NEW YORK -- Jeff Drew, senior vice president of sales of Intrav,
invited 30 of the St. Louis-based luxury operator's top agents on
its first-ever fam trip because, he said, "Nothing could describe
this.
"If I just told you about it, you wouldn't really get it," he
said. "Everybody says they are the best."
A Moveable Feast was a six-day trip that included a night in
Biarritz, France; a stop in Bilbao, Spain; a night in Marrakesh,
Morocco, and two nights in Paris. A compressed sample of a real
private jet tour, it looked on paper like a back-breaking
itinerary. But that was the first surprise.
"I can't believe how easy a trip like this can be," said Mary
McGehee of Brownell Travel in Birmingham, Ala. "Everyone thought it
was going to be hard, hard, hard."
The itinerary was tighter than on Intrav's real tours, which
stay two or three nights at each stop. But the participants agreed
that the trip was remarkably free of stress, beyond their
expectations. The big difference was the private jet.
Intrav calls the product beyond first class. It starts with a
Boeing 737 configured for 46 first class seats instead of the usual
140, chartered from PrivatAir of Geneva.
Passengers are relieved of the airport hassles that color the
flying experiences of even first class customers of the major
commercial carriers. Customs and immigration procedures were
handled by the crew.
In most instances, passengers were driven right up to the
runway, where they boarded the jet with their carry-on luggage.
On-board meals were gourmet quality and served with the
attentive service of a five-star restaurant.
"They call it beyond first class, I call it 'beyond belief,' "
said Phoebe Weinberg of Greatways Travel in Grosse Pointe Farms,
Mich.
"Until you experience it, it's beyond expectation."
Though much of the product's appeal is based on restoring
service and pleasure to the flying experience, it doesn't end
there.
"The phrase 'beyond first class' [applies] not just on the
plane," said Drew. "Time is money. For the affluent of tomorrow,
they only will get so many days. Money is not a concern to them,
but if you mess up one of their days ..."
The agents were selected from Intrav's top producers, each with
a gold-mine clientele. Most were Virtuoso agents.
Drew, who was brought in from Seabourn because of his close ties
to the agent community, said Virtuoso is the key link to Intrav's
customer base, augmented by Giants in the East and Leisure Travel
Group in the West.
Intrav's private-jet programs are targeted to affluent clients
who are not satisfied with commercial air service that they see as
mass-market commodity.
"I think most guests today look at it as a hardship getting to
and from a vacation," said Drew. "But these private jets make it so
easy. It's seamless."
Drew speaks at many industry events about strategies for
capturing the affluent market. Affluent travelers, he said, define
the future of travel.
"You are here," Drew told the agents on board, "because we think
you are where the affluent are going. You are the players who are
going to take them into the future."
The trip was organized by Intrav in conjunction with PrivatAir;
Concorde Hotels, which provided rooms, and Air France, which
donated transatlantic air.
It takes a lot to elicit superlatives from high-end agents, who
have pretty much seen it all. But they were impressed unanimously.
Their enthusiasm speaks volumes.
"I've never been on a fam trip like this," said Barbara Gallay
of Linden Travel Bureau of New York. "This was really a
fantasy."
To make reservations, contact Intrav at (800) 456-8100 or visit
the Web site at www.intrav.com.
Operator's private jet itineraries
NEW YORK -- Intrav's private jet programs range in price from
$23,800 per person, double occupancy, for the 17-day Nepal and the
Desert Kingdoms of Rajasthan; the 17-day Hidden Treasures of
European Art and Architecture; or the 16-day Southern Europe from
Biarritz to the Bosporus, to $38,500 for the 20-day Around the
World by Private Jet.
At a base commission of 10%, booking one couple on the latter
tour would net more than $7,000 for the agent.