The New First Class

 
Security concerns first gave a boost to the charter flight and private aircraft markets after 9/11. Few people felt completely safe in commercial airports, which were now crowded with people waiting in longer lines than ever before. But reasons to avoid commercial flights go past terrorist fears and hating to take off your shoes for customs agents. Convenience counts for a lot: make your own schedule, skip the line-ups for check-in and security, and never travel with strangers. As the allure of easy business travel continues to draw customers, charter flight operators and aircraft manufacturers continue to draw more business. Canadian jet aircraft maker Bombardier estimates that almost 10,000 small jets will be sold worldwide between now and 2016.

In Winnipeg, the jet set best knows Airport Business Park South. Businesses along the park’s Hangar Line Road include charter operations and aircraft management and maintenance services. Some of the country’s and the world’s most recognizable and powerful people have had at least a glimpse of it, from Brad Pitt to oil-rich Saudi sheiks. Earlier this year, a privately-owned 747 heading overseas from Los Angeles stopped at the Esso Avitat station for refueling.

“It’s like a hotel for aircraft,” says the station’s manager, Bert Marks, who offers services such as deicing and refueling, and hangars for private and chartered aircraft. Walls in a staff area at Esso Avitat display about a dozen signed pictures from past visitors including Mötley Crüe, Sting and Patrick Swayze.

But Marks says that after a surge in charter and private flying over the last six years simpler folk easily outnumber the stars arriving at his station. Greeting about 400 to 500 flights a year, Marks won’t talk about most of his customers. “There’s a reason they’re called private aircraft,” he says.

OWNING A BUSINESS AIRCRAFT Bert Marks of Esso Avitat makes a guess that about six businesses or individuals in Winnipeg own a business jet, but private passenger aircraft abound, counting planes with turboprop and piston-driven engines. None of them are cheap. Fast Air is selling one of its piston engine Piper Navajos for about $225,000 US. They have another plane, a turboprop Beech/Raytheon King Air, selling for almost $2 million CDN. Entry-level in the jet-powered aircraft market starts at about $5 million US. And there are no warehouses filled with King Air turboprops or Dassault jets to pick the right options and have the purchase done. Depending on the model you choose, you can wait up to two years for delivery on a new aircraft. After that, owners usually contract out to aircraft management companies that cover maintenance, pilots and storage. A CHEAPER ALTERNATIVE A new class of plane on the market since last year, Very Light Jets (VLJ) can carry four or five passengers and use shorter runways than bigger business jets. Weighing in at less than 10,000 lbs (4535 kg) and starting at around $1.5 million US, they carry an appeal that goes beyond convenience. “A jet goes a little bit higher, a little bit faster,” says Marks. “It’s a little more prestigious.” SHARING A PLANE For the frequent business traveler, fractional ownership might be a viable alternative. In a fractional ownership program, businesses buy a share of a plane like you’d buy into a time-share condominium. In Canada, Airsprint offers the deal across the country. If the plane you share isn’t available, they’ll send another.

But registration, pilots and maintenance cost hundreds of thousands of dollars on top of the millions spent on a plane. Charter flyers, such as Elmer Hildebrand, president and CEO of Golden West Broadcasting, get the same benefits for less. Hildebrand uses Winnipeg’s Fast Air Executive Aviation Services to complement commercial services he still uses.

“The security and lineup hassles are gone,” says Hildebrand, getting fed up with the public airport terminals. “It doesn’t matter where you’re going—even a one-hour commercial flight means an hour at the airport before you leave and again when you arrive.

“I fly to Saskatoon sometimes, and Air Canada and West Jet are notorious for having flights going to the same place at the same times,” he says. Needing a route less traveled by others, Hildebrand appreciates transportation that fits his schedule to the minute. He can make departure and arrival changes as needed, and frees valuable time for the work of business travel.

“Chartering doesn’t necessarily save money, but factor in the time and the hassle and it can end up costing less,” says Hildebrand.

“Right after 9/11, for sure there were safety concerns,” says Fast Air’s Dylan Fast, recalling a surge in business starting late 2001. Since then, longer waits to accommodate tighter security on commercial flights give a tangible excuse to avoid commercial flying.

“People are seeing it more as a business tool,” says Fast, whose 12-aircraft fleet makes about 50 flights a week for a couple hundred clients. “There are customers who fly every week, and other who fly once a year,” says Fast. They fly alone, or with as many passengers as the plane is registered for. Fast’s aircraft hold between six and 11 passengers.

For a return flight carrying five people to Minneapolis on a Saturday, Fast gives a quote of just over $6,000. North West Airline’s online booking gives a price of around $600 US per seat for a return trip on Saturday, October 8. “It can be more cost-effective,” depending on the distance traveled, time at the destination and number of travelers, says Fast. “But often it’s for the sake of convenience. It makes everything easier—parking and arrival, check-in, security. Leave when you want, come back when you want and you’re always flying with people you know.”

The big airlines still haven’t learned to deal with new pressures they face. According to a story in the National Post, Air Canada missed its June on-time target and lowered the target for July. Flyers who value their time peace of mind, and who’d like the chance to shake the pilot’s hand, can’t help but notice. “As complications with the airlines go up, we’ll get busier,” says Fast. “I can see us getting two more aircraft in the next six months to a year.”