Halfway through Winter 2016, many travelers are still leery of taking to the skies. The Weather Company gave their outlook for February and March as still under the thumb of El Nino, the strongest storm to hit our coasts in 18 years. After January’s blizzard assault on the East Coast and still a wet outlook for the West Coast, commercial airline flying may be best avoided until Spring. For travelers who can’t postpone their flight plans, there is an alternative that offers greater reliability, more flexible schedules, lets you skip the security line at major airports, and offers the space to be productive in flight: hiring a charter jet company.
Here are the top four features a private airplane charter has to offer:
- Access to more airports:
A charter jet company has access to over 5,000 public use airports in the U.S. alone, over 100 times the number of airports commercial airlines can utilize, allowing them to bring travelers closer to their end destination. This greater access also enables charter jet companies to provide more reliable flights due to their ability to locate close alternative airports when needed. - Avoid the mayhem at commercial airports:
Over 8 million people fly every day. The vast majority of them will fly through the major commercial airports across the U.S. The average business traveler reported taking 15 trips with a charter jet company in the past six months alone. Following airline guidelines to arrive two hours before your flight and assuming at least one hour to get out on the other side, that would amount to upwards of 45 hours saved from navigating airports with the other 8 million travelers going to and fro. - Space and privacy to get your work done:
Over 40% of airline passengers reported that the best improvement airlines could make would be additional legroom. Likely due to the cramped conditions on commercial airplanes, travelers reported an average drop in productivity while in flight of 40%. Charter jet company travelers, on the other hand, indicated they were 20% more productive in-flight than in the office. The majority of their time aboard the private airline charter was able to be devoted to work. On average, 36% of their time was spent in meetings, 30% completing individual work tasks, and the remaining time on leisure activities such as sleeping or reading. - Affordability:
Some private jet charter companies offer one-way flights as an added convenience. The result of this is empty leg charter flights the pilot is forced to take to connect with his next client. Business travelers who have some flexibility in their travel schedule can charter an empty leg flight to avoid paying full price for private charter jets. Empty leg flights can be up to 70% less than flights booked directly with the charter jet company.
There are a couple ways to find empty leg private jet flights. If you already work with a charter jet company, you can start by asking them if they have any deals available. Almost inevitably the company will have some private jet empty leg flights to fill. If none of the ones available meet your needs, there are online marketplaces and sites which will allow you to search for empty leg flights.
With over 2,100 aircraft charter services across the U.S., private jet charters are becoming more accessible and affordable than ever before. With the flexibility to fly on your schedule and abundant leg room allowing for productivity in the air, business and personal travelers could do well to consider chartering a private jet for their next flight.
