A new way to travel?
Long considered a mode of transport for the elite, private aviation is currently experiencing unprecedented growth. At the root of this trend: the COVID-19 crisis. Commercial planes freshly grounded, new social distancing guidelines to follow, as well as a good number of professionals now called to work remotely…the perfect recipe for a new offering? Not necessarily, but the discovery of a real alternative to commercial aviation when it was completely grounded. Renting a private jet presented itself as the miracle solution, for regulars of course, but also and above all for a new type of clientele. More flexible, faster, and more compliant with health restrictions, this way of traveling, which wasn't new, became the perfect escape.
A younger, leisure-focused clientele
While the crisis opened up new perspectives and possibilities for many travelers who believed they were deprived of all air travel, other factors have also come into play in recent years leading to this «boom» in private aviation. From the emergence of social networks to new virtual currencies (cryptocurrencies) and the resulting new rich, not to mention the shift from traditional muses and opinion leaders to «influencers» and their personal branding, the private jet has emerged as the perfect accessory for the new generation of influence. Whether it's to showcase their success to their audience, or simply to travel as much as possible to the most unusual destinations, flying by jet is no longer solely synonymous with business travel. Most private aviation players have indeed observed an increase in the «leisure» and «family» proportion in their sales mix in recent years.
A new trend, a new offer
Starting from these observations, Caribbean society BIRDY Private Jets has decided to focus its attention on this new generation of travelers. The traditional business aviation broker has transformed into a «private aviation broker,» in the words of its team, and has chosen to dedicate itself more to «leisure» travel as well as fulfilling the most unusual desires of each of its «young and young-at-heart» clients. To achieve this, BIRDY is riding the wave of «event» flights: round trips to the most popular festivals in recent years such as Spring Break, Coachella, or Burning Man, but also airplanes customized on the inside for a bachelorette party, Valentine's Day, or a birthday.
From a simple trip to a «fully tailor-made» flight»
It's quite a rejuvenating effect they want to project BIRDY Private Jets on the private aviation marketing scene this year. While the traditional advantages of business aviation are unquestionable - a flexible choice of departure dates & times, ten times the number of accessible airports than commercial aviation, no more queues or «unnecessary» stopovers or connections, among others - BIRDY goes even further when the opportunity arises, personalizing each flight at the customer's request to offer a true travel experience: red carpet, floral or thematic decorations, petits-fours featuring the passenger's image... almost anything is possible. But the company, created by two women with a passion for and experience in the business aviation world, never forgets the very fundamentals of air transport: to take a passenger from point A, and to transport them in the safest and most fluid way to point B - to point Z if need be - in comfort and serenity, but above all, in complete safety. Whether it's a simple trip or an ultra-personalized flight.
Aviation in the DNA, luxury in the skin
BIRDY Private Jets was born on the island of Saint-Barthélemy, a natural choice for its founder who grew up in this luxurious corner of Caribbean paradise. Granddaughter of Rémy de Haenen — a pioneer of aviation in the Caribbean and the first pilot to land on St Barths in 1945 — she wished to remain true to her roots by merging her passion for aviation and her self-taught skills to create BIRDY. This is both a way to pay tribute to her grandfather, in her own way, and to offer personalized service, always in her own way, to an audience too often forgotten by traditional and aging players in private aviation; «the new affluent generation is successful, lives passionately, and deserves a 100% personalized service dedicated to them,» confides Mlle de Haenen. Ultimately, it mirrors the flamboyant image of her island.
This sponsored post is part of our partnership with Birdy Private Jet, who authored the content.
