Posts Tagged ‘charter service’
Start-up Social Flights Predicts Cooperation With Airlines
“See, you know how to take the reservation, you just don’t know how to *hold* the reservation and that’s really the most important part of the reservation, the holding. Anybody can just take them.”
– Jerry Seinfeld
Investors in Social Flights include our dedicated operators, our loyal customers, our gracious parent company, and our visionary seed investors. So we pose the following idea with data to back it up:
Social Flights can fly non-stop service that carries bumped passengers to their intended destination on a private jet for less than the financial cost and social burden of federal penalties and traveler disruption.
This article furnishes FAA data showing that during the month of July – September 2011, a total of 12,516 people were involuntarily denied boarding (bumped) despite the fact that they held reservations. This does not include passengers affected by cancelled, delayed or diverted flights.
This number falls precisely within the scale, distribution, and unique capabilities of Social Flights. From FAA Air Consumer Report
Social Flights is a revolutionary tool that can help reduce the volatility in cooperation not in competition with the airlines by providing fractional scale capacity that is deployable with great speed, flexibility, and precision.
The presence of a Social Flights terminal at a large airport can provide an alternative for airlines to honor the reservations that their travelers hold. Once a group 8, 20, 30, or 50 bumped passengers from all airlines converge to a single location, Social Flights can initiate a non-stop flight. Airlines can often anticipate overbooking with substantial advanced notice. Likewise, an aircraft that only fills less than, say 50% of it’s seats can disaggregated into several component destinations to be deployed by Social Flights.
The ability to absorb volatility in the Commercial Airline industry using private and public charter service is an important asset to commercial airlines, private carriers, and most importantly, the traveling public. Social Flights predicts that the Commercial Carriers will soon see the benefit of cooperating with private capacity using the social aggregation tools of Social Flights.
The Intangible Value of Air Transportation
Many experts estimate that only 20% of economic impact is measured in financial value – rather, most of it is measured in intangible value. The work of visionaries in the areas of Intangible Value and the value of social networks are able to articulate value far beyond that which can be counted with money. Suppose these principles could be applied not only to corporations, but also to communities sharing an asset such as an airport?
In the race to defend valuable assets from the fiscal cutting room floor, communities are increasingly trying to define themselves in terms of shared community assets from schools to parks museums and even airports.
From: Worcester Telegram & Gazette – telegram.com.
State officials released a study yesterday saying that Worcester Regional Airport is a boon to the local economy, even though the airport has struggled for years and offers charter service through just one carrier. The study released by the Department of Transportation said the airport supports 418 jobs and has an annual economic benefit to the tune of $51.4 million.
The Intangible Value Drivers include the following questions for corporations, but this also applies to any community sharing a set of assets. From Mary Adams from her recent book Intangible Capital, she asks:
- How do you get paid (the key revenue categories on your income statement)? (strategic capital)
- What are the processes and knowledge/data that drive this revenue? (structural capital)
- What are the competencies that your people need to support this business model? (human capital)
- What are the key external relationships that make this model work? (relationship capital)
Apply these intangible principles to any community:
A community gets paid by their collective productivity – this is their strategic capital. In order to be productive, communities need access to markets and resources that support their productivity. The structural capital of a community includes their social processes and knowledge assets but also, their access to knowledge assets and data (stored value) of other communities. The community counts human capital in the skills that they collectively hold; entrepreneurs, trades, and social services, and education for example. Finally, strong and weak relationship capital includes the internal social fabric but also their external connections and associations.
All of these Intangible factors are directly tied to the ability for a community to travel and be traveled to. As such, travel assets, by definition, always return 80% ROI. If you lose one of them, you lose the other three.
The Massachusetts State Study found that overall the state’s 39 airports combined support more than 124,000 jobs and generate $11.9 billion in economic output annually.
If 80% of the value is in intangibles, one can argue that Worchester Regional is worth 250 Million and all 39 Massachusetts airports are worth 55 Billion in intangible economic output. The real connection being missed is the difference between the economic value that cannot be accounted for in existing service models. $250 Million dollars is a lot of air transportation for a region that always generates 80% ROI.
What many peoples fail to realize is the possibility that a community can operate their own airline. The regionalization of air service pioneered by Social Flights is a new concept that allows communities to own and operate one or more aircraft maintaining control over the schedules and locations where the aircraft flies.
