Aircraft Tool
Travel by Private Aircraft: Executive Perk or Valid Business Tool
As of late, the private jets of the auto makers have been in the news and presented in not such a good light. Perhaps there is good reason: when you come begging for money from the government, items that stand out as luxuries should be reviewed. Whatever you think about the particular companies involved, there must have been some business justification for the initial purchase of these planes. Are private aircraft really business tools? Can you really justify them? The answer is a yes, but qualified. Are they a good fit for a small business – that just depends.
Since September, 11 2001 the experience of airline travel has gone from mildly unpleasant to downright bad. This horrible tragedy forced onerous security requirements upon the traveling public, decreasing the utility while increasing the hassle factor and time required to travel. Then, with rising fuel costs airlines have made a desperate attempt to remain profitable by cutting service and schedules, increasing fairs, and charging extra for baggage.
When I earned my pilots license in 2002, I was planning on using small planes for personal travel. However, it became apparent quickly what incredible business tool this type of travel can be. How you ask? Simple, I have three clients in three different cities: Shreveport, Oklahoma City, and Little Rock. I am located central to all of them in a northern suburb of Dallas. In order to drive to see all of them, it would take me about 14 hours and 30 minutes to drive the round trip, not counting meetings and meals – impossible to do in one day. Want to take the airlines? Well, you will make the first meeting Oklahoma City at 11:00am, but you won’t reach Little Rock until 4:40pm, and then your arrival in Shreveport is at 10:10pm. You cannot get a flight back to Dallas that late, but of course that doesn’t matter since you aren’t likely to get a client meeting at 10:30pm anyway! With my 4 seat Piper, I can leave my house at 6:30am, spend an hour with each of my three clients, and be home in time to have dinner with my family at 6:00pm. Talk about a business enabler! Yes, a 12 hour day is long, but with no hotels, no security checks, and no waiting for baggage the experience is much lower stress.
How about cost? Everyone has seen the multimillion dollar jets, but I managed to accomplish the above trip with a $55,000 airplane – not much more than a nice SUV. If your company is willing to spend more, trips like the sample one will be quicker and longer trips will become feasible. Of course, acquisition price is only part of the equation – my aircraft has a fully loaded cost of $60 per hour to operate based on 100 hours per year total (the more you fly, the lower the per hour cost). So the example trip would cost me $405 regardless of whether I planned it 1 day advance or a month in advance. The same trip on the airlines with 1 day notice will set you back $1,427 plus 3 rental cars, and a hotel room.
Is this mode of travel right for you? That’s a question only you can answer, but instead of dismissing the idea out of hand, the scenario above should make you really think about it. Major corporations own business jets because they are a valid tool in certain situations. There are tens of thousands of private aircraft being flown daily for business, maybe your company would benefit by being there too
About the Author
Michael is the owner and principle consultant at Horizons Aloft, a consultancy that assists small and medium businesses to evaluate the value of integrating private aircraft into their operations and navigating all the requirements of flight training, purchasing and maintaining a business aircraft.
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