By Jack Elliott
Jet Aviation guests on the dance floor of the yacht “Atlantica.”
Jet Aviation-Teterboro wanted to find a spectacular way to say “thank you” to their customers.
“We wanted to do something nobody had ever done before,” said John Langevin, senior vice president and general manager. They found it.
They took 174 guests on a dinner cruise on the Hudson River past the brightly lighted skyscrapers of Manhattan, certainly one of the most breathtaking sights in the world. In addition to the nighttime Manhattan skyline, there were great views from the yacht of all of Manhattan’s famous bridges—George Washington, Verrazano, Manhattan, Brooklyn and Williamsburg.
One of the highlights of the cruise was the Lady in the Harbor, the Statue of Liberty. The “Atlantica” pulled up right in front of her, standing proudly on her pedestal, bathed in light. It was a view of the grand statue that couldn’t be matched.
Guests enjoyed a cocktail hour with delicious hors d’oeuvres, followed by dinner and dancing. Everyone went home with a goody bag, and 45 people went home with gifts they won with the raffle tickets handed to every guest after they boarded. Those gifts included baskets from Rudy’s Inflight Catering and Corporate Air Services, tickets to the New Jersey Symphony with limo service, a bottle of Don Perignon champagne, items from Snap-on Tools, as well as dinners at local restaurants and rooms in major hotels.
At debarkation, every woman received a red rose and each guest received a bottle of German Piesporter Michelsberg. One passenger leaving the vessel with a gift basket said, “It weighs at least 50 pounds!” For him, and quite a few others, the party didn’t end when they left the boat.