Tag: empty leg flights

Size matters when its a Private Jet Charter

Posted on by rbaliatico

size matters                                                                                                                                                    Size matters when its a private jet charter. Luckily there are a lot of jet sizes to choose from when it comes to selecting your charter. They start in the category of very light jet all the way to a Boeing Business Jet that is the size of a commercial airliner. Today we will take a look at the entry level of the 4 categories in the air charter world, the very light jets.  Since there are many in this category, we will discuss 3 of the hotter very light jets. It really comes down to what the mission is and how many people will be aboard. It also can have a lot to do with who will be flying. Sometimes the CEO will need his or her own space away from the travel group, and then only certain jets will do. Or the trip is for a large group and the seating capacity will be the main priority. Cargo space may be a deciding factor for a golfing weekend or a fashionista with an entourage of luggage. There are also various cruise speeds and the range flown without a fuel stop to consider. All in all, the process of choosing the right jet for a charter can be simple or at times very complex, especially on a multi-leg tour. Let’s look at the Very Lights this week.

Very Light Jets – Size Matters

 

very light jet
By Kentaro Iemoto – Cirrus Vision SF50(N280CJ), CC BY-SA 2.0

The Cirrus Visionjet has a capacity of 7 passengers including crew with a max operating altitude of 31,000 ft. Its max cruising speed is 305 knots true airspeed (ktas) with a max takeoff weight of 6,000 lbs and 1400 lb payload. The plane has a max range of 1,275 nautical miles (NM) with an average flight range of 950NM. The jet has some very interesting features like its “Safe Return” autonomous feature, where the plane could fly itself if for some reason the pilot became incapacitated during the flight. It would be able to fly at the correct altitude, maintain the proper speed, and even land itself all at the touch of a button. The plane has an iconic V-tail design and is powered by a Williams International FJ33-5A turbine engine with Full Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC). The flight displays are an expansive 14-inches and offer split screen tech for multi feature display. The jet has room for three of these displays allowing the pilot to check the status of all systems easily.  The cabins are very modular and they typically can have up to 28 possible seating configurations. The premium leather seating is what you would expect in a more expensive larger jet and the upholstery is first class.  I personally like the executive layout, but that will only have 2 passenger seats, room for luggage, and the pilot and co-pilot seats in the flight deck. The “complete” configuration is more common and will give you passenger seating for five but is more comfortable for four as in most very lights. The Cabin width is 5.1 ft and a height of 4.1 ft so you will need to bend over to get in or out of your seat as expected in these smaller jets. Like we said, size matters. You can expect to pay roughly $2,500 USD per hour to charter the Cirrus Vision Jet.

eclipse 550
By TheSkunk – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0

The Eclipse 550 Jet has the capacity of 6 passengers including crew with a max operating altitude of 41,000 ft. Its max cruising speed is 375 ktas with a max takeoff weight of 6,000 lbs and a lower 636 lb payload. This plane has a max range of 1,125 nautical miles with a very efficient twin-engine jet fuel consumption of only 59 gallons per hour. It also comes equipped with FADEC which translates into reduced pilot workload. It is powered by twin Pratt & Whitney PW610F turbofan engines that are specially designed for the point to point travel of the new generation of private flyers. Pilots enjoy an advanced Flight Management Systems with benefits such as enhanced situational awareness, electronic charts and maps, display and control of the aircraft systems, and integrated autopilot control panel. The interior has the feel of a luxury suite with ergonomically designed seats with ample space to store your luggage. The cabin width is 4.6 ft and the height is 4.2 ft so a little narrower than the Cirrus. The 550 will typically have a $2,850 USD per hour rental rate within the range for these very light jets.

private jet
By Michael Pereckas – HondaJet, CC BY 2.0

The Honda HA-420 Jet has the capacity of 7 passengers including crew and a max operating altitude of 43,000 ft. Its max cruising speed is 420 ktas with a max take off weight of 10,600 lbs and a 547 lb payload. The plane has a max range of 1,206 nautical miles with a sleek design resulting in reduced drag at higher speeds. It has a very prominent over-the-wing engine configuration setting it apart in this class. The jet is powered by twin GE Honda HF120 turbofans developed under the GE-Honda partnership. It is a low wing monoplane that has a composite fuselage and aluminum wing. The typical flight deck features the first touchscreen controlled all-digital glass integration with the Garmin G3000 avionics system. The cabin is 5 ft wide with a height of 4.8 ft. It feels a lot bigger when you are seated inside for sure which comes from its cutting edge combination of co-cured integral structure and honeycomb sandwich structures. The leather seating in the cabin is wide and ample for larger passengers, can be moved inwards for better headroom and shoulder space, and has an executive feel. The HA-420 will typically be a bit less expensive these days at a $2,400 hourly rental rate as the newer more expensive Honda Elite Jet becomes more widely available.

Of course there are many more options to choose from than just the aforementioned trio. Offerings from Cessna like the Mustang, the Citation M2 and the Cessna Citation jets all require a mention here and are very popular choices. They are great planes in this category and are definitely tried and true. The three we featured are a little more bold in style and appeal to the newer gen set becoming jet set. Next week will will look at the workhorses of the light jet entries in our charter world.

