Jet Aviator Company, Essay Example

Executive Summary

In the United States there are many operators that offer private jets for travel purposes. When one is needed, it is usually hired through the service provider or an aviation broker. With over 11,000 private jets registered in the United States, this industry is quite large and is rapidly growing. The problem however is that the executives and users of private jets do not have access to an affordable and reliable way to attain this service. The problem in the growing business jet industry is the lack of connectivity between the provider of the service and the potential customers. This white paper examines the problem of business travels on commercial airlines and suggests that the most reasonable solution is a business network of private jet services. The need of the top-level executive is to be able to travel safely into airports on a schedule that the commercial airlines may not offer services to. The methods of research conducted to analyze the problems of this topics consist of primary sources based on professional interviews and secondary research sources. The proposed solution is to develop an application, which connects business jet owners to consumers who require the services of business jets via a company membership for their respective employees.

Introduction

Although the airline industry offers the public a convenient means of traveling through commercial airlines services, many customer are known to experience setbacks in their travels. The topic pertains to problems in commercial airline services and primarily focuses on business executives whose jobs require them to be frequent fliers. As of 2014 nearly 200 million customers are enrolled in some type of frequent flier program. (Fleetwood, 2014) This topic carries great significance to those affected by the problems of business travelers because it is costing them more than they are aware of. Various problems exist for business travelers in commercial airline travel which lead to these costs among other problems. The three primary issues that may arise when using commercial airlines as a means of business travel are in time, costs, and comfort. Anybody who has ever used commercial airlines as means to travel—whether for business or for pleasure—may have experienced one or more of these problems in some point in time. The purpose of this white paper is to address these problems in detail, why they matter, and how they might be fixed. In business travel, there are many underlying risks associated with these commercial airline problems. Each problem is unique but they all have an effect on the affiliating subject that is business travel. Such problems need to be pointed out as to how the can go about being construed and this white paper does just that through a rational, analytical, and unbiased approach. The methods of research used to gather information to support the purpose of this project contain an adequate correspondence of perspectives based on analysis as well as documented facts. Two types of sources are integrated into the context that addresses the pertaining airline problems with supporting information towards their solutions. The first type of sources are primary sources which consist of an interview with the Account Executive of Jet Smarter, Jim Tornabene as well as an interview with Shilen Patel whom is an experienced traveler with private jets. The intent of this interview is to obtain a professional opinion from an experienced party within the commercial airline industry. The second type of source, the secondary source, consists of various articles and studies from reputable publications. To have a preview of the solutions proposed in this white paper, consider the problems relating to time, costs, and comfort in terms of commercial airline travel. The basic solution for these problems is to save time, cut costs, and increase comfort. All would make for a more convenient process of business travel.

Time Constraints

To most business executives, time is valuable which suggests that time is money. Many business-related travels are related to business emergencies that are on call, meaning it becomes imperative the travel time is as quick as possible. Unexpected and constant fluctuations in wait times standing in airport security queues make it virtually impossible to predict when to arrive at the airport. (Moran, 2014) Shilen Patel even stated in his interview that traveling to business meetings are not well serviced by commercial airlines. To safeguard themselves against the possibility of a backed up line in check-in or airport security, most business flyers will arrive at the airport hours earlier than they should. Some airports have integrated passport kiosk machines in their check-in system, but this still a work-in-progress and do not guarantee quicker lines. (Reed, 2014)  These are extra hours added on to total travel time whether there is a back-up in the airport security line or not. For business flyers that frequently travel abroad, having to go through immigration and customs does not make the process any easier. Even after the extended wait going through immigration and customs, there is still the wait for personal luggage to be unloaded from the aircraft onto the carousel. Ground transportation can become time consuming as taxis may not always readily available and shuttle services make a number of detours for customers sharing the shuttle. This can be especially difficult when in an unfamiliar city or country. The most complex problem relating to lost time in transit is having to deal with lay overs. Lay overs during transit is valuable time to a business traveler, which is wasted sitting in a terminal.

Planes get unexpectedly delayed for many reasons. The problems that time present such as waiting times may even cost a business flyer to miss their flight. This is often associated with flights arriving to their destination late, causing the business flyer to miss their connection flight. The business flyer then has to rebook a new flight and wait for it to come, extending total travel time that much more. The US president has their own charter flight, Air Force One, which allows them to be in any place in the world in less than 24 hours at any given time.

