I recently flew to Knoxville, TN, from the New York metropolitan area, a trip I made numerous times in 2013. But this flight was different. I was in the company of eight individuals on board a business aircraft—more precisely, a Falcon 900. Flying time was about 90 minutes.
During my aviation/aerospace journalism career—most recently as editor-in-chief of Aviation Week & Space Technology—I got the opportunity to travel on a business aircraft once or twice a year. My most memorable experience was a flight on a Hawker 800 from Dubai to Kabul, Afghanistan in 2009.
The trip to East Tennessee was my first on a Falcon 900. The cabin was spacious, with its 6’2”-high ceiling and 1,260 or so cubic feet of cabin space. Sound levels were very low. Also impressive were cabin amenities clearly designed for discriminating travelers.
What struck me more than anything else, however, was that some of the business executives who accompanied me arrived at Westchester County Airport—our starting point—less than 15 minutes prior to our scheduled departure. It was a stark reminder of just why business aviation is a no-brainer for professionals across industry whose goal is to be as productive as possible, especially when traveling on business. The sheer aggravation of flying commercially nowadays is bad enough. However, the huge amount of time wasted clearing security, boarding, and occasional push-back delays due to equipment malfunctions adds up to a great deal of lost productivity. And it seems to be getting worse because of the substantial capacity airlines have taken out of their fleets to increase revenue per available seat mile.
For the return trip to White Plains, we arrived at Knoxville’s Tyson-McGhee Airport literally minutes before we were required to board. The Falcon was airborne about 10-15 minutes later. Our ability to utilize business aviation—the aircraft was acquired through fractional ownership—allowed us to conduct non-stop meetings until we absolutely had to leave for the airport about 40 minutes prior to takeoff.
As my travel companions and I discussed some of the cutting-edge manufacturing technologies we would see when we arrived at our destination, I thought about the drubbing that business aviation has received in the popular press and from disingenuous, grandstanding politicians. Perhaps the most public vilification occurred when the three CEOs of the Big Three domestic automakers flew to Washington, D.C., to appear before the House Financial Services Committee in 2008. Their mission was to appeal for a $25-billion federal bailout.
All three were harshly ridiculed for traveling via aircraft owned by their companies. Ford’s Alan Mulally was the only CEO who pointed out that he had used the aircraft for the purpose for which it was intended.
Some industry observers have claimed the media spectacle was a missed opportunity to educate skeptics about the value of business aviation. That assessment is still relevant today. The vast majority of companies who utilize business aircraft could do a much better job of helping to put its value into accurate context—value that has been well documented in business-productivity studies. Instead, most companies seem more comfortable keeping their business aircraft invisible to all but those with a need to know.
More expressions of courage of conviction would be a welcome trend.