Now you can fly by BA private jet

BRITISH AIRWAYS (BA) IS LAUNCHING a private jet service within  the Caribbean  and North America.The British flag carrier has teamed up with CitationAir, the private jet charter subsidiary  of Cessna Aircraft, to offer its passengers a cut-price means of flying  by private jet.According to Breaking Travel News,  an industry website,  the partnership with CitationAir also sidesteps BA’s status as a foreign carrier, which means  it is barred from operating a domestic service  under United States  aviation regulations.The service pitches itself as a “no-frills” private jet service – passengers can book online and “pay and go” with a credit card. This avoids the need  for upfront fees and  long-term commitment, things usually associated with private charters.Costs range from  US$6 000 to US$10 000 per plane per hour, depending on the type  of aircraft.The service is available to anyone who has flown with the carrier in the past 12 months, members of the BA executive club programme, as well  as employees of the airline’s corporate clients.Robert Boyle, BA’s director of strategy and business units, told The Telegraph: “Now we can offer our customers  a seamless service to fly when they want  and where they want,  to almost any destination within the United States, Caribbean, southern Canada and Mexico.”BA currently flies  to 19 destinations  in America and has a tie-up with American Airlines for United States domestic flights. It is pursuing regulatory clearance  for a transatlantic tie-up with American Airlines  and its expected merger partner Iberia. This would allow the three airlines  to share revenues  and coordinate ticket prices on BA’s services between Britain  and America. (TBN/AB)