Opportunity Costs

Lost time accumulates and becomes an opportunity cost. Based on his opinion in the interview, Shilen Patel considers opportunity cost a factor when considering traveling via private jets. Opportunity costs begin with scarcity. Scarcity is a condition where a business flyer may desire resources that are greater than what is available to satisfy those desires. Such desires are scarce because the resources required to produce them are also scarce. (Henderson, 2008) If a business flyer desires a new luggage bag, it will take resource materials such as plastic, polyester, and metal to produce that luggage bag. The parties that own the materials and conduct the labor will in return want something for use of their resources and service because if the materials and labor were not used making a luggage bag then they may have been used elsewhere.

The next step leading towards an opportunity cost is the choices made. With more desires than resources to satisfy those desires, choices must be made by level of importance. (Henderson, 2008) Time is a scarce resource and a business flyer may have to choose if they want to sleep in the morning of their flight or arrive early. The economic concept of scarcity forces a person to make a choice. When a business flyer chooses to spend money on a flight, they must then decide what kind of flight they want to spend it on, along with other choices pertaining to that flight. The choices of what airline, what flight class, and what ground transportation to use are choices that must be made.

Figure 1: (Created Graph) How scarce choices lead to opportunity costs in varying scenarios. (Henderson, 2008)

It is when these choices are made that the opportunity cost occurs. By choosing to fly on a commercial airline, the business flyer incurs an opportunity cost. Opportunity costs are defined in economics as the most valued opportunity lost when a choice is made. (Henderson, 2008) So, choosing to fly a commercial airline might result in lost time due to extended wait times in customer queues. Opportunity costs are the lost opportunities of something other than what choice was made. For example, the cost of buying lunch us the lost opportunity to save money. However, eating is more important so that is the choice that was made. Time is money to a business flyer because more time spent in transit is more of an opportunity cost to be generating money. Failing to attend a business meeting due to unexpected airport conditions could mean the difference between a multi-million dollar business deal and failed relations.

Comfort Levels

When conducting business, comfort equals alertness which can often lead to a ground-breaking presentation or acuminous decision making. In the interview with Shilen Patel, he mentioned that when levels of discomfort are unreasonable on commercial airlines, he would rather consider other means of traveling. On top of all of the stress that comes with the long waits from standing in lines for check-in, immigration, customs, and airport security there is still the drudged flight that awaits. (Hamlett, 2015) Over the years, airlines have progressively decreased seating space within their economy flights. Three of the largest commercial airline companies in American Airlines (AA), Delta, and United have decreased their economy cabin seat space as a means to install more seats. More seats mean more room for passengers which leads to more sales revenue. Among these major commercial airlines the average space between seats is between 31-33 inches. This is a significant decrease from what the standard was in the 1980’s and 1990’s.

Airline loads have dramatically increased over the years, causing cabin space to become more crowded. The average US Airline load in 1995 was at 67%. Since then, it has jumped to 84% as of 2013. (McGee, 2014) These crowded flights are the cause of negative effects while in flight. Cabin headaches, decreased overhead bins, and accidental bumping are some of the main effects. (McCartney, 2011) Another strain on comfort means that there are fewer empty seats. A Boeing 737 holds 144 seats with a 3 by 3 layout consisting of 24 rows, each row having 6 seats. Today a modest load factor would be 80%, in which case out of the 48 middle seats, only 29 are empty. When the load factor increases to 90%, only 14 of the 48 middle seats are empty. (McGee, 2014)

Economy Class Seat Pitch in Inches

High levels of focus are important to any business person. When a business flyer has the burden of stress from such a cantankerous process in commercial airline travel, focus is hindered and this may disrupt the flow of business. Stress has an impact on the ability to process information during business analysis as well as physical capabilities. (Hamlett, 2015) Loss of focus can cause a business person to make an incompetent decision which could be costly to their enterprise.

Jet Aviator Company

The solution to all of this is in Jet Aviator Co. Jet Aviator Co. is a unique private jet service that establishes business relationships with companies who choose to provide its services to their employees. Eligibility to use Jet Aviator services is exclusive to those who hold a business membership. Being able to share a private jet with other customers from varying companies allows for the fee to be split equally among all passengers. This method of pricing is what allows Jet Aviator Co. to offer such affordable prices for use of a private jet. Compare airline services to city ground transportation. If commercial airlines are equivalent to public busses, then Jet Aviator’s private jet service is equivalent to shared shuttle services.

