A casual scan of business aviation headlines these days will tell you there’s been a major uptick in the popularity of private jet charters lately. The most likely source of this activity is corporate execs who can no longer afford (whether for business or public relations reasons) to own private jets.
The overhead costs of maintaining corporate jets for upper management’s use is hard to justify in the face of so much negative press and multiple economic pressures. The often intangible benefits enjoyed by business executives with access to corporate jets is difficult to quantify in measurable terms. The expenses involved with owning a corporate fleet are much clearer, though, and as a result, corporations have been dumping their private jets left and right.
Corporate travelers, however, still need the expediency and flexibility that business aviation alone can offer. This has led many to choose private jet charters as an alternative to full or partial corporate ownership. Businesses no longer have to sustain an in-house flight department or maintain a fleet of corporate aircraft. Each private jet chartered is a justifiable expense associated with specific business goals, and is therefore much more acceptable to stakeholders.
Private jet charters offer customers the efficiency, convenience, and security they’re looking for without the overhead costs and bad press associated with corporate jet ownership. As a result, many reputable charter jet operators are growing rapidly, and smaller airports are beefing up their runways to accommodate the traffic.
Another great alternative to corporate jet ownership has emerged in flight club membership programs. These private jet charter companies offer high volume customers flat rates on their chosen size of aircraft. Flight time can typically be purchased in increments starting around 25 hours. In most cases, there are no blackout dates and the air miles never expire. Travel must usually be booked 24 hours in advance (2 weeks during holidays and peak travel times).
When private jet charter cards don’t offer enough flexibility, some companies are now utilizing aircraft management services. This option works best for businesses with very high demand for private flights, and who wouldn’t benefit financially from transitioning fully to private jet charters. In this model, corporations continue to own the aircraft, but they outsource the flight department and related services to a third party. This allows companies to retain the fleet as an asset without diverting the company’s focus from core activities.
