What you are about to read is a particular ‘rece’ (as the Barbone, Matteo Rainisio, likes to call them). Because it’s the reportage of a couple of flights carried out not with a ‘normal’ commercial carrier, but with a company that defines itself as ‘semi-private’indicating how the flight experience I am about to tell you combines elements typical of any airline with others more similar to those that would be found on a private jet.
The company
The company it’s called Aero, it has its base at Van Nuys airport, in the northern part of the metropolitan area of Los Angeles, Californiafrom which it flies (from 2021) a fleet consisting of five Embraer ERJ-135 regional jets and from their VIP derivative Legacy 600, verse half a dozen destinations: Aspen, Las Vegas, Sun Valley, Palm Springs, Napa, Park City and Los Cabos (the only one outside the USA).
Van Nuys Airport
Van Nuys is the third largest airport in the United States for flights operated by executive jets. And the reason is easy to say: located at the beginning of the San Fernando Valley just beyond the Hollywood Hills for those coming from Los Angeles, it is located about twenty minutes by car from Beverly Hills, Bel Air and other areas of the city where there is a very high concentration of millionaires and billionaires. For example, it is closer and easier to reach, starting from those neighborhoods inhabited by rich people, than Los Angeles International Airport. And it is able to guarantee greater privacy to those who use it compared to the large international airport which is located about forty km further south.
The reservation
In reality, I had already been in contact with the company for a few days. The tickets were given to me as a gift, ma (and this is one of the points of contact between Aero and the ‘normal’ commercial companies) they can be done online on the carrier’s website by paying by credit card. Being able to choose a destination of my choice, a few weeks before I had opted to fly to Aspen as that was the longest route within the United States operated by Aero. And this would have given me more opportunities to fully explore the product and service on board.
He concierge 24/7
Shortly after receiving confirmation of my itinerary, I was immediately contacted by the concierge service (forget it, on ‘normal’ airlines, unless you fly in La premiere of Air France or in some other super-exclusive cabin of the same level), who asked me if you had any preferences regarding food & beverage and if you had any food allergies or intolerances.
From the same service (which is active 24/7) I was informed about the exact location of the terminal, of the free car valet existing at the private lounge that Aero has set up at the Van Nuys airport and to introduce myself no less than twenty minutes before the departure time of my flight.
At the airport
So, on a splendid sunny Californian morning, I showed up at the address given to me by the concierge, in the south-eastern corner of the airport. Instead of 20 minutes, I arrived an hour early, again to explore (but also to enjoy) the elegant lounge that the company makes available to its guests.
Two hundred square meters overlooking the apron, about thirty meters from Aero’s all-black jets and divided into two spaces: a living room area furnished with armchairs and sofas, beautiful lights and low cocktail tables e an area dedicated to food & beverage which, for breakfast, offered croissants, juices, a coffee (with Nespresso machine), tea and champagne, but no hot option. Since I had eaten eggs and bacon an hour earlier at the hotel restaurant, I had an encore breakfast with a couple of croissants accompanied by a glass of Veuve Clicquot Champagne (the same one that I would find a little later on board too).
In the elegant bathroom, all the items normally found in Business or First Class amenity kits on commercial flights were available on a trolley. (eye masks, earplugs, dental kits, combs and brushes, hand and face lotions, lip balm and lip gloss).
Boarding
Circa fifteen minutes before departure time, an employee (wearing an elegant black skirt suit) entered the lounge to announce that the plane was ready for passengers to board and he accompanied us to the ERJ, where the pilots welcomed us on the runway at the foot of the steps. Once on board, the two flight attendants (a stewardess and a steward) accompanied us to our seats.
The safety briefing was given by the stewardess as we taxied towards the north end of the Van Nuys runway and Within ten minutes of closing the doors we were in the air, turning immediately left towards the Rocky Mountains for a flight lasting just under two hours.
With such a light passenger load and virtually no baggage, the ERJ felt like a rocket, reaching its cruising altitude of 37,000 feet (as I was able to see later on Flightradar24) in about twenty minutes.
Seat and cabin on Aero’s ERJ-135
The ERJ-135 is an aircraft that is normally configured by airlines with 37 seatsi, in a layout that includes three seats per row (1-2). Aero has installed only 16 of them, in eight rows 1-1 with a window and aisle available to every passenger.
The distance between the rows It’s not huge but it’s still equal to that of a very ‘generous’ long-haul Premium Economy or a First Class, as Americans understand it on their domestic flights: 43 inches or 110 centimeters.
