Private air travel is cool and affordable.

28 February 2018

Private air travel is no longer for the super-rich. It has become possible for private individuals and businesses to hire their own aircraft at a sensible cost but why would you pay for private hire in the first place. Time-poor executives and individuals are being treated as a ‘problem’ by the commercial airlines when they want to be treated as valuable individuals with limited time to spare.
How do you put a value on your time is really a fundamental question that needs to be considered by you and the people looking after your travelling arrangements. We all have a limited amount of time so we should place a premium value on it. This especially applies to executives and private individuals who need to optimise their time. A prime target for improving time productivity is air travel.
It’s a familiar story of time wasting which many of you will have experienced:

6am: Arrive at the airport two hours early or more.
7am: Booked in after security
7am: Executive lounge with all the other executives (limited privacy)
7:30am: Flight delayed
8:30am or later: Flight departs (little or no privacy, phone use or computer use)
10:30am: Arrive

This has used almost five hours and you have not done much.

What impact did 9/11 have on air travel? The 9/11 effect has been profound on the amount of time spent in airports and it looks likely to take even longer in the future. According to CondeNest Traveller in September 2016 the changes have been very significant and are being developed further in a lot of areas including:

Protecting the Aircraft – This means pilots locked behind impregnable doors for the entire flight. Unfortunately, a modern necessity.
Separating the ‘known’ travellers – This made a lot of people uncomfortable, as it seemed to put us on the slippery slope to unacceptable profiling techniques
Federalizing and professionalizing the screener workforce – Has to be a good idea to raise standards and improved the flow of people.
Upgrading the technology – Great idea especially for the scanners.

All of these things take time. However, with a private aircraft, you can arrive at your destination quicker, with less fuss, have privacy while you travel, and even have a word or two with your pilot. It is not a luxury but a good business decision.