Private Jet Charter

Private jet charter remains an elusive dream for the average Joe. To be sure, rock stars, sports franchises and corporate entities can throw down the bucks to charter a private jet. But it will be quite a while until families can plunk down the change and charter a Cessna Citation, Raytheon Hawker, Gulfstream, Dassault Falcon, or Lear Jet for the weekend trip to the beach or mountains.

I did some research into the cost of private jet charter for an upcoming trip to Pittsburgh.

I couldn't find a cheap non-stop from either Newark or Philly--everything that came up was in the $600-$800 range. For a one hour flight. So I checked in with a number of private jet charter web sites, thinking that I might be able to share the cost between a few folks.

It was an eye-opener. I wasn't just blown out of the water, I couldn't get anywhere near the pool.

But I have faith that jet air taxi service will be commonplace one day.

Eclipse Aviation is readying a new light jet that promises to change the game. When it takes flight in 2006, the Eclipse 500 is slated to cost just under $1.2 million ... a remarkable price point for a small jet.