Jeri Clausing
With the rise in pandemic-related demand for safe travel bubbles, hotels and tour operators that have invested in their own branded private jets are ramping up marketing for their luxury air tours.
Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts last month unveiled its 2022 itineraries for its new customized, 48-seat Airbus A321LR aircraft, part of the new Airbus NEO family, which will replace its Boeing 757 next year. Ben Trodd, the company’s senior vice president of sales and hotel marketing, said Four Seasons is alerady seeing an exciting response.
Among the highlights, he said in a press briefing during this week’s ILTM World Tour virtual networking event, is a new family-friendly, two-week tour of Africa.
“So far, the take-up has been fantastic,” Trodd said.
The African Wonders itinerary runs Dec. 28 to Jan. 9, taking guests from Athens to the pyramids and then on to the Serengeti, Mauritius, Rwanda, Victoria Falls and Johannesburg.
Individual activities will be tailored to the ages and interests of the guests.
Four Seasons will also offer two round-the-world itineraries in 2022:
• Timeless Encounters, running March 14 to April 6, takes guests from Hawaii to London with stops in French Polynesia, Australia, Bali, Thailand, a day trip to the Taj Majal, Dubai and Prague.
• Ancient Explorer itinerary, April 8 to May 1, travels from Miami to Madrid with stops in Mexico City, Easter Island, Bora Bora, the Great Barrier Reef, Thailand, Jordan, Egypt and Italy.
With its new jet scheduled to launch in the spring, Four Seasons says it
also still has limited space on its 2021 round-the-world trips, one in
May and another in November.
Abercrombie & Kent is also offering new round-the-world itineraries on its jet, which also carries 48 passengers.
Its newest package for 2021, Around the World with Geoffrey Kent: An Inspiring Expedition by Private Jet, will run Oct 14 through Nov. 8, originating in Japan and concluding in New Orleans with stops that include the Maldives, Eritrea and Brazil. And the company promises to release details soon for its first 2022 round-the-world trip, Cultural Treasures Around the World, scheduled to run May 5 to 27.
The round-the-world private jet trips generally start at $150,000 per person.