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How long has ATL been in business? Does ATL have a Part 135 charter certificate? What criteria are used for pilot recruitment and training? How can I use private air travel to help my business? Download the following a printable format - Utilization Strategies (pdf) Key Employee Travel Out-and-back day trips are
increasingly common. “We leave
as early as 4:30 in the morning,
whatever it takes. We very much
prefer getting up early to arriving
home late or having to go the
night before. It’s common to go Business aircraft commonly are used by senior managers to:
The practice of transporting customers can:
Connection-Maker The use of business aircraft to augment airline travel is equally common at both ends of a trip, for employees and customers. Connections to international airline flights are particularly common, as are connecting to long airline flights from communities without any scheduled airline service. Business aircraft can facilitate hub flexibility – the ability to
choose among several airline hubs to secure the most efficient
schedule for the passengers. Airline flights that are cancelled, booked or otherwise unavailable can trigger the use of business aircraft to enable a connection. Business aircraft can rescue passengers who miss airline connections. Long layovers can trigger business aircraft use, as can a schedule emergency. Helicopters are frequent connection-makers, particularly in areas of high population density. Management Teams Management team travel is the
most common use of business aircraft. Management teams have a substantial aggregate hourly value to their employers. The combined costs of air services, employee travel time (door to door), and other trip expenses (such as hotel, meals, rental cars, etc.) often compare favorably to airline travel between second-tier cities or rural locations. When the value of employee time is considered along with the
value of productive time enroute
and non-business hours away from
home (family time), the comparison
of business aircraft travel
versus public transportation often Some progressive companies have or are installing conference facilities in corporate hangars to facilitate off-site meetings. Corporate hangars also are being
equipped with transient manager
offices which can be used for
private conversations, study, or
sending and receiving Humanitarian & Charitable Flights The humanitarian and charitable use of business
aircraft is surprisingly common and, by design,
largely unpublicized.
It includes:
Many companies regard their fellow employees as customers. Management visits to them are just as important as regular “customer” visits. Aside from those, customer visits via business aircraft can be used to:
Attraction & Retention of Key People Attraction: The greater the distance, and the more rural the recruiting base, the greater the apparent benefit and impression conveyable through the availability and use of company aircraft. Anything that helps motivate key employee recruitment is critical. The value of the first impression left on a prospective employee is very important. The use of business aircraft rapidly establishes credibility. Companies make regular flights to universities to recruit graduating students. Retention: The use of business aircraft for commuting or other personal travel can be negotiated as part of a personal services contract. Extra, “no-cost” passengers can fill empty seats as a reward to high-erformance employees and their families on certain trips scheduled for business reasons, although this type of travel may be taxable as personal income to those passengers. A company philosophy that stresses family-friendly scheduling – reducing non-business hours away from home through the use of business aircraft for efficient day trips – can be very attractive. A surprising number of goodwill flights seem to be flown, typically very quietly, to facilitate employee medical treatments.
Sales and marketing blitzes can be of nearly any scope and duration, depending on the stamina of the participants and their families. They can be highly efficient and concentrated direct selling opportunities. Because they’re time-efficient, participants are able to spend more time in the office and less time in airports. In some companies, business aviation is the prevailing method used to get senior officers into a specific marketing territory to visit customers and vendors. Because time is so limited, multi-day trips facilitate maximum exposure in a limited time. Sales and marketing blitzes can intensify seasonally, during new product introduction cycles, for IPOs or investment/ investor swings, downturns in the economy or following a restructuring. Potential customers and distributors also can be the target of multi-day trips.
Work enroute is the rule rather than the exception aboard business aircraft. Meetings are common and occur
naturally, a by-product of proximity
and the onboard environment.
Aircraft often are designed to
include conventional air-to-ground
or satellite phones, fax machines,
power for laptops, tables for
spreading out large documents and
face-to-face club seating in a private Depending primarily on cabin size, aircraft often are used as offices on the ground, particularly internationally. Briefings and strategizing and practice
sessions before arrival commonly The enroute office also is used for
product preparations, demonstrations Passengers can carry more aboard business aircraft than they can on the airlines, including sensitive materials. Employee work agendas aboard business aircraft initially are ad hoc. With practice, they evolve to become planned, and then are institutionalized
Corporate shuttles are not aircraft-type specific; companies use whatever works best for a particular mission. Shuttles are not always permanent, often operating for short periods for specific projects or start-ups. Some companies fly to customer (rather than company) sites every day. Middle level and technical staffers are the most common passenger ranks. Flight frequencies can vary widely, from hourly to monthly, depending on need. Internal company marketing of the service is critical to its success. Shuttles are sensitive to commercial competition, which can be a more economical alternative. A key determining factor is aircraft utilization. A waiting aircraft provides little benefit to the company. A full, flying aircraft can provide great benefit. Shuttles are most appropriate for larger companies with decentralized operations and facilities, or for companies with repetitive tasks, such as safety checks, management reviews, ongoing employee training or a need to make airline connections from rural locations.
