Booking a private plane with this company is as easy as ordering an Uber

Private Ubers are great, but private jets are even better. One of the best companies to try the luxurious service with is XO.

Like Uber, XO is a ride-share company with 2,400 aircrafts instead of cars. The company gives you options of chartering full planes for a private experience, sharing flights and splitting the price with friends, or booking an individual seat on a scheduled route.

XO is noted as an excellent option for travelers new to the chartering experience because of its easy-to-use platform and accessible customer service. While they don’t require a membership, there are perks if you sign up.

XO offers a variety of planes within its fleet of 2,400 airliners. Their most requested is the seven-passenger Cessna Citation Ultra, which is perfect for quick trips. Passengers can get to New York from Fort Lauderdale in three hours or less. Their Citation X is praised as one of the fastest private aircrafts in the world. Eight passengers can travel from Los Angeles to New York in 4 hours. Their 14-passenger Bombardier Global 7500 is the world’s fastest and longest-range business jet currently flown. With four separate living spaces, travelers will have ample room to travel, meet, rest, and sleep. Whatever your capacity needs may be, XO can accommodate them. They also offer pricing that is considered reasonable regarding privately chartered planes.

The Points Guy offered a breakdown of the company’s membership options. Unlike competitors NetJets and Sentient, XO offers clients a “buy as you fly” pass where you don’t need a membership to jump aboard.

There is a $395 charge per flight for non-members. Even if you’re only taking two flights per year, XO’s “Rise” package is the best option, starting at $595 per year. With no minimum deposit like the company’s higher packages, the mid-level offering pays for itself after two flights.

Outside of membership fees, the bottom line price for the jets is something to consider when choosing your type of flight. For a seven-passenger plane, expenses can start at $7,500. Expect a price tag for more passengers and a longer flight starting at $14,844. Individual seats on short one-way flights can begin at around $1,500 but can easily double during peak travel times.

Travel and Leisure ensured that XO private charters could fly anywhere, as long as the destination could support the specific type of aircraft you’re flying. Scheduled flights that offer individual seat offerings continuously run between major cities like New York and Los Angeles and major seasonal vacation destinations like South Florida, the Hamptons, Aspen, and Las Vegas.

The outlet also mentioned that the company uses private terminals. Due to the absence of TSA and other standard airport security that can make travel more of a hassle, passengers only have to show up 30 minutes before their flight.

The perks of flying XO don’t end in the air. The company’s luxury lifestyle brand partners benefit XO Membership and XO Reserve members. Luxury vacation rentals, yachts and rental cars are all offered at a discount once you step off the plane. Being a coveted member of the FoundersCard gains travelers the experience of a high-end lifestyle, including networking events to elite status with certain travel brands.

Martie Bowser is a journalist and public relations professional in Charlotte, NC. She enjoys amplifying the voices of POC and women that fill a void within their community. Her bylines include “person of interest” interviews, small business highlights, pop culture commentary, entertainment features, and everything Beyonce.

This story was originally published April 18, 2023 at 9:51 AM with the headline "Booking a private plane with this company is as easy as ordering an Uber."