Back to Business: Business Flights

Despite the recession, PrivateFly's recent business travel survey revealed that more and more businesses are turning to private jet charter to save time and money.

With the cost of a chartering a small jet being as low as £1000 per hour, flying executives privately can be a cost saving according to the EBAA (European Business Aviation Association).

An average private jet flight in Europe saves 6 hours of travel time compared to flying scheduled airlines.

For private jet charter advice, prices or availability call our expert team 24/7 on +44 (0)20 7282 4979

• Paris Le Bourget (LBG)
  Closer to the centre of Paris than Charles de Gaulle, and solely dedicated to private aviation.
• London City Airport (LCY)
  London's most central airport means you can speed into the heart of the City or to Canary Wharf within minutes of touch down.
• Frankfurt-Egelsbach Airport (QEF)
  Dedicated to private aviation, Frankfurt's Egelsbach airport offers private jet flyers flexibility, and is only 25 minutes drive from the centre of Frankfurt.
• Geneva (GVA)
  Located just outside the centre of Geneva, Geneva Airport offers excellent access for both the city and the Alps, and has four exclusive private jet terminals.
• Moscow Vnukovo (VKO)
  Close to the centre of Moscow, but with runways long enough to accommodate long range aircraft and airliners.

A Manchester-based telecommunications firm wanted to arrange flights for a series of short-notice European meetings over a 2-day period.

The itinerary involved bringing Amsterdam-based clients to Manchester, then on to Madrid for further meetings before flying the clients back to Amsterdam and the team back to Manchester.

Scheduled business class flights would have been highly complex and time-consuming: there were no direct flights between Manchester and Madrid so this would add hours to their journey time, and an extra night away.

In total this would have involved a whole day (23 hours) wasted in travelling time. So, they decided to look at private charter instead

The Solution
The CEO's PA submitted their flight itinerary online through PrivateFly. She compared all available aircraft options and prices, before choosing a Hawker 800 aircraft, comfortably seating all 8 passengers.

The Flights
The clients arrived at Amsterdam minutes before take-off on the Tuesday morning. They were served breakfast en route to Manchester Airport where they were met by waiting cars and taken to the telecommunications firm's offices for the days' meetings.

The aircraft was scheduled to take-off for Madrid at 4pm but they were able to delay their departure until 5pm. Canapés and drinks were served on the flight, and on arrival waiting cars transferred them to their dinner meeting.

A full day of meetings was scheduled in Madrid before a 4pm departure. The Manchester team escorted their clients back to Amsterdam, shaking hands on the tarmac before flying back to Manchester. A full team debrief of the trip happened on board during the flight.

Both the clients and the firm's team were home before 7pm, and back at their desks the next morning.

The Budget
The private charter was £3,500 per person versus £1,800 per head for business class fares*. Using a private jet saved over 16 hours of travelling time, avoided an extra night away, and offered their important clients exceptional VIP service, catering and comfort. The telecommunications team felt that private charter was clearly the most efficient choice.

*Based on the best available pricing on the specific dates, using European scheduled airlines.