Flight canceled? Here's how you can fly out of N.J. for $9K

A few passengers are willing to pay to bypass the commercial airline hassle and use a private jet to escape the storm. Watch video

TETERBORO -- The blizzard has forced the cancellation of more than 2,000 weekend flights at airports in New Jersey, New York and Philadelphia, stranding hundreds of thousands of frustrated travelers.

It will likely take days for most passengers to get flights out of the area.

But, a few passengers are willing to pay to bypass the commercial airline hassle and use a private jet to escape the storm.

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Private jet operators flying out of Teterboro, Westchester and other small airports say they were able to get flights out of the area Friday night. More flights are expected to depart as soon as the snow lets up Saturday night or Sunday morning.

JetSmarter, a private plane sharing service, said it has private jets poised to leave from New Jersey and New York Saturday night with passengers bound for Miami and Los Angeles.

"People fly private for convenience, and this becomes evident when it's hard to fly in or out of a location, as we have seen with Winter Storm Jonas," said Sergey Petrossov, chief executive officer of JetSmarter.

JetSmarter members pay an annual fee of $9,000 for unlimited private plane flights on certain routes. Membership also allows travelers to charter their own private flight for an additional fee. This weekend, the service is offering free flights to stranded members and new members in New Jersey and New York.

Other private jet operators said they will begin flying again out of Teterboro as soon as the weather starts to clear.

Several commercial airlines, including United Airlines, said they hope to begin flying again Sunday at Newark Liberty International Airport and other area airports. But, about 50 percent of flights scheduled to depart from Newark Sunday have already been canceled.

Nationwide, more than 6,500 commercial flights have been canceled for Saturday and Sunday, according to FlightAware, a flight tracking service. That includes more than 2,000 flights that were scheduled to depart from Newark Liberty, John F. Kennedy International Airport, LaGuardia Airport and Philadelphia International Airport this weekend.

Most commercial airlines are allowing passengers to switch to flights later in the week for free.