Only top of the line jets are used in Jet Aviator Co. all of which are constantly maintenance for safety. At the customers’ request, detailed specifications of jets used by Jet Aviator Co. are readily available on the website. With over 3,000 flight options offered, customized departure times are available for immediate service through the trusted operators who may be contacted on a 24/7 basis. The ease of booking is made through the convenience of the online or mobile booking service without the hassle of any paperwork. Limousine services offered by Jet Aviator Co. help to minimize ground transit time while provided chauffeurs are trained to assist in immigration/visa paper work. International business meetings may arise at any time, and Jet Aviator is ready to get their travelers to their destination when such unexpected meetings arise. According to his interview, Shilen Patel traveled mostly international between 2011 and 2013.  Although not a marketing pitch, this is what makes Jet Aviator Co. the solution to any existing airline problems.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Jet Aviator Co. is the solution for all frequent flyer business travelers. In an interview with Jim Tornabene, he mentioned that their services are only affordable to the top 1% income level. Jet Aviator Co. is affordable to any business person whose company establishes a membership. It was also mentioned in the interview that business persons and executives greatly benefit from private jet services because they are frequent travelers. Using a private jet service offers them professionalism and luxurious business processes; and this includes their clients.

Time is saved because users of this service do not need to wait in long lines due to check-in, immigration, customs, and airport security. This will help to eliminate opportunity costs that may hinder any business deals or projects. The comfort level is unquestionably greater than that of commercial airline services as company jets are ensures not to be over-capacitated. In the interview it was noted that some clients like to travel with their pets. Flying commercially would force these business persons to store their pet in cargo, but this is not the case with Jet Aviator Co. Jim Tornabene addressed that flying private jets is more expensive than first class. With the membership deals that Jet Aviator provides their company clients, prices are sure to be cheaper than commercial first class airlines or any other traditional private jet service. Jet Aviator Co. can be called the Wal-Mart of the sky for business members as prices are kept lower than all other competitors in the market. None of the preceding material is intended to be a sales pitch; it is simply a statement of facts that Jet Aviator Co. has to offer. Because Jet Aviator Co. has a strong ethical grasp of integrity with their company clients, it can be relied on to solve all of the problems that come with commercial air travel.

References

Fleetwood, B. (2014, April 29). Delta Deals the 99 Percent Out: One-percenters Get Twice as Many Miles. Retrieved April 3, 2015, from Huffington Post Travel: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/blake-fleetwood/delta-frequent-flyer-program_b_4868700.html

Hamlett, C. (2015). How Stress Affects Your Work Performance. Retrieved April 2015, 2015, from Small Business Chron: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/stress-affects-work-performance-18040.html

Henderson, D. R. (2008). Opportunity Cost. Retrieved April 3, 2015, from Library of Economics Liberty: http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/OpportunityCost.html

McCartney, S. (2011, March 17). So Who Gets the Armrest? Retrieved April 3, 2015, from The Wall Street Journal: http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704396504576204442583904246

McGee, B. (2014, September 24). Think airline seats have gotten smaller? They have. Retrieved April 3, 2015, from USA Today: http://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/columnist/mcgee/2014/09/24/airplane-reclining-seat-pitch-width/16105491/

Moran, L. (2014, December 1). Passengers deal with mile-long security lines in Chicago airport, TSA blamed for dozens of missed flights. Retrieved April 3, 2015, from New York Daily News: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/passengers-deal-mile-long-tsa-lines-chicago-airport-article-1.2028687

Patel, S. (2015, April 4). Interview with Mr. Shilen Patel: A top level entrepreneur that travels via private jets.

Reed, T. (2014, June 7). Congress Wouldn’t Fix Airport Customs Lines, So Vancouver Airport Did. Retrieved April 3, 2015, from Forbes: http://www.forbes.com/sites/tedreed/2014/06/07/congress-wouldnt-fix-airport-customs-lines-so-vancouver-airport-did/

Tornabene, J. (2015, March 30). Account Executive of Jet Smarter. (Author, Interviewer)