Thank you for checking in. I’d say that overall the experience was positive. However, I’ll get straight to what I think could be improved on: The booking process. I feel like it should be smoother, easier, or simpler to book a flight. There was a lot of back and forth between e-mails and phone calls with Jettly staff. I think it would be ideal if the process can be done from the app, without feeling like I’m a travel agent. If the process can be almost as simple as booking an Uber, I can literally guarantee you that you’ll get more bookings - not just from me, but especially from people younger than I am. There has been a lot of new wealth generated in the under 40 and under 30 crowd, from the crypto ecosystem alone, in these last 2 years.. I’ve seen it with my own eyes. Those people tend to like technology working smoothly, and with apps. They’ll pick the travel option that is the most friction-less, even if it means it’s a lower quality service. I think the booking process has too much friction, as I experienced it. The worst part of the booking process was that about 12 hours before the flight, when it was 1:30am local time and I was trying to fall asleep - I’m notified by Jettly that the operator said the plane will not depart unless I send a wire as the payment, which was shocking. Until that point, I was operating under the assumption that payment was via my AMEX card. I scrambled, half asleep, to make an international wire from my Chase account in the US (and got a horrible exchange rate to get the Euros I needed) to a Hungarian bank account, then had to send proof to Jettly, which then forwarded it to the operator. That was unpleasant and clunky, and I almost didn’t make the flight because of that - which would have caused me great embarrassment with my friends, as well as all sorts of logistical problems with our travel schedule. Ok, this next one is a bit awkward for me to bring up, but I should definitely bring it up as it was quite unpleasant. Before I begin to describe this, it may be helpful to know that this flight was a sort of ’special event’ that I did not only for myself (it was the first jet I chartered in my life) but for 3 friends of mine. I paid for it and organized the entire trip, and it was essentially a gift to celebrate and entertain my friends and have a good time together. So anyway - when we got off the van that delivered us from the private jet terminal at Budapest over to the aircraft, the pilots were standing by the aircraft waiting for us with smiles. So far so good. I noticed quickly that the pilots were making eye contact with my friends instead of me, the customer. I was made to feel like I was an afterthought - when in my mind, I should’ve been the main person they communicated with or *at least* be treated as respectfully as my friends. Since I didn’t want to start the trip off with a bad gut feeling, I decided to just pretend that didn’t happen.. even though it did. So then, I got on the aircraft. Then during the flight, the co-pilot came back to where we were seated - twice, to make sure everything was ok, and to ask if there was anything he could do for us (cabin temperature or whatnot). On both occasions - he made eye contact with all 3 of my friends, and looked back and forth at them multiple times with a smile, asking multiple times how he could be of assistance - while ignoring me - and I was clearly sitting in between, so it was quite obvious that he was avoiding me. At this point, it was clear to me that it was blatant discrimination. I was being completely ignored by the co-pilot, and my friends were being treated as the customers, not myself. This was absolutely not what I was expecting. If you’re wondering if my appearance has anything to do with it, it might (not that it would justify that behavior) - I have a big hipster-style beard, which I noticed is not common in eastern europe. My 2 male friends are shaven, and one friend is a Ukrainian lady. My 2 male friends are 6 feet tall, both with a nordic appearance (very white skin, blonde/light hair, blue eyes), whereas I’m 5’5”, hazel eyes, brown hair, a little tanned - I look more southern European than northern. As for clothing, I was the best dressed, along with the lady… so clothing could not have been an issue. I’m not quite sure if this behavior is normal or acceptable in Hungary, but it really was unpleasant. I’m not used to being discriminated against, and certainly not when I’m paying for such a premium service. I got the sense that the pilots didn’t know (or didn’t care?) that I was actually the customer, and my friends were tag-alongs for this flight. I understand that *technically* there was no breach of contract, and nothing that pilot or co-pilot did was against any regulation. This is more of a complaint of simple manners, decency and respect. Even when I shook the co-pilot’s hand, he looked off to the side - that’s a disrespectful sign when you shake someone’s hand, as everyone knows. You’re supposed to look people in the eye, and he did for my friends - just not for me. A friend of mine jokes that me having a beard makes me look like a Muslim, but that’s simply not true - I have a brown beard (not black), and fine thin brown hair, not thick dark hair. I am not sharing this story because I expect some kind of reprimand of the co-pilot. After all - if we went that route - then I would be hesitant to ever fly out of that airport again, in case I end up with the same co-pilot. At the very least - that operator is now blacklisted in my mind, due to that co-pilot. I don’t see any need to ever fly with such an individual again. I also don’t expect any special treatment from anyone - I just wanted to be treated the same as my fellow humans (my friends on the plane). To add insult to injury, I was the oldest of the 4 (I’m 42, friends were 39, 36, 36) and it’s a basic universal concept to show respect to the older folks in a given social group. Now, switching gears- yes I’d use Jettly again, and yes I’d recommend it to a friend. I would say that besides the disrespect from the co-pilot, everything was a great positive experience and things went very smoothly. I want you to know that I won’t let this unfortunate experience muddy my perception of Jettly. I really am at a loss for suggestions as to what to do about the pilot mishap. I can’t say he violated any part of the contract. However I felt like my humanity was violated, it was really not a good feeling and certainly not one that I’m used to. When I think about it now, it still upsets me. I know this is probably not exactly the feedback you were looking for, but this is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. I look forward to knowing your thoughts. Thanks, Mirko
