable
in Dubai.
The price tag on
the 22-night journey is $69,875 per person, double occupancy.
Travel agents earn at least the customary 10% commission on the
sale.
A&K will soon
unveil details for its second 2007 private jet offering, the
Ancient Traders & Explorers program departing Sept. 23,
following ancient caravan routes across the deserts of Africa from
Marrakech, Morocco, to Timbuktu, Mali, including Lalibela,
Ethiopia; Petra and Wadi Rum, Jordan; Damascus, Syria; and
Ephesus,Turkey.
For more
information see www.abercrombiekent.com.
To contact reporter David Cogswell, send e-mail to [email protected].