A pandemic isn't so bad when you're super rich

When you fly with a commercial airline, you might come in contact with dozens, if not hundreds, of people during check-in, security, and boarding. But when you fly private, the number of interactions is significantly reduced. Private-jet fliers typically depart from and arrive at a private terminal, where they are joined only by security and their flight crew. Additional services, such as rapid COVID-19 tests and even private doctors, can be provided on-site. “This is impossible to replicate with a commercial flight,” Jaccard said.

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That kind of peace of mind doesn’t come cheap. Although short-haul private flights on a small, four-person jet can start at $6,000 to $7,000 one way, a transatlantic flight on a larger, 12-person aircraft can go for as much as $120,000 one way.

Over the past two years, private-island brokers and yacht sellers have also reported a surge in sales, owing in large part to the influx of affluent clients seeking to escape the pandemic by any means necessary. “Islands in the strong local markets have all basically sold out,” Chris Krolow, the CEO of the online marketplace Private Islands Inc. and the host of the reality-TV show Island Hunters, told me. Buyers can spend $1.5 million to $3 million on a small island, depending on the size and location, with bigger ones going for as much as $300 million. Size and location aren’t the main criteria buyers are worried about, though. “It’s telecommunications,” Krolow said. “It’s ‘Can I work from the island?’” Meanwhile, in the yachting world, Raphael Sauleau, the CEO of Fraser Yachts, told me that his business saw a 175 percent increase in sales last year after selling $1.7 billion in yachts, prices for which start at $2 million.

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