Upholstered in Italian leatherwith the table that comes out of one of the armrests and in anthracite colour they give a perhaps a little too ‘business’ tone to the cabinwhich however is made more lively by mood lighting and more spacious fromabsence of overhead bins.
At the end there is a customized bathroom with toilet, sink and lights.
Food & Beverage
While we were still climbing, I examined the leather menu I found in the pocket of the seat in front of me to find that Aero organizes its food and drink service on three time slots: “Daybreak”, “All day” and “Afternoon”.
The airline serves on board dishes prepared by the iconic Erewhon delicatessen, the Dean & De Luca in Los Angeles, for those familiar with New York.
From the “Daybreak” menu, I chose an avocado tartine which was served in a lovely Erewhon branded box accompanied by berries, a slice of cake and another glass of champagne.
The service
Before breakfast service began, they were distribute warm towels. Then the flight attendant took out my dining table from the left armrest of the left seat chair and placed it on a white cotton placemat. As the food and champagne arrived, it was delivered to me a white linen napkin and designer steel cutlery. At the end of the meal, I was presented with a basket of assorted snacksideal for the remaining part of the flight.
Wifi on board Aero
Aero has no in-flight entertainmentif you exclude the breathtaking views of Canyonlands National Park that I was able to enjoy along the way. But it offers free wifi using the Starlink satellite platform. The web connection was so powerful and reliable that I could easily navigate a ‘challenging’ site like Flightradar24 and enjoyed a Whatsapp video call with my wife who was sitting in our living room in Milan, about 6,000 miles away.
Land in Aspen
The descent to the Aspen Pitkin County airport was ‘ballistic’ but intriguing. Apart from the spectacular views of the surrounding mountainsI could see on Flightradar that in the last five minutes of the flight we made a 270° left turn to align with the runway. And a few seconds before landing we flew to what I guessed was no more than 2-300 meters from the crest of a hill.
Pitkin County Airport, serving Aspen, it is known for its ‘difficult’ conditions linked to poor visibility, rain, snow and winds of variable directions. And Aero is, along with Skywest (which operates on Aspen with its CRJs on behalf of United Airlines and Delta Airlines) one of only two companies authorized by the FAA to operate scheduled passenger flights here.
Once on the ground, we bypassed the small passenger terminal and parked among the private jets parked in the southern part of the apron.
At the airport in Aspen
At this point I entered the lounge dedicated to Aero passengers in Aspen, waiting for the flight back to Los Angeles. Small and a little dark, it was not at all up to the level of the one I had enjoyed a couple of hours earlier in Van Nuys. However, it had comfortable seating and a variety of food and drink options, including champagne.
The return flight
Nine passengers were headed to Los Angelesafter a weekend spent in the most famous and expensive tourist destination in the whole of North America: seven humans and two medium-sized dogs. Aero describes itself as the most popular airline pet friendly and I had proof of this while boarding in Aspen when the two dogs, on a leash, boarded with us, then easily found a place on the floor of the cabin in the space between the seats. On the way back to California I also noticed that the on-board menu included ‘Biscuits and morsels’ dedicated to ‘man’s best friends’.
Food & Beverage
For humans, the “Afternoon” menu was available with a choice between a plate of assorted mezze (the typical Arab ‘tasters’) assorted (rather exotic, on a flight between Colorado and California), roast meat with purple sweet potatoes and Brussels sprouts salad and roasted salmon with kale, white beans and avocado salad.
I chose the latter (also packaged by Erewhon), which to my surprise was served to me at room temperature, but it was still very good (slightly pink in the central part), accompanied by a glass of Napa Valley Chardonnay (which is one of the seasonal destinations served in the fall by Aero).
While I was eating and enjoying the view out the window (I never get tired of the canyons), I noticed that most of my travel companions (I mean, humans) preferred something to drink and a snack on the three main courses. Which surprised me, also considering that those two hours of flight were sold on the company’s website for 2,300 dollars per person.
Blessed are they
But, once we landed in Van Nuys, Aero COO Mikael Pelet explained to me that “the majority of our passengers regularly charter private jets to get around. When he flies with us, he chooses us because on the routes we serve we offer extra services, because we allow dogs to travel in the cabin and because, in the end, we cost him less than a private jet. In short, for them flying with us is an everyday thing.” Blessed are they.
In conclusion
If you ever fly to California for a special occasion, a ‘ride’ on Aero’s private quasi-jetsperhaps to one of their seasonal destinations like Napa or Palm Springs (which have affordable prices) or to spend a few days in Mexico, it will make your trip even more special because then you aren’t flying with anyone.
