Top ten reasons to charter a private jet.

In the private jet world of fractional ownership, wholly owned aircraft, prepayment card programs, charter brokers, direct charter providers, membership fees, depreciation, hourly rates, empty legs, crew charges, overnight fees, maintenance expenses, etc.... it is no wonder many questions still remain about what is the best private jet option.

As the private jet industry continues to grow and the desire to move away from commercial air travel increases, private jet options abound. This adjustment in the marketplace is turning increasingly in favor of the well-heeled traveler as rates go down and availability goes up on luxury jet flights. Unless one is flying more than 400 hours a year, chartering a private jet is the ideal option for maximum flexibility, jet selection and the best market rates.

Below are ten reasons why chartering a jet through a broker or a direct charter provider makes the most financial sense:

1. Charter versus commercial airline travel: for example, the cost for two adults and four children flying first class can cost the same as your own private jet flight purchased through a charter company. Given all the convenience of flying privately, jet charter becomes a viable option for travelers that once thought they were restricted to commercial air travel.

2. Charter versus fractional or prepayment options: on a light jet, charter costs as little as $1,800 per flight hour, S2,100 for prepaid flight card program or $2,800 for fractional ownership.

3. Jet availability: flights booked through a charter broker experience no blackout dates and no lack of availability due to jet maintenance, which may often be encountered with fractional programs or smaller charter companies. This becomes of utmost importance during the holiday season and high vacation travel times.

4. Jet selection: charter brokers have a premier network of more than 2,000 jets to select from and are not restricted to a certain type of jet or jet class as with most fractional programs or charter companies that only have access to a limited fleet.

5. On demand, 24/7 access to a charter representative: charter brokers can provide flight quotes in as little as one hour to 15 minutes and jets can be made "tarmac ready" within four hours.

6. Deluxe supplemental services: jet charter provides greater flexibility with no commitments, the best market rates and can be utilized alongside other jet services such as fractional ownership and prepaid card programs.

7. Leisure travel made easy: especially convenient for the leisure traveler who desires private jet service on an occasional or regular basis.

8. Increased flexibility: without the hassle of jet ownership, maintenance fees, crew costs and storage expenses, there are no extra expenditures to bog down the experience. Simply contact a charter representative, reserve a flight and off you go.

9. High safety and quality standards: most charter companies and charter brokers uphold the highest of safety standards and only utilize jets and pilots that are Part 135 and have excellent ratings with safety auditing companies such as Argus or Wyvern.

10. Freedom of flight: whether a jet is booked through an experienced charter broker or a direct charter company, it makes sound financial sense to keep your money in your own pocket and not in the hands of a private jet sales associate. Paying only for the flight time used creates an experience that the savvy traveler will most enjoy.

RELATED ARTICLE: Business flying vs. airline flying.

The continuing popularity of travel by general aviation aircraft is partly due to the fact that these aircraft have access to nearly 5,300 airports in the United States, compared to the 558 served by the scheduled air carriers. Furthermore, approximately 70 percent of all airline passengers travel to or from the top 30 air career hubs.

The ability to use smaller, less-congested airports located closer to one's final destination is a vital part of the utility and flexibility of general aviation aircraft. In fact, most operators of business aircraft prefer to use these so-called "reliever airports" in major metropolitan areas instead of airline hubs whenever possible. That is why general aviation operations at the busiest U.S. air carrier airports are usually a single-digit percentage of total operations at those aviation facilities.

Business aircraft operations in the New York City area are a good example of this phenomenon. At New York's major commercial service airports--Newark, LaGuardia and Kennedy--general aviation comprises only about 3 percent of the total operations because most business aircraft operators utilize alternative airports--Teterbore or Morristown in New Jersey or Westchester County and Islip in New York.

Similarly, many of the most popular U.S. airports, in terms of general aviation itinerant operations, have little or no airline service. Partly because so many general aviation aircraft are based in the populous states of California, Florida, Texas and New Jersey, the list of top 50 airports by general aviation operations is dominated by airports located in those states. Eleven of the 50 airports with the most general aviation itinerant operations are located in Florida, 10 are in California and five are in Texas.

Information provided by the National Business Aviation Association

Michael E. Napoliello, Jr., Js Chairman of SkyBridge Private Air. For more information, visit www.skybridgeprivateair.com.