The attractiveness and potential of new geographic markets is limited in part by physical access to those markets. The practical range of business aircraft
can open potential new markets,
including international ones, and
provide dramatically improved access Market expansion is facilitated as much by attitude as access. Business aircraft, because they can facilitate access, can lessen or remove perceived barriers to the management of new markets. Prospecting within new markets is the first step, often for potential local business partners. Business aircraft sometimes are used to facilitate meetings that take place at a half-way point into these new markets. A new class of business aircraft with non-stop ranges in excess of 7,000 miles is making access to global markets practical and common. Almost every flight on business
aircraft has an element of
market expansion in it. Production/Engineering Teams Engineering teams are commonly dispatched to rural or remote areas to:
Business aircraft can:
Other trip types include:
There are approximately 80 business aircraft flights daily flown to Europe, Asia or South America. A surprising number of the aircraft used for this purpose are small to mid-size jets. Many companies transport management teams internationally for multi-city visits, some covering dozens of cities over multiple weeks. Given the limited airline service in some regions, this can be a highly efficient practice. Business aircraft commonly are used to feed passengers into international airline connections. Canada, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean are the most frequent destinations for U.S. companies. For many, these markets are closer than acrosscountry U.S. markets. Emerging markets – both as potential suppliers and customers in China, India, Russia, etc., are of increasing interest.
Emergency customer service flights (i.e., the “Corporate Fire Truck”) are commonly triggered by machinery malfunctions, lack of parts, natural disasters, accidents, medical situations, or a lack of customer knowledge. The first line of defense is expert personnel commonly flown in to troubleshoot. Emergency customer service is a highly valued practice that can always be available as the only priority that will “bump” a CEO off company aircraft. Hurricanes, floods, tornadoes and other natural disasters often result in emergency crews flying to the site to assess damage and aid restoration efforts. One ancillary benefit of sending company aircraft on customer service missions is that additional personnel can be added to assist in remedying the situation at no additional transportation cost to the company. Rapid response can have other
uses aside from traditional customer
service. For instance, a
potential customer is unhappy
with a supplier, and he wants to Business aircraft can be used as replacement transportation for an important customer’s cancelled commercial flight. Business aircraft also are used as an emergency backup for normal expedited shipping channels. Company attorneys, photographers and insurance personnel can respond rapidly to an accident. The availability of emergency customer service is a significant selling point to some customers. Sales support: Travelling to a job site of a customer who doesn’t understand how the product works. The prevention of production line service interruptions often is avoided through the timely delivery of expertise or parts. Business aircraft use can indicate an unusual level of support via a demonstrated sense of urgency for a customer. Many companies consider their most important customers to be internal and use their aircraft to improve their performance. This would include the use of aircraft to facilitate employee or dealer and distributor training. The visibility of company personnel, increased through the use of business aircraft, can improve company perception. Whether scheduled, on-demand, or emergency customer service, the marketing of the availability of the service should be part of company sales strategy. Some companies use aircraft only for customer service; some never use them for that purpose. Proactively, warranty service on production installations and construction projects can require scheduled visits.
Personal safety and industrial security often are critical motivators favoring business aircraft use. Personal safety takes on additional dimensions in certain international environments. Security and maintenance personnel routinely accompany some flights to certain countries. The privacy afforded by business aircraft can shield passengers from uncontrolled public exposure. The ability to conduct business without being scrutinized by fellow passengers – limiting possible industrial espionage – is critical. The anonymity afforded by business aircraft – travel is less visible than it would be through the use of public air carrier airport terminals – also can aid industrial security. The content of all baggage and cargo is known and controlled. Depending on the weather (including acute winter weather), flying is definitely safer than driving on icy and snowy roads. Many companies sponsor yearly safety audits of their flight departments. For these and other reasons, by corporate policy, some senior managers only can fly aboard company aircraft. Business aircraft routinely are used in international settings because of foreign airline safety and security concerns.
The versatility of aircraft makes them ideally suited to tackle multiple missions. Flights with separate missions per passenger are common. The value-added contributions of business aircraft are limited chiefly by management’s imagination and skill at integrating their potential with the organization’s goals and objectives. This is most effectively realized through deliberate, in-depth
consideration. |
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