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*These are base hourly rates per craft type with no ferry times, FET taxes, taxi time, or fuel surcharges. Typical final hourly rates will be higher based on category and timing.

The 50 Hour Guideline, what is it?

Posted on by rbaliatico

50 hour guideline, flying private                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 The 50 hour guideline for flying private.

 

 

 

What a crazy week we just went through.  A rare November hurricane, Hurricane Nicole, ripped through central Florida and its Atlantic coast causing more damage to a state still in the throws of recovering from the devastation hurricane Ian caused. The dramatic midterm election has kept politicians spinning their defeats while we ponder the ramifications. The good news of a cooling economy CPI figure led to a nice market rally only to see the crypto world implode via the newly announced bankruptcy at FTX. The FTX sponsorship sign on the crown of the Miami Heat arena came down faster than its creator fled the Bahamas, supposedly in a private jet.

Well luckily in the private aviation world this all disappears as soon as we hear the familiar whirr of the Jet engines that help us leave it all behind as we depart for our next adventure. This week we will discuss The 50 Hour Guideline. If you feel you will prefer or have the need to fly private, it is important to take a look at how many hours per year you are likely to fly. If you plan to fly more than 50 hours per year you may want to look into either owning a jet or, more likely, investing in a fractional ownership of a jet. If you plan to fly fewer than the 50 hour guideline, then the world of private air charter and the many features it offers will be the optimal choice.

I define the big players in private air charter industry as companies owning and operating 80 or more planes on their respective books. Many of these (8 companies by my last count), are the ones you are probably most familiar with and see advertised all the time. Some are public companies, some plan to be public companies, and the rest are still private. They all typically have ever-changing flight memberships like jet cards that usually park your dollars towards future private flights. Perks vary, and hourly rates are for the most part, subject to change.  The most important decision for you is to choose the right tool for your flight missions. Many of you are new this type of travel and are being propelled into it by our recent Covid-19 pandemic. The good news is you have many options to find the right company to do business with. Some companies are charter brokers, and some are charter providers with very big operations using their own planes.

A company like ours specializes in what is called an empty leg. These are the one-way flights many operators list for sale with a specific plane travelling between two specific locations and are often at a discounted price. The better companies, like ours of course, have contacts and relationships with many of these private air charter operators so we can string together one-ways to give you roundtrip capability, or accomplish multi-leg missions. Many times we utilize both for these multi-legs, so we can save you money with an empty leg or two combined with a regular air charter agreement to get the job done.

The good news is when you charter a plane you can decide the schedule, who travels with you, and where you are flying to. There are more than 5000 public use airports in the United States compared to only about 500 commercial, giving you greater flexibility in your travels.  Then you decide if you want to work directly with an operator which can be limiting since it will depend on the size of their fleet, the size of the planes they have, and their typical destinations. The good thing is that these companies will be operating under the FAA Part 135a rules as we discussed in prior posts. There are also a lot of brokers that work as the middleman to get you flights. Some of these are quite large and prefer not to own their own planes. They will instead have affiliate programs with multiple 135a operators, which will give you more options than with stand alone charter operators. Our company acts more like a client representative or advocate, helping you manage all your private aviation needs. Although we have our contact list of preferred operators, we keep your options open to provide the best price-value ratio we can find. We do all this while keeping your anonymity to make sure the operators don’t price based on your financial status or fame.

There are many types of aircraft to choose from and we will discuss them more later. Often the aircraft decision will be based on the distance of the flight and the number in your travel party. Some shorter flights can be easily accommodated by a prop plane such as a King Air, but some clients tell us that isn’t the way they think of private air charter telling us props are for boats. We try to keep an open mind, and make suggestions of all suitable craft so you can decide how to spend your hard-earned money.

The industry is a bit complex and, quite frankly, there are many options to choose from when it comes to your private jet provider.  You have the smaller firms pushing Jet Cards, and bigger ones touting special memberships. Some are good and some are bad, but the one thing I can say for sure is that whatever type of offer you choose you can expect it to change often. We often see hourly rates go up, or changes in the amount of taxi times, or lately the dreaded fuel surcharges being added. For the most part, you just need some good advice and help along the way to navigate these turbulent waves. Once you find that person or company you can really start to enjoy private jet travel.

We rely on our flyer profiles to know who you are and what you do in life. We make sure we fully understand the type of private air travel you need and whether its for business or pleasure or a little of both. Pricing can be quite the shock for the first timer. Many think for a couple of bucks more I can move from flying business or first class to flying private. Some want to just buy the seat in a private plane with others looking to do the same. That has some advantages in price, but its far from being private. We feel its all relative and sometimes you have to put the price into perspective for the clients. The most important thing is to build a good synergy with the company or person handling these flights and inquires for you. The relationship you build can save you thousands if not hundreds of thousands of dollars annually.

We will broadly step into the common aircraft types and what missions they’re best suited for in next weeks post. Then in future posts you can expect to see some detailed aircraft reviews and outlooks as the industry changes.

Until then, Be Social, Fly Private! Sign Up Today!

 

 

 

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