Luxury brands and operators must raise their game to distinguish themselves from the competition, as today’s jetsetters demand nothing less than personal service, multi-destination holidays and unsurpassed luxury, according to a private jet charter firm.

“Fliers expect personalised experiences, while quality of service is the deciding factor as to whether a brand is considered luxury or not. Travellers are also planning ahead of time, and they’re focusing on operators that connect between two very varying travel destinations, says JetSmarter’s founder and CEO Sergey Petrossov.

“People are increasingly growing accustomed to personalised experiences, so much so, that it isn’t a demand anymore; it is now an expectation that needs to be met. In order for brands to be memorable, they need to remember their customers and offer customised experiences. 

“At JetSmarter, there is heavy emphasis on relationships with our members. Each member is assigned a relationship manager that is responsible for creating personalized and customisable private travel experiences.”

Petrossov says there’s a very thin line between high-end and luxury and the deciding factor is the level and quality of service offered to flyers. “The travel industry is inundated with both high-end and luxury brands. However, the distinction is relatively minor. People often confuse high-end brands for luxury ones. Luxury brands essentially need to heighten their levels of service to be able to distinguish themselves from their high-end counterparts.”

He also says that travellers and holiday-seekers are booking two or more destinations at a stretch for longer holidays, and each destination has a varying experience to offer. 

“One destination just won’t make the cut anymore, and neither will similar types of holiday spots. Flyers are looking for more connectivity between places that have diverse experiences to offer as part of one long holiday,” he says. “For instance, flyers are combining a week of city lights and cosmopolitan nights in Dubai, with a tour of the green tea hills in Sri Lanka.”

Also, holidays and travel plans are not going to be made at the last minute. Each holiday is now being planned ahead of time, sometimes even a year in advance. “There is a relatively smaller cluster of flyers that plan trips so close to the actual date of flying. This cluster is going to continue to diminish in 2017, and the travel industry will see a rise in stable and well-planned holiday seekers.” 

JetSmarter makes private flying bookings achievable in a matter of minutes. Members have access to scheduled private flights between top destinations worldwide and across the region, including Dubai, Riyadh, Jeddah and Kuwait. 

The mobile marketplace also allows members to create new shuttles on existing routes if preferred flights are not available and charter their own flights.

The app is available for download: for iOS from the Apple iTunes Store, and for Android from the Google Play Store.