‘Semi-private’ jet firm to offer ski flights

A ‘semi-private’ jet service for skiers is to serve the Alps from the UK this winter.

Aero, a US-based firm which raised $65 million in funding last month, will fly from the business aviation hub of Farnborough airport in Hampshire to Geneva and Sion. Flights will also operate to Nice from December.

One-way tickets flying on the company’s 16-seat Embraer ERJ135 aircraft start at almost £1,000.

Aero claimed “huge demand” for routes across Europe during the summer, enabling fleet expansion with connections to both Ibiza and Nice plus island hopping between Ibiza and Mykonos.

The winter programme is designed to serve ski resorts in both Switzerland and France with almost daily flights.

Passengers can then reach the likes of Verbier, Crans Montana and Chambery in under an hour, and Gstaad, Zermatt Saas Fee and Meribel in less than two hours.

The company claims to offer a “radically better” leisure travel experience at a fraction of the usual jet-chartering price while using private terminals .

In the US, Aero will be flying to and from Los Angeles to Los Cabos in Mexico, San Francisco, Aspen and Sun Valley.

Chief executive Uma Subramanian said: “We are excited to offer our guests more options to fly with Aero.

“We will continue to provide our guests with an unparalleled way to travel and we look forward to bringing the Aero experience to new markets in the coming months.”