Opening Up the World of Private Jets
Taking advantage of the benefits of private jet charter lets you recapture the spirit of what flying should really all be about, and will totally suit your convenience, says HUGH COURTENAY Chief Executive of Aviation Consultants International Air Charter.
By the 1960s, regular scheduled flights around the world for holidays or pleasure were an everyday reality, yet the high price of flying in those days kept flying glamorous. The very phrase ‘jet-set’, meaning the set of wealthy and fashionable people who frequently travelled by air, was coined around that time and says it all. Flying was glamorous in those days.
The reality of travel by scheduled airline today is a stark difference. Airline strikes are commonplace and limitations on luggage have recently, following security clampdowns, made you lucky if you can take much more than a toothbrush and a paperback on the flight.
On all types of scheduled flights you need to check in up to three hours before your flight takes off; you spend much of that time queuing and then very likely discovering you’re in the wrong queue anyway. When you’re finally on board you’re likely to find yourself sandwiched between strangers with all manner of delightful attributes, from sharp elbows, to territorial claims to the armrest, to flesh spillage into your personal space, to a fondness for eating extra-strength garlic.
There is very little to choose from between today’s Airlines. They all basically fly similar aircraft, offer the same journey times, similarly disappointing meals and equally insincerely-smiling air crew, they mainly compete over tiny differences in leg-room, as if somehow these mean that you’ll really have enough space for your legs when you’re sitting down.
The very phrase ‘scheduled flights’ says it all. What airlines actually mean by this is that the flights suit their schedule, not yours, even assuming the flights actually take off on time. If your meetings or other arrangement don’t coincide with their schedules, well, that’s just your bad luck.
Even First Class isn’t that great; it arrives at exactly the same, possibly inconvenient, time as Business and Economy, and the amenities are rarely up to much. Very often all that really happens in First Class is that you get a better meal, a glass of Champagne on take-off, more leg-room, and pay through the nose for it.
The question is, what’s the alternative?
In the face of the increasingly disappointing experience offered by scheduled airlines, private air charter is a tremendously attractive alternative, and by no means as expensive as you might imagine.
With private aircraft travel, all the rules are different. You can expect; indeed you’re entitled to, every one of the following benefits:
- You choose your own schedule
- Devise your own itinerary
- Choose from a wide range of new generation jets
- Select a stress free local Airport
- Depart from dedicated private jet terminals
- Use dedicated private lounge facilities
- Enjoy a 20 minute check-in
- Minimal baggage restrictions
- Fast-track security screening
- Customised first class catering
- Fly with people you know
- Limousine drop off and pick up service
Private jet charter is possible because of the vast array - to newcomers a surprisingly vast array of private jets around the world that would be otherwise standing idle if private jet charter companies were not making use of them. These jets are owned by corporations, governments and private individuals and run by Operating Companies. Private jet charter companies employ a variety of techniques, my own company International Air Charter, uses a powerful and unique software system ‘CATS’ Computerised Aircraft Tracking System, to search, locate and monitor availability of private aircraft around the globe for our clients, along with the experienced aircrews and in-cabin service from specialists dedicated to the industry.
The great benefit for our client, is that as an Aviation Consultant, we are not tied or committed to having to use a specific operating company who may only have one or two aircraft in their fleet. We can select the most suitable and appropriate aircraft for our client, from the most convenient base location at the best price. And we do this worldwide, 24hrs!
Flights themselves are arranged by experienced and professional aviation consultants, who have substantial contact networks and offer a truly personal service. The essence of private jet charter is this personal service: you get to fly when, where from, and where to whatever best suits your convenience. Private jet charter is, in every sense, a truly personal, tailor-made flying service.
Indeed, a really good private charter company can arguably offer you an even better service than you’d enjoy if you actually owned your own jet. After all, your own jet may not always be precisely where you want it to be, has to undergo annual maintenance so is unavailable for a month, and in any case it’s a terrifically expensive luxury.
Ad hoc private jet charter is quite simply the best way to travel, and the cost is by no means as high as you might imagine: it typically works out at around twenty-five percent more, per person, than the price of scheduled First Class. But for busy, successful people working in demanding industries or just wanting to have a really great start to a well-deserved holiday, the price premium can seem trivial compared to the great convenience and all the benefits charter offers.
It’s not surprising, really, that more and more people are finding they don’t need to be Wall Street’s Gordon Gekko to conclude that in today’s aviation world, scheduled flights are for wimps.
Hugh Courtenay is chief executive of International Air Charter, Gable House, 239 Regents Park Road, London N3 3LF Tel: 020 8897 8979 E: sales@privatejetcharter.com www.privatejetcharter.com
For further information please contact:
Alison Wressell
Marketing Manager
International Air Charter
Tel: 020 8897 8979
E: alison.wressell@:privatejetcharter.com
www.privatejetcharter.com
Copy prepared for web © January 2011