Classic Vacations Adds Private Jet Charters With New Luxury Experiences Program
A dedicated team of destination specialists will help travel advisors plan complex itineraries, from custom African safaris to expeditions in Antarctica.
Photo: Ramon Kagie / Unsplash
Classic Vacations has launched a program that lets travel advisors book private jet charters through the company for the first time. Called Luxury Experiences, the program also gives advisors a dedicated team to help put together trips that span several destinations or involve multiple suppliers, from custom African safaris to expeditions in Antarctica.
The program, announced Nov. 11, expands a portfolio that already includes hotels, flights, car rentals and experiences. Advisors can now request private villas and residences, arrange expeditions in Africa and South America, and work with specialists on custom itineraries in destinations such as Iceland, Morocco, and the Nordic countries. Classic says it plans to add rail journeys, river cruises, yacht vacations and trips focused on wellness and longevity.
The new Destination Experience Managers work with Classic’s existing reservations agents. Advisors can submit a request through the company’s website or contact their usual reservations agent with a client’s brief. The agent and destination specialist then build the itinerary together, drawing on the specialist’s firsthand knowledge of the region and relationships with local suppliers.
Classic coordinates the bookings and handles payment, and its team can assist the advisor if issues come up during the trip. The advisor remains the traveler’s main point of contact throughout planning and travel.
“Luxury Experiences broadens the range of journeys advisors can arrange while giving them access to expert resources,” said Vijayeta James, chief commercial officer of Classic Vacations.
Jon Bennett, the company’s newly appointed global head of Luxury Experiences, leads the program. He brings more than 26 years of travel industry experience and previously led luxury travel operations for Abercrombie & Kent in the U.K., Italy and Croatia. The initial team includes Laura Demaria, based in Europe, and Liesel van der Rheede, based in South Africa. Classic plans to hire additional destination specialists as the program grows.
“Understanding a destination firsthand is essential to creating truly customized itineraries, and this new offering allows us to make even the most complex requests possible, taking our luxury expertise and service to a higher level,” Bennett said.
For advisors planning a trip with several moving parts, the change is that they can bring a single brief to Classic. A request that includes a private flight and a villa stay, for example, can go through the same reservations contact who would handle a hotel booking, with the destination team helping coordinate the suppliers.
