After 40 years of flying professionally in the military and in my business, shame on me for waiting nearly 10 years to write a column on the advantages of using aircraft charter services for business travel.
My thanks to the folks at Wisconsin Aviation in Watertown, president Jeff Baum and business development coordinator Jim Quinn, for their help with this article.
Let’s begin by identifying four age-worn myths about air charters, compared with commercial air travel (the airlines):
1. It isn’t cost-effective.
2. It isn’t safe.
3. It isn’t fast.
4. It isn’t as safe from a terror attack.
I should hasten to say that many TEC (The Executive Committee) companies whose sales are in the range of $10 million or less use air charters to reach their most important customers or their most important prospective customers. They will tell you that the first step is the most difficult one: picking up the phone to call a charter service and obtain the details. After that, they seldom look back.
Let me also put to bed the issue of “stigma.” Some CEOs worry what their customers, employees and bankers would think if the company’s cash was being spent on a “frivolous” air charter. Nothing could be further from the facts or the truth.
Worth every penny
Let’s say you need to get yourself and three other employees from Waukesha to Grand Rapids, Mich., for customer meetings that you estimate will require at least six hours on site. A check of current commercial carrier schedules shows that you can leave Mitchell Field at 6:50 a.m. and arrive in Grand Rapids at 8:30 a.m.
A return flight that same day leaves Grand Rapids at 3:20 p.m. and arrives in Milwaukee at 3 p.m. Assuming you would want to be at the Grand Rapids airport one hour before the plane leaves, this would leave about five hours maximum for your customer meetings. Unless, of course, you stay overnight. In that case, a 7:15 a.m. departure the following morning would put you back in Milwaukee by 6:56 a.m. Based on current pricing, the cost for the four of you would be about $1,360. If you stay overnight, add about $300 for lodging and meals.
Instead, you decide to charter a twin-engine, six-seat airplane from Wisconsin Aviation. You’re picked up at Waukesha County Airport/Crites Field and park your vehicle within sight of your charter. You’re airborne within 15 minutes, and in Grand Rapids about 45 minutes later. You stay as long as you like, and return that afternoon at your convenience. Your round-trip will cost about $1,120, or about $240 less than the cost of the commercial flight.
If you consider the added productivity of the time not lost by your employees due to the one day out-and-back (or simply their pro rata compensation for work hours not missed), you will easily record additional savings.
The safety factor
Accident rates for charter services nationwide don’t differ from those
for major air carriers. Charter aircraft, in fact, are subject to the same maintenance inspection intervals as the major airlines.
Likewise, charter pilots are held to the same medical and flying proficiency standards required from airline pilots. Finally, in-cockpit instrumentation and avionics technology on charter aircraft are not materially different from the technology used by the majors.
When slower is faster
It’s true that “miles per hour” speeds in the air are slower on charters. But you won’t have to put up with long security lines, long walks from the parking lot, delayed flight departures because of traffic congestion, and so on. In fact, a charter doesn’t need a major airport from which to operate, so access to the aircraft is faster and far more convenient.
For example, commercial airlines service only nine airports in Wisconsin. However, charters service 109 Wisconsin airports. Southeastern Wisconsin alone has instrument-rated airports for weather purposes in Milwaukee (Timmerman), West Bend, Waukesha, Watertown, Juneau, Racine, Kenosha, Burlington, East Troy and Janesville.
Terror threats less of a problem
The risk of explosives or a terrorist hijacker is nullified by the fact that on a charter, all passengers know each other. Most airports, from which charters operate, are surrounded by galvanized chain link fences. And security at the fixed-base operator usually includes a remotely activated ramp door system for limiting flight line access to authorized people.
Finally, consider one more factor involved in chartering an aircraft for business or personal use: the amenities that are included with the charter itself. Whether you’re renting a small twin or a larger cabin class aircraft, including a jet, seating comfort and “stretch” space outclass coach on most airlines. Surprisingly, noise levels, due to soundproofing, are quite low.
And cell phone use? Ask your captain.
You can have your choice of pressurized or unpressurized aircraft, depending on the length of your trip. Most aircraft are air-conditioned, and all are heated. Depending on the type of aircraft, you can specify a one- or two-pilot crew complement. Catering services are also included in your charter package.
Here’s a quick summary of when a charter might make sense for you and your company:
• When two or more people (ideally three) need to get to the same place together.
• When you need to make multiple stops the same day or over a two-day period.
• When you’re traveling to a destination not served by a major airport.
• When an immediate on-site customer response is required.
• When the need to get “out-and-back” in one day is crucial.
• When travel is within 600 miles of home.
Nothing is more convenient than air charters, unless you happen to own and fly your own airplane! Until next month, here’s to your first aircraft charter.