Charting The Course For 2012
All of us at Social Flights extend our deepest holiday wishes to all the people who have supported us during this our Launch year. A lot has happened since February 2011. We thought we should report to you what has been accomplished and some new developments underway:
Over 13,000 people have joined Social Flights Traveler’s Network receiving unlimited access to the following services:
- Over 90 Private Charter Operators have joined the Social Flights platform.
- Over 500 aircraft are available in the Social Flights Virtual Fleet.
- Social Flights website can now deliver an instant auto quote under our “Create a Flight” option.
- Social Flights Allows you to embed our quoting feature in your website
- Social Flights Developed a full suite of Community Airline services for small cities that are losing – or never had – airline service.
- Social Flights allows members to create alerts to desired locations or invitations to join a flight formation.
- Social Flights assures privacy with our internal networking features which are never released to the public domain.
Beginning next year:
- Social Flights will expand scheduled public jet charter service through the community airline program to smaller markets and even “stranded” communities.
- Social Flights will expand one-way flight program from 100 per day to over 1000 per day
- Social Flights is building out the affinity travel and social jet charter service to include colleges, Sports, concerts, conventions, events, tourism, and family travel.
- Our Elite Travel Services division will initiate international social jet charter service between the US and China as well as Latin America.
To our Partners:
Our partner network is growing to include hotels, Concierge services, tour operators, marketing firms, Facebook page owners, event managers, and economic development agencies.
Our partner network will continue to grow to serve the traffic that we now steadily deliver hassle-free to your communities.
These are the highlights off the accomplishments this year and some insider information on what to expect next year.
If you are a traveler please invite your friends and colleagues to share a jet. If you are a community or event organizer, please keep in mind that we are here to serve you and your community travel needs. If you are a certified aircraft operator, let us help you increase utilization of your inventory. If you are a hospitality or experience service provider, please let us help you build travel packages around the freedom of flight.
Embraer Phenom 100 the Number One Business Jet in 2010
A January 17 press release from Embraer announces that Embraer delivered 100 Phenom deliveries in 2010 making it number one in most deliveries. That’s pretty impressive for a new aircraft that was only certified at the end of 2008, and especially taking into consideration the economy.
An excerpt from the press release:
One hundred aircraft delivered: more than any other business jet in the world.
São José dos Campos, January 17, 2011 – Embraer’s Phenom 100 entry-level executive jet was number one, with 100 deliveries in 2010. Together with the other airplanes of Embraer Executive Jets’ portfolio, the Phenom 100’s success is also reflected in the Company’s increasing market share, which is the fastest growing in business aviation in terms of units delivered.
“Its clean-sheet design, superior cabin comfort, amazing performance, low operating cost, as well as the jet’s great looks, have thrilled our customers,” said Luís Carlos Affonso, Embraer Executive Vice President, Executive Jets. “We are honored and thankful to our customers for their choice and confidence in the Phenom program and in the Embraer brand.”
Our delivery group at JetQuik, led by Bill Minkoff, has delivered 16 Phenom 100 and 2 Phenom 300 aircraft to customers in the US and Europe since October 2009. The acceptance and deliver process gets smoother with each delivery. Embraer is building great aircraft.
We are proud to be managing and operating two Phenom 100’s in charter service. They have gained good market acceptance with our charter passengers and are proving themselves as they get time in service.
Congratulations to Embraer for making a great entry level business jet. I look forward to seeing the Legacy 450 and 500 aircraft when they reach certification and production.
Niche Airlines Meet the Demand for Inter-island Travel in the Caribbean
As I write this I am returning from a two day trip to the Caribbean.
Our company works with small airlines leasing aircraft, providing maintenance support services, parts support and training. We do much of our business outside of the US.
I had the opportunity to catch a ride on one of our leased aircraft going to Tortola, BVI to swap out for another aircraft coming back to Tennessee for scheduled maintenance.
The aircraft we flew down and back were Jetstream 32 – 19 passenger turboprops, one type in a group of regional airline aircraft that will continue to work for small airlines around the world for years to come.
BVI Airways started a few months ago providing point to point service between Tortola and St. Maarten and Antigua. They also do charter flights to the other islands. The airline was started by three US pilots who have worked in the regional airline and air charter industry for most of their aviation careers. They saw an opportunity to fill an unmet demand for travel between Islands and took the leap of faith to start a small airline far from home. If you are going to start an airline it may as well be in a nice place like Tortola.
