Plush leather seats, spotless velvety carpet, cream-colored suede walls — every detail on an Aero jet oozes luxury. But that’s evident even before climbing its yellow, orange and red stairs.
Here, you can judge a book by its cover — lined up in a row of classic-white planes, the glossy black exterior of Aero’s Embraer ERJ 135 is a sleek panther on an airfield of house cats.
You don’t see many black planes, their Chief Operating Officer Mikael Pelet said while walking out to the plane on the Salt Lake City airfield. That’s mainly because of the phenomenon where black absorbs the sunlight and heats up more. It’s the same reason you wear light colors in the desert so your body doesn’t have to work as hard to stay cool. But in the case of Aero, the added efficiency cost is worth the sex appeal.
And that’s a lot of what this semi-private jet company is all about: appeal, experience, class. CEO and First Officer Ben Klein said that, from day one, Aero was focused on standing out as a luxury option in the world of air travel.
Garett Camp, co-founder of Uber, created Aero as an Uber-like service for booking private aviation. With its resources, it began flying regular trips between Mykonos and Ibiza, the first company to fly directly between the two islands.
Eventually, it shifted its business model to offer a third option: not commercial flights, not a costly chartered plane, but a semi-private model with 16-seat planes that are booked per seat on scheduled routes. In 2021, it opened its headquarters in Van Nuys, California, one of the largest private airports.
Since then, Aero has focused on linking its headquarters to other high-demand cities for clients: Aspen, Colorado; Los Cabos, Mexico; and Sun Valley, Idaho. Less than two months ago, they launched their newest route: Park City.
Park City became an obvious choice as a year-round vacation destination and because of its concentration of homeowners who own in both cities. So far, the clientele has fit most of what they expected, Klein said.
“There’s a lot of similarities. In fact, we have a lot of people who are flying this route that have flown our other ones. Because, not surprisingly, we have guests that go to Cabo that also ski in Park City, maybe have houses in other places,” he said.
Aero’s process for expanding to a new route is to find partners who share their values — and their clients. Deer Valley Resort and Stein Eriksen Lodge are two they landed on, and knowing they needed to fly out of the private terminal in Salt Lake City, they worked with Signature Aviation to offer a lounge space.
“The game for Aero is spreading awareness. We’re a small company. We don’t have a big marketing budget,” he said. “It takes a while for routes to ramp up. It’s a painful part of it, but it’s a necessary part.”
The route is priced at $900 per seat each way, meant to be more competitive with first-class fliers. In the case of Aero, that $900 goes a long way, Klein said.
Airport avoidance is a huge benefit to flying private, he said. As airports grow, both in size and in busyness, flyers are expected to budget two hours before their flight to deal with checking bags, security checks and walking time to their gate.
Flying private, you need 20 minutes, max.
Of course, there’s the luxury element, too. Larger seats made with nicer materials, miles of legroom, an open bar and all-included meal service. For the flights between Los Angeles and Park City, the planes serve meals and drinks from Erehwon, an upscale supermarket chain in Los Angeles: like strawberry overnight oats or smoked salmon tartine for breakfast, an asian chicken salad or roast beef sandwich for the afternoon, snacks of beef jerky, trail mix and gummy bears, all organic.
Also, with the ever-shifting rules around pet travel, private airlines like Aero are able to welcome pets of all sizes on board. Rather than large dogs being confined to a kennel and packed on with luggage, they can sit comfortably in a seat or at their owners’ feet, served treats on a silver platter — literally.
“What I heard over and over again from people, second-home owners, is that they drive from LA in order to bring their dogs,” Klein said. “So obviously, the ability to bring your dog is huge, to know that they’re going to be well taken care of.”
A quick Google search estimates the cost of a private jet charter from Salt Lake City to LAX — the main airport in Los Angeles — can cost anywhere from $12,000-$23,000, and that’s just one way. Granted, these planes may be set up in a more conversation-style way, but when a flight is just over one hour, is it worth it?
In many cases, these chartered flights don’t come with the in-flight service, so people would need to pay more or need to bring their own.
Though it’s not entirely private, with Aero there’s at least no crowd to deal with, no embarrassing TSA pat-down ritual, no waiting while your bag is searched. It’s an entirely new class of flying.
“I think what makes us unique is the experience. Obviously, our airplanes are thoughtfully designed, spacious, Starlink (Wi-Fi), all that good stuff. But what I think sets Aero apart is that we’ve been relentless in building a luxury experience and a premium experience for our guests,” Klein said. “What they’re getting with Aero, they’re not going to get anywhere else, whether it’s first class or another semi-private provider.”
So far, Klein said they’ve seen more work travel than leisure on the route, especially since it overlaps with the Salt Lake City market, too.
But, with the help of their partners, they’re working to incentivize the long-weekend getaway that Park City has to offer. A complete travel package they offer right now includes four-night complimentary valet parking at Van Nuys airport, 10% off round-trip Aero flights from Los Angeles, 20% off best available room rate at the Stein Eriksen Lodge, breakfast for two at Glitretind Restaurant plus a daily $100 resort credit per room for food, beverages and spa treatments.
Klein said he hopes the experience speaks for itself.
“What we’re trying to do is make the flying part just as fun as the rest of your trip. And I think by and large we accomplish that,” Klein said. “So I encourage people to check it out and experience flying in a way they probably never have before.”
Aero has nonstop flights to Los Angeles three times per week during the winter, and will increase to four times per week during the summer. For more information and to book flights, visit aero.com or download the Aero app.
