Copyright (c) 2008 Dan Pimentel
Without your own aircraft and an expensive pilot's license, the only
way to avoid the airlines and still travel by air has been private
aircraft charter. And today, nobody needs to be reminded how
frustrating it can be to fly by commercial scheduled airlines. The
check-in delays, security hassles and overbooking have caused customer
complaints to spike in recent years, causing more passengers to search
for an alternative to air travel.
When we think of chartering our own aircraft however, what comes to
mind are busy executives, Hollywood stars and politicians jaunting
around the globe in multi-million dollar business jets that can cost as
much as $6,000 or more per flight hour to rent. There are less
expensive fractional aircraft ownership alternatives available on
luxury turboprop aircraft such as the Pilatus PC-12, but the cost of
these shares is still out of reach of many middle income travelers and
small business owners.
Recent advances in today's composite general aviation aircraft like
Cirrus Design's slick SR-22 Turbo G3 have pushed the performance
envelope of smaller four passenger aircraft far beyond what was
imaginable just a few years ago. The SR-22 has a maximum cruise speed
of 219 knots true airspeed (252 miles per hour), but is usually
operated more closer to 220 miles per hour. Compared to your
Grandfather's old plane that lumbered along at 125 miles per hour,
modern luxury four-seat aircraft can seriously shorten trip legs and
make multi-city day trips possible.
Realistically, very few people afford to fly by expensive aircraft
charter. But what if the fares for private air charter ever dropped to
a price point that was affordable to all of us? By flying the Cirrus
SR-22, one charter network is now flying business and pleasure flights
for under $500 per flight hour for the whole plane.
Stratus Alliance is a network of independent, FAA-certified charter
operators strategically placed around the country that is capitalizing
on the efficiency of the SR-22. Stratus Alliance is able to book
"destination direct" charter flights for up to three passengers per
flight to small municipal airports within their service area, which
includes the East Coast and Texas.
The new secret weapon of these new charter travelers is the use of the
smaller airfields surrounding every city in the land. When the
competition is stuck at the gate while the airline tries to decide if
they should cancel their flight, a traveler on a chartered SR-22 will
have already launched for a flight to a small airport just a few miles
from where they need to be. When other travelers are trapped on the
tarmac awaiting departure, the people who arrived on a chartered SR-22
will have already finished negotiating a couple of morning deals.
More people are discovering the affordability that comes when flying
single-engine air charter, and industry experts predict this new
single-engine charter model to blossom into a nationwide powerhouse.
Right now, medium-sized corporations can only afford to fly their upper
management via private air charter, while their sales, technical,
engineering and support personnel must roll the dice and put up with
the undependable schedules that comes with flying commercial. As more
of these companies realize they can now get their key personnel on site
quickly with a "moment's notice" flight, we'll begin to see a whole new
level of competitiveness evolve.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/travel-articles/todays-
efficient-private-aircraft-makes-air-charter-affordable-424362.html About the Author
Author Dan Pimentel is an aircraft owner and
private pilot, and owns a creative
studio in Oregon. He frequently writes about lifestyle,
business and aviation topics at his blog, World of Flying. Click here to read
about the air charter network mentioned in this article. |
