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Company Revolutionizing Air Travel Provides Private Jet Experience For Economy Prices

Company Revolutionizing Air Travel Provides Private Jet Experience For Economy Prices

The new service will allow passengers to arrive at the airport just 20 minutes before takeoff and enjoy a host of on-board amenities.

Nathan Standley

Nathan Standley

A company in America has unveiled plans for a product that will fly passengers in a private jet style setting for commercial ticket prices.

We've all been there - having just boarded a sweaty, budget airline flight, you've contorted your legs into some impossible position to fit into the minimal leg room, you're squashed against someone suffering from horrendous BO next to you and the kid sat behind you is already booting your chair.

Well, maybe the big time business people who have to fly regularly aren't as used to that as the rest of us - they're normally complaining that their caviar is too salty and their champagne is too fizzy.

ZED Aerospace

Even so, ZED Aerospace, a Miami-based startup company who develop fancy new in-flight technologies, have decided to cater to those poor old first class flyers with their new product, AURA.

AURA is a flight service that is set to launch next year which will combine private jet chartering with commercial flying to provide an ultra-luxurious aviation experience.

The main difference is that AURA will use private airports, cutting out the busy and stressful commercial airports.

AURA flights have two classes: First and Wave. Passengers in the measly first class have a similar experience to commercial first class flights, but on a smaller, more luxurious plane - a redesigned Bombardier CRJ700 carrying a maximum 29 passengers per flight.

ZED Aerospace

They will be sat in seat configurations of two seats to one across the aisle in specially made 'zero gravity' seats designed with the help of sleep psychologists and aero-medical scientists. A full seasonally rotating menu of 'fusion tapas' and sushi, as well as soft and alcoholic beverages, will also be available to passengers.

Sounds pretty lowbrow, right? Well, you need Wave class. There you get a full dining service where you can select meats from AURA's Meatlocker and have it cooked to your exact specifications by an on-flight chef.

Naturally, all passengers will also have access to tons of high-speed WiFi and use of a complimentary iPad Pro if they desire.

ZED Aerospace

AURA will have subscribers, or 'Keyholders' as they call them, who pay a one-off fee of $700 then $250 a month for unlimited flights at fixed prices starting at $280 for First class and $600 for Wave. Flights are available to non-subscribers - but at double the price.

Sounds pretty expensive - but not when you consider the prices of AURA's closest competitor, JetSmarter, who charge an initiation fee of $3,000 and an annual membership fee of $4,950.

The first phase of flights will go between six US cities - Miami, New York, Chicago, Atlanta, L.A. and Denver - but it will also serve popular holiday and event destinations like Aspen and Coachella while new destinations including San Francisco and Las Vegas will become available the following year.

And if you want to feel just a little bit more envious - the CEO and Founder of ZED Aerospace, Zander Futernick, is just 21 years old.

ZED Aerospace

He told Forbes: "In the two weeks since we launched, we've had an immense outpour of support."

He says business people using AURA will save huge amounts of time compared with normal commercial flying - they will only have to arrive at the terminal 20 minutes before their flight.

But we might not be seeing AURA aircraft on British land for a while - but there's a very special reason for that.

Futernick said: "I have something called the ZED Aerospace promise, which is that we're not going to cross the ocean until we can do so supersonically That's where I see the future of AURA - when the time is right, we will do it faster than anybody else and expand to be exclusively supersonic."

Featured Image Credit: ZED Aerospace

Topics: Flying, News, US News, travel