Plane Conversations

What is General Aviation?  Mainstream media tells you that it is toys for the super-wealthy, chariots for the elite, excess for pampered executives.  Our purpose with Plane Conversations is to tell you that mainstream media is (we’ll be generous here) mistaken.  

We’ve shown you how corporate flight departments along with personal and chartered aircraft can save on the actual hard costs of travel.  We’ve demonstrated the savings you can find on a balance sheet.  We’ve talked how, yes, these are sometimes the toys of the very wealthy who have worked for the privilege of aircraft ownership.  But, we’ve also talked about the small business owner who uses his personal aircraft as an essential business tool.  We’ve demonstrated how general aviation contributes to mankind, specifically, how private aircraft were used to move tons of aid and NGO aid workers into Haiti.  Now, we’d like to tell you a little about how general aviation contributes on the ground here in Middle Tennessee.  

In the May 2010 floods in the Nashville area, Smyrna Air Center collected and distributed clothes, food, cleaning supplies, even televisions to hundreds of affected families.   McKenna Saunders, Director of Marketing, oversaw the collection and distribution of all items.  She said, “The most emotional moment for me was when I met a distraught mother who came into Smyrna Air Center to pick up donation items for her family. I helped her pick out boxes and boxes of goods as she tried to hold back tears, and when we came across a box of baby food, diapers, and wet wipes, her face lit up, and she started screaming with excitement! That’s when it really hit me that people are in desperate need of even the simplest of daily necessities.”  

The Smyrna/Rutherford County Airportis very active in community support projects like Meals on Wheels and clothing drives.  Each Fall, the airport collects new and gently used winter clothing for children attending the John Coleman Elementary School in Smyrna.  The school was originally constructed to serve the children of  personnel stationed at Sewart Air Force Base, which became the Smyrna/Rutherford County Airport.  Airport Manager Lois Vallance said, “When the Airport Authority was looking for avenues of community service, it only made sense to adopt John Coleman School.”  For the Meals on Wheels program, Vallance added, “Some Airport Authority employees and other volunteers are on a rotating weekly schedule to provide assistance to the Meals on Wheels program.  Whether its packaging the meals, delivering to a prescribed route–and sometimes staying to chat a few minutes–the volunteers are always as touched as those who receive the hot food.”  

CFM employee Shad Holloman (L) with a group working in post-Katrina New Orleans.

Employees at Corporate Flight Management are active in Habitat for Humanity builds and recently were able to volunteer helping out at Feed America First, which provides food to other relief organizations to distribute to rural populations that need a little help.  According to Executive Director Tom Henry, this Middle Tennessee facility will distribute some five million pounds of food this year to the hungry just in this area.  It was an eye-opening experience to see that we don’t have to look far from home to find people who need a hand.  Employee spouses and children also pitched in to repackage beans and rice.  Iowa native and recent Tennessee transplant Amber Sulzner said, “I thought this was a really good experience for us all to have a chance to give back to people who are less fortunate in our communities.  I wasn’t aware of how many families this organization helped and the amount of food that went in and out of the warehouse on a weekly basis.  Overall I felt this was a very good experience and I am now a pro at filling ziplock bags with rice. I also look forward to us hopefully helping this organization again and have even more volunteers.”  

So, what is General Aviation?  Are we an industry existing in the rarified air of the ivory towers?  Not even close.  We exist in local and global communities that experience disasters and need.  And we do our part to help in those communities whenever we can. 

(L-R) Amber Sulzner, Doug Cate, Jon Anne Doty, Jaegar Doty, Jeremy Gillard, Ken Dalton, Bill Allen, Tim Merenda, Melanie Howell, Annette Morton, Debbie Cate, David Augustin, Rachel Charlize, Jerome Vele Reece.

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You commonly see fireworks displays in the Nashville area on New Year’s, Independence Day, Sounds games and whenever I’ve received an invoice that is significantly higher than what I was quoted for services, goods or whatever.  In my opinion, the fastest way to lose a customer is to charge them a higher price for a product than they agreed to.

This happened to me years ago when I ordered a specially printed item.  The invoice was some 15% higher than what I’d been quoted due to overruns.  Apparently this is common knowledge in the printing industry; but, I’m not in the printing industry.  I was livid that my very tight budget was blown.  My representative’s attitude was along the lines of, “Well, it’s common practice and your own fault for not knowing what questions to ask.”  Somehow, it was my fault for not knowing her job.  Riddle me this - how many more orders did I place with that printer?  That’s right – none.

Anytime I train new agents, whether at the ticket counter, a travel agency or at a charter company, I emphasize our responsibility to give clients all of the information they need without giving them more than they need.  I advise them to model the exchange after what Albert Einstein said, “Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler.”  Aircraft charter can present a mind-boggling array of choices.  All reputable, professional charter operators and brokers will be happy to share information with you that will allow you to narrow that array and make an informed decision.

Clearly, aircraft come in a wide variety of sizes and capabilities.  You would not use the same aircraft to take two passengers from Philadelphia to Telluride that you would to take two passengers from Cincinnati to Charlotte.  To determine which aircraft best fits your mission, the charter operator will ask you several questions.  Among them are:  “Where are you going?”  “When are you going there?”  “How long will you be staying?” “How many people will be going with you?”  They may also ask, ”Do you have a particular aircraft or budget in mind?”  It’s been my experience that if someone is budget-conscious, they will let you know up front; so, I don’t usually ask about it.  If the operator you are calling doesn’t ask all of those questions, you may want to add them to your repertoire.

Once you give your itinerary to your operator, you might want to ask about alternate airports.  Suppose you are going to the Dallas area.  Of course, you could fly into DFW International or into Love Field; however, since there are at least 27 airfields within 40 miles of Dallas, there may be a less congested one closer to your destination.  If you give your operator the zip code of your destination, they should be able to find the closest suitable airport for you.

If you called our offices for a quote, you would get a “hard” quote, meaning that you will be invoiced at the same rate you were quoted, unless you change your itinerary, use the flight phone or order catering.  Some operators use “soft” quotes, meaning that you will be invoiced based on actual flight times, landing fees, and other costs.  Either structure is fine, as long as you know what to expect; so, be sure to ask which quoting method your operator uses.

It’s important to know what your insurance underwriter requires.  For instance, will they allow executives to fly on propeller aircraft?  What about single-engine aircraft?  How many executives may be onboard a single aircraft?  You should check with your agent for that information prior to booking your trip.  If they required that your charter operator list you as additionally insured, that’s easily done.

As we discussed in November, there are questions you should ask to help ascertain the safety practices of your charter carrier, i.e. have they been audited by a third-party firm like ARG/US or Wyvern?  If so, what were the results of that audit?  If not, what information does the NTSB have on file for their operating certificate number?  If you are using a charter broker, they should be able to get that information on the carrier for you.  At the moment, I am not aware of an industry standard audit for charter brokers; however, I understand there is a push to create that standard.  Although some brokers may be Wyvern Authorized, this means only that they have submitted three references from Wyvern recommended operators, that they have been in business for at least three years and that they have access to the Wyvern database of audited operators.  It does not mean that the broker’s own practices have been audited.  To verify business practices of your chosen broker, I would suggest researching them just as you would any other vendor: look for online reviews, check with the Better Business Bureau, or check with colleagues.  I don’t normally ask for references since, really, who’s going to give you a bad reference?

The customer should never be penalized for not knowing all of the nuances of the product they are buying.  As business aviation professionals, it is our job to give you all of the information you need to get the best value from your travel dollar.   Continue with us as we break down how that dollar is spent when we Unbundle Charter’s Internal Costs.

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