-Bride's brother makes last minute dash by BN2 Islander-
A New York and Edinburgh-based publisher recently found himself making a dramatic dash to his sister's wedding on the Scottish island of Islay, helped by an online private jet booking network.
Robin Mukherjee and his young family were let down by scheduled airline delays at New York's JFK airport and quickly realised that they would miss both their connecting flights, and the wedding service itself - where Robin's children were due to perform bridesmaid and page duties. Luckily a speedily-arranged aircraft charter saved the day.
Robin called online jet broker PrivateFly.com from JFK while waiting for his delayed transatlantic flight to London and explained the problem. He and wife Angela, along with their three young children, would miss their connecting flight from London to Glasgow. A later departure to Glasgow was available but would mean missing their flight connection to Islay, leaving them stranded on the mainland while the wedding was already in full swing. To compound their travel problems, the usual ferry service wasn't available due to high winds on that day. "We were so frustrated", said Scottish-born Robin, "and desparate to find a way to make it on time. To miss such an important day would have been devastating for everyone and I was determined to find a way to make it to the wedding on time!"
PrivateFly was able to give Robin an immediate price indication for a privately-chartered aircraft to take them from Glasgow to Islay, and within minutes the company had provided a choice of competitive quotes and made the booking. The family was able to board their flight at JFK safe in the knowledge that the BN2 Islander, operated by Hebridean Air Services, would be waiting at Glasgow airport, ready to whisk them over to Islay before the ceremony began. In high winds and heavy rain it was a dramatic crossing but Robin was reassured by that fact that John, their experienced pilot had flown an air ambulance for many years. He added:
"We were able to keep dry by boarding inside the hangar and he made a masterful landing in high winds. It was such a relief and fantastic to have the plane ready and waiting for us at Glasgow. We arrived before the wedding began and it turned out to be a wonderful day for everyone. The kids thought the journey was all a great adventure!"
As the cost of taking a return trip was only fractionally more than a one-way, the Mukherjees travelled back to Glasgow on the same aircraft the following day, and some of the other guests also hitched a lift. "It was a memorable way for everyone to leave the Island as we flew over the church on the departure" says Robin "and great to have such a positive end to our weekend of travel chaos!"
Adam Twidell, founder and director of PrivateFly, commented: "We were delighted to be able to help the Mukherjees make it to the wedding on time. Many people believe that private aviation is a luxury afforded by the very wealthy but an increasing number of our clients use PrivateFly for special occasions or when scheduled airlines let them down. For operators, we provide the only free marketplace in Europe to promote their aircraft, and we connected our client to the experienced local operator, Hebridean Air Services, in a matter of minutes."
For further information, please contact PrivateFly at www.privatefly.com, or by calling 01747 642777.
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Notes to editors
About PrivateFly:
PrivateFly is an online booking network that makes it quicker,
easier and more cost effective to arrange private jet charter.
With over 2700 operators registered worldwide,
PrivateFly is the only online aggregator for Private Jet charter in Europe.
PrivateFly combines online efficiency and transparency with offline expertise to offer a full-service
VIP charter service to direct customers and partners. The bespoke software has been created in-house
specifically to meet the needs of charter customers and operators .
PrivateFly won a travel Industry "Dragons Den" in May 2008, voted 'most innovative travel company of 2008' by the audience of travel Industry delegates and Investors.
Founded in 2007, the company is based in St Albans, Hertfordshire and has plans to expand within Europe and selected international markets in 2010.
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