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Can a shared private flight be cheaper than business class or first class seats?

Group of friends on private jet

Flying to, or across the Caribbean is something many would like to do in style to be in the spirit of the islands. Unfortunately this is something that’s on the expensive side for most people, as both private jets, and business will run you up. However, leading up to 2024, we’ve seen a few things that make private jets specifically, even more affordable than business, or first class, and one of these is a shared flight.

In theory, private flight sharing blends both luxury and most importantly for this piece, affordability. If this is true, the Flymingo app to find a shared private flight within the Caribbean would be a great tool for all people who are looking for such an option. So, let’s see if this is the case and check the types of flights!

The types of flight

As with all comparisons, the best place to start is to look at all types of flights and their characteristics. These will help us discern which is more expensive:

The commercial flights

When it comes to commercial flights, different airports offer tiers of tickets, and seating that potential passengers choose from to best align with their budget, and the desired level of luxury. These are as follows:

  • Economy Class, which is the cheapest and least luxurious
  • Premium economy class, which is more expensive, and more luxurious, offers wider seating and comfort
  • Business Class, which separates the general economy class from first class, is the second most expensive tier and offers amenities such as snacks/dishes/drinks or better seats
  • First Class, which is the most expensive, and luxurious, being everything business class is but on another level, so though that gap has recently narrowed

General perks

So, we all know how the latter two tiers work. Commercial airlines offer cabins with significantly more luxury than others for a premium. So you probably will need the Flymingo application to find a shared private flight within the Caribbean to check the options. But let’s see the general perks that come with this premium include the following:

  • The aforementioned food and drinks
  • Personalized attendance (especially in first class)
  • Luxury apartments (first class)
  • Lounges to be in while waiting for boarding
  • Priority as it pertains to who boards the plane first (although business class passengers do tend to cue)

Private flights

The private jets you’re likely thinking of when you hear the words, are by their very nature, designed for luxury traveling, although the level of comfort is based on the model. Shared private flights entail you sharing the costs of the private jet with other passengers, who are typically strangers going in the same direction. This is quite unlike chartering the jet, which entails you paying for the whole thing.

With shared private flights, you get some semblance of privacy, as the planes typically seat fewer people, as well as whatever luxury the service provider offers you. Everything from food, drinks, and personalized comfort exists on this type of flight, making it similar to the commercial tiers.

Boarding these planes is also not as big of a hassle as it would be on a commercial jet, and some providers even have a lounge to cater to the passengers. This shows that while they are different, as far as services are concerned, they’re quite similar. However, it is also crucial to check the whole picture of prices of private jets and compare them with other options. So let’s see the price overview and comparisons below as well.

The price comparisons

We might as well get this out of the way. Private jet chartering, which has ranging prices, is much more expensive than either of the top-tier classes of commercial flight. This is because the payments are made per flight hour for each person.

However, with everyone on the private jet sharing the costs, theoretically, the cost per person could be lower, but that depends on several factors, which include:

  • The number of seats the jet has: the more seats, the fewer seats a jet has, the more expensive it is
  • The further the destination: the less time spent in the air, the cheaper a flight is, and
  • The service provider of choice: which depending on what you want luxury-wise, may be on the high end of things

When traveling first class, which as we’ve established, is as expensive as commercial travel gets, the prices can be less than $1,000 within the US. Internationally, prices could be as high as $21,000 from the states to Australia, as of 2022, which is quite expensive. Now, let’s try something interesting.

Say, you were covering the same distance from the US to Australia and were on a 6-seater private jet that’s using the shared flight model at $15,000 per hour in the air. Each person seated would pay $ 2,500 per hour, and when you consider that a flight from Los Angeles to Sydney, for example, can be well over 15 hours, the pricier option is obvious. Replace that $15,000 with $5,000, and there’s a completely different story, which means possible, and unwanted service compromising.

What private jets have over first or business class

The above information shows that shared private flights are likely more expensive than their counterparts, although that depends on the rate charged. What those numbers wouldn’t talk about is the value of what you pay.

As far as luxury is concerned, the discussed price types are pretty similar, and offer some of the same things. However, private jets can land in more airports due to their small size, which makes an app such as Flymingo to find a shared private flight within the Caribbean a useful tool here. Another benefit is the use of direct routes instead of commercial ones, which can cause delays.

Final thoughts

Irrespective of which of the choices is less expensive, it’s fair to say that any of them is typically made for richer people. As for shared private flights, they can be a cheaper alternative to either tier of commercial flights, but a revolutionary service offering uncompromising luxury and affordability must exist.

If such a company exists in the Caribbeans, then they should be quite the sought-after commodity. As such an app like Flymingo would help find a shared private flight within the Caribbean. It would truly be a tool that would be of great use. If one doesn’t exist, you might as well use the commercial options.