Private jet CX expectations just entered a higher altitude
Just imagine how angry all those millionaires and billionaires were.
Instead of arriving as planned to the annual Web Summit in Lisbon this month, many of them were forced to deplane as far away as Spain and then travel for hours by car.
Although I wasn’t in touch with any of those affected, I’m betting a few of them turned to one another and said, “What’s the point in having a private jet?”
That was actually the problem: there were so many private jets coming into the Web Summit, the airport Lisbon couldn’t accommodate them.
This, despite the fact that many of those wealthy travellers probably assumed a private jet would alleviate them from the stress of flights getting cancelled on public airlines amid the recent U.S. government shutdown.
Gotta jet? Gotta pay
According to the New York Times, the recent disruption has been a boon for the private jet industry, which has seen bookings increase by five per cent in October compared with the previous year.
Perhaps as a result, these brands are taking every advantage to market themselves.
Case in point: I read about the Web Summit flight fiasco in print edition of the Financial Times, and next to the article was an ad from a company called JetEx with the simple tagline “Fly Private,” as orange-clad flight attendants strode confidently across the tarmac.
Of course, you don’t have to own a jet to fly private anymore. Privatefly, Ubair, JetSmarter and other services are still costly but arguably make it more accessible to book an aircraft for yourself and a few close friends and family.
A new flightplan for the private jet experience
While the U.S. government shutdown is now over and public flights will presumably resume soon, most airports weren’t really designed for private transport options. We’ll likely see situations like the Web Summit in Lisbon more often.
If so, private jets will have to enrich their customer experience (CX) with more than the novelty of extended legroom and the absence of crying babies.
I predict we’ll see a lot of investment in immersive entertainment options like mixed reality gaming, in-flight spa treatments and more personalized cuisine and cocktail services.
CX leaders in other brands might not be able to compete with the premium luxuries private jet services will offer, but it’s worth paying attention to them to see how far experience design can be enhanced as competition mounts and external forces tarnish the primary value proposition.
Private jets may wind up with the same problems running on time or landing in the right spot as their public counterparts. From a passenger perspective, though, customer expectations will always be sky high.
