Private Jet Business

This week a fellow member of the Business Aviation Network group, of which I am a member of on Linked In, posted an article on Private Jets.  You may be interested in reading the article yourself and if you are, here is the link..... Private Jet Business Prepares to Take Off .

I posted a comment after I read the article and I have posted it below for you as well.

As our country becomes more deeply involved in the new "class" war, which stems from Washington, D.C. and is now trickling down through the masses.......it certainly doesn't help with understanding the real usefulness of the "private" or "corporate" jet. I was amazed when congress jumped all over the auto makers for having corporate jets. I would have thought that the congressmen would have been a little more understanding of the value of these time machines. Especially with major corporations that live in an extremely competitive field.

We live in a world where the global economy drives the very life blood of our countries economy and these time machines, or corporate jets, make it all possible. And substituting them for a commercial flight is not even an option in most cases.

This is most certainly the case for a US business, doing business in the Asian part of the Globe. I am reminded of a computer business man in Texas pulling up to a corporate jet in the late afternoon...taking off and doing his work on his computer, answering emails and using the Internet. He has dinner and goes to bed in the aircraft's stateroom. He wakes up, takes a shower, gets dressed and has breakfast. The airplane lands in China and off he goes to a meeting where he seals in a multi million dollar deal. He goes back to the airplane and takes off. He has dinner and then its off to bed again. He wakes up, takes a shower, has breakfast and when the airplane lands he is off to work again.....back at the main office.

Try and do that with a commercial flight. It just doesn't work. The productivity of the key decision makers and deal makers of our countries businesses.....which creates jobs for Americans.....is totally made more efficient because of these time machines.

But this message of the key role, importance of and the understanding of these "private" or "corporate" jets, needs to be made clearer with the general public and apparently our law makers as well. The economy of the US is in great need of a boost.....and until the problem of sustainable employment is answered, we will slide further behind other world economies that are growing.

The corporate and private jet is a tremendous tool to get things done and done more quickly. And the purchase, sales, completions and refurbishments of these aircraft creates more and more desperately needed jobs. And having an airplane with Internet connections, printers, conference areas, telephone service and TV........makes the aircraft an extension of the office. This offers the executive a non stop and productive work environment.

A commercial flight however is nothing but a waste of very valuable time. And in this economy, we need the advantage of capitalizing on the very precious commodity of time, when ever we can.

Thanx for posting the article, as I did enjoy it. But some how we need to get the general public educated and perhaps that would have to start in Washington, D.C. first.

Because it is obvious that the private and corporate jet are seen as toys and not tools. That perception needs to change!  (End of comment)

Working in this business has obviously given me a different perspective of private or corporate jets, than what the general public perceives.  In fact I can recall three business trips that really opened my eyes as to the value of a corporate jet.

The first trip I walked out of the hangar where my office was located and got on board a Lear 60.  We took off and flew to Baltimore, MD where I met with a client.  We picked out carpet, leather and fabric samples for an upcoming project, talked for a while and then I got back on board the airplane.

After what seemed like a very short flight I was back in Hartford, CT.  And....it wasn't even lunch time yet.

On another occasion I boarded a King Air 200 and we flew down to Virginia to discuss some upcoming interior work that we needed to have done on a couple of BBJ’s.  After a tour of the facility and a meeting with the owner of the facility, we returned to the airport and got back on the King Air.

On that day we had quite a good tail wind and our trip back was so fast.  I was shocked as to how fast that trip to Virginia turned out to be.  And I have taken similar trips via airlines, to destinations that were comparable.

And the final trip was the best.  I had been going back and forth from Hartford, CT to San Antonio, TX via airlines for several months and each one way trip was at least a half of a day.  And by that I mean I would leave at o’dark thirty in the morning and with the time zone change I would get to San Antonio around noon.  And coming back and crossing the time zone in the other direction I would leave San Antonio around noon and get to Hartford around 10 PM.

But on this occasion we walked out of the hangar and got on the airplane.  We flew in almost a perfect straight line back to Hartford and pulled up in front of our hangar and it was still day light.  The flight time was at least one hour less than the airline…..but….the environment along the way was totally different.  And.....no connecting flights, baggage area frustrations or airline security lines.

We actually got some work done…..had a snack or two…..walked around the cabin in our socks and it was a very productive flight.

Well in the corporate world…..corporate jets rule.  They are like time machines.  Productivity is maximized and everything that you need to continue doing business is right there at your finger tips.

Yeah there is a cost to it…..obviously….but when you consider the multi million dollar deals…or even billion dollar deals that results from some of these corporate trips…..it is so worth it.

And today in our economy…..we need more corporate airplanes going to work and capturing more commerce for the USA.

So in our opinion…..hurray for private and corporate jets!!!!  And of course….they need a functional and well planned interior!

Oh and P.S.......we obviously need the airlines and they do serve a tremendous purpose.  But in a fast paced business arena......nothing beats a corporate jet!

Be safe and see you back here soon!