Five-Star Forward

With 19 Base locations nationwide, an industry-first partnership with Forbes Travel Guide (FTG) and a growing Flight Concierge Department, Jet Linx continues to redefine luxury in private aviation client service delivery.

When Missy Kemp accepted a position with Jet Linx ten years ago, she filled an entirely new role as the first-ever Client Service Specialist. Kemp, now the company’s Director of Five-Star Service, recalls that when she started, there were few documents to guide a growing team in standards of service.

“When I was hired, there were only three Jet Linx Bases,” Kemp explained. “My role had just been created and there were no documented processes to outline client service expectations or evaluate job performance. Since then, Jet Linx has come so far and the role has changed so much; and we’re on a completely different level now through our Forbes Travel Guide partnership.”

The introduction of Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star service training standards in late 2019 led Kemp and her team to redefine the core responsibilities that define a Flight Concierge; a conversation that then led to a change and restructuring in the department as a whole. Kemp’s deep understanding of the Flight Concierge position and what type of support would most benefit teams has played a vital role in reshaping the position and department structure.

“Historically, a local Flight Concierge would take care of an entire trip from start to finish, including both administrative and client-facing duties. That can be a lot of pressure, not to mention a lot of time and training needed to perform both functions at a consistently high level,” said Kemp. “In an effort to create a better experience for members and aircraft owners, we envisioned a team at the National Operations Center (NOC) that would free up time for local teams to focus on offering truly Five-Star service. Our centralized NOC team now handles quoting and scheduling, allowing local teams to remain focused on offering industry-best service to our clients.”

Much of the work of reorganizing the Flight Concierge Department revolved around the redistribution of responsibilities to offset administrative burdens created in the flight planning process on the local Base level. The most notable outcome emerged with the addition of Ryan Lemmon as Director of Centralized Services. This new leadership role alleviates pressure for local teams, as Lemmon takes responsibility for managing contracts, vendor relationships and other administrative duties formerly allocated to the Base level.

The Jet Linx client experience begins before you board, with our local Flight Concierge teams
attending to every detail and staging your cabin with preferred amenities, food and drinks.

“This strategic reorganization ensures more support for our team and our clients,” noted Lemmon. “Base Flight Concierge teams will continue to be led by Missy, with an enhanced focus on Five-Star service instead of administrative tasks. With a reduced workload and a narrower focus, local teams now have the luxury to fully pursue standards set forth by Jet Linx in partnership with Forbes Travel Guide.”

With a decade of experience in building client service teams from the ground up, Lemmon remains eager to provide Jet Linx clients, as well as team members, a more seamless experience, such as working with IT to resolve technology issues that hinder communication and service delivery. He will conduct his work from the NOC and will oversee a growing centralized Flight Concierge team in quoting, scheduling, and other logistics of Jet Linx member and owner flights. Additionally, Lemmon will manage performance, expenses and contracts of third-party vendors.

“When I can support our local teams and and our centralized Concierge group can cover administrative duties, the speed of service is going to increase, resulting in an improvement in terms of the experience we’re able to offer on a consistent basis,” explained Lemmon.

With Lemmon now installed at the NOC, Kemp can turn additional attention to local efforts that provide the most engaging, efficient and effective client journeys. Kemp will also assess client feedback, liaise with Base leaders to ensure Five-Star standards are met, conduct on-site service standard assessments, provide input on performance evaluations and collaborate with both internal and external partners to design additional training programs for Jet Linx Personal Flight Concierge at Base locations.

“With Ryan on board, I’m able to provide more support and training to local teams,” explained Kemp. “When I can focus on Five-Star standards and Ryan can focus on quoting, scheduling and logistics, it’s a win-win. Our FTG training is ongoing, so service will not only be consistent, but continually improving in terms of efficiency and speed.”

The start of the new year saw a revived travel schedule for Kemp, traveling across the country to support local Jet Linx teams and offer extra FTG training that was interrupted due to the pandemic. Kemp assures that this new direction will allow team members to dig into their roles and specialize in important service aspects of the position. Local teams will no longer be stretched as thin, and Kemp says this will result in enhanced facilities, more in-depth client relationship building and a more consistent and focused experience.

“Essentially, our clients should feel like they’re entering a Five- Star hotel; we have top-of-the-line coffee and espresso machines on-site, and teams that have been trained to scrutinize every detail,” Kemp said. “We’re also aiming for a more concierge-level experience, where our teams offer local knowledge and recommendations for dining and accommodations.”

While Jet Linx Flight Concierge teams have always efforted to provide the best experience in private aviation, the changes to the department and specialization within roles will serve to sharpen service delivery. “These changes are an important part of our Five-Star future,” Kemp concluded.