Private-jet set wise up to sky-high price scams
In an era of ultra-wealth, reports of shady billing related to private-jet travel are on the rise
More than R75,000 for mystery sushi. Nearly R100,000 for plastic cups. And more fuel than the plane could possibly hold. Such are the deceptions stinging the billionaires and mere millionaires of today's private jet-set class. In an era of ultra-wealth, reports of shady billing related to private-jet travel are on the rise. It says as much about this era of hyper-wealth as it does about modern-day fraudsters. So much money is sloshing around that, inevitably, crafty operators are seeking a slice, trying to help themselves to what they figure is a mere rounding error to a billionaire. About a third of private-jet owners are worth more than $500m (R7.2bn), according to a 2018 report by VistaJet and Wealth-X. Some fraud attempts are almost comical. One jet owner found himself charged £4,000 (about R75,000) for 240 sushi boxes apparently served on board his jet while it was empty, according to My Sky, a company whose software helps scrutinise and manage private-jet costs. Another was ch...
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