BVI Airways has an excellent business plan that allows them to be flexible with their routes as travel needs change with seasonality and times of the year when the islands have special events like carnival and homecomings.
After a short 14 hour visit to Tortola we flew up to San Juan PR and met with a startup airline, Lebar Air, that will be providing both scheduled and on demand charter service out of San Juan to the Dominican Republic and other islands within a 250 mile radius of San Juan. They share a similar business plan as BVI Airways but serve a different niche market of travelers.
As I think about these two operations and other operators we have gotten to know in the Caribbean, including operators in the Dominican Republic and Haiti, I see a group of small airlines that are meeting demand for point to point intra-island and inter- island travel which the major airlines and their commuter feeders don’t meet.These airlines are a cross between a scheduled airline and on demand charter operator with a nimble flexibility the big airlines cannot match. When you ride on these small airlines, the feel is much more like a charter flight where the pilots are talking to you and helping you with your luggage before you board. Islanders are used to this type of service and take small aircraft flights as a routine way of life.
From the perspective of the operators we work with, the economic outlook for Puerto Rico and the British Virgin Islands is good. Like the US, they have waded through the recession, but the allure of the islands continues to spur development of new hotels and resorts and all the support businesses that go with it. With new resort development and tourism growth come jobs and economic growth for the entire region. As more travelers come to the Caribbean from Europe, North America and South America the demand for inter-island air travel will grow.
These small airlines that meet the market demand are poised to prosper as they provide a very critical transportation component to the regions economic development.
I am a little jealous of these operators because they have a captive audience of travelers. You can’t just get in your car and drive from Tortola to Antigua like you could from Nashville to Atlanta.
The only complaint about the trip south was the lack of time to enjoy the white beaches and blue water. I think I could easily get used to the speed of island living.
The 212 MPH Taxi Cab
I like the idea of the taxi cab. When visiting large or unfamiliar cities, the taxi cab is my point-to-point machine of choice. They are quick and convenient. And besides that, they’ve provided some of the most exhilarating rides I have taken - taxis in Abuja, Nigeria, and in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, come to mind specifically. You haven’t lived until you’ve ridden in a taxi in Abuja, and on a trip to Philly a few years ago, like a true NASCAR racer, our taxi driver locked in behind an ambulance with flashing lights and sirens, drafting to get us downtown from the airport like he was on the track at the Pocono 500.
When most people think of business aviation, they visualize a nice eight to twelve passenger business jet with a luxurious interior of leather and fine wood. They think of galleys stocked with prepared gourmet meals and good wine. And, that is part of the industry, to be sure; but, it’s not all of the industry.
What about the 212 mph taxi cab?
Cirrus Design and their new generation aircraft – the SR-22 – has created a new market in business travel. Research on the Air Charter Guide shows over 40 charter operators across the United States operating Cirrus aircraft in charter service.
Why does the single-engine aircraft work in air taxi service today when it did not work prior to Cirrus? Perception and Reality.
Perception: Single-engine aircraft are (were) not safe because they only have one engine. What happens if the engine quits?
Reality: Cirrus overcame the perception with the reality of an on board parachute system as a last resort means to deal with engine failures and other emergencies. It has been tested, and it works.
Perception: Charter service on single-engine aircraft is unreliable since the planes can fly only in clear weather during daylight hours.
Reality: Prior to Cirrus, the single engine piston engine powered aircraft was only certified to fly under Visual Flight Rules (VFR – clear weather) and in the day time. With advances in technology and redundancy in electrical systems, Cirrus was able to certify the aircraft with the FAA to fly charter flights in Instrument Flight Rules (IFR – in the clouds) conditions, and to fly at night. This allowed a reliability of scheduling the air taxi ride in advance, with less worry about what the weather was going to be like on the day of the trip. This was the major game changer!
The innovation of single-engine air taxi in both aircraft design and service offering is part of the new productive and efficient way to do business travel. It may not be as glamorous and comfy as the business jet, but it is very cost-efficient.
So, welcome to the age of the 212 mph taxi ride! It may not be as flashy as the jet, but it beats waiting for gate announcements. Besides, it is a whole lot more fun and in no way scary like the taxi rides in Philly or Abuja.