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Businesswomen Are Flying High as the
Demand for Private Flight Soars

By Kellie Umstead

“Private flight just makes sense for businesswomen who tend to care for children and families. Private planes and jets make it easier to travel with children in tow, provide more of a comfortable, uninterrupted and ideal environment for women with children and often take less time since there are no connecting flights. Private flights also allow more security and privacy for conducting business and personal responsibilities while flying to a destination.”

Remember your last commercial flight? Standing in long lines at airport security checkpoints hoping you adhered to the ever changing baggage guidelines, awaiting the departure for your delayed flight afraid you might miss the business meeting that could cost your company millions? These scenes seem to be more of a rule than an exception these days. Who has time for departure delays or missed connections? Who wants to trudge through long corridors chasing down missing luggage? It’s no wonder that more and more businesswomen would opt for private jet travel.

According to Gretchen Jahn, recently retired President and CEO of Mooney Airplane Company, “Private flight just makes sense for businesswomen who tend to care for children and families. Private planes and jets make it easier to travel with children in tow, provide more of a comfortable, uninterrupted and ideal environment for women with children and often take less time since there are no connecting flights. Private flights also allow more security and privacy for conducting business and personal responsibilities while flying to a destination.”

Rapid security clearance, fewer airport lines and access to more airports are just some of the benefits to private jet travel. There is also a great difference in the number of accessible airports available to private aviation customers. Commercial travel offers only about 450-500 airports, whereas over 6000 locations are available to private aviation customers. Moreover, there is a huge increase in the number of affordable jets and it's no surprise that the number of businesswomen buying airplanes is steadily rising.

“Mooney sells approximately 8% of airplanes to businesswomen. Most women who purchase private flights are business owners and entrepreneurs, but there are some professionals such as attorneys and doctors as well,” explains Jahn.

However, you don’t have to buy a private jet to take advantage of private jet travel. The purchasing options are growing; besides outright ownership these options include: company and individual interchanges, fractional ownership, co-operative leasing, traditional charter flights, and new jet card programs.

Jet Card Programs Soar

Jet cards are prepaid cards that give you access to jets in 25-, 50-, and 100-hour increments and provide the many benefits of fractional ownership without the long-term commitment. As you use the prepaid hours your card is debited for the flight time or dollar equivalent. Some companies offer a refund of unused hours if there’s not complete satisfaction with the first few flights. While no two service providers offer equal plans and programs, most give customers the option to purchase in one of three categories: light, medium-sized, and large-cabin jets. Jet cards are based on the idea that jets don’t usually fly as many hours in a year as they could. Owners authorize the use of their aircraft to the fractional companies, which make them available for charter or jet card flights when the owners are not flying. Charter fees flow back to the owner, dispersing some of the costs of the jet. The fractional operator then uses jet-card flights to keep aircraft flying when their owners are not using them. And that’s all part of a higher aim: to make private aviation more affordable for any business or individual who wants a better choice to commercial flight.

One businesswoman who found private aviation to her liking is Natalie Copeland, a 36-year-old CEO of a mortgage brokerage company in Miami, Florida.

Why is private jet travel your preference?

I run a mortgage brokerage business and not only do I broker loans but also lend money. Today we have 300 employees working at branches in Florida, Texas, Virginia, and North Carolina. We close about 450-500 loans monthly. Staying on top of my business is a must and I have to travel 3-4 times each quarter to our regional offices. Time and convenience are critical to my business.

How did you get into flying privately?

I’d flown on other people’s jets, but it wasn’t until March 2003, that I decided that commercial flying was very inefficient. It occurred to me that I earn a seven-figure income and could certainly afford to fly privately. It didn’t make sense for me to fly cramped in an airplane and suffer through the hassles of commercial flight any longer. I decided to try it, what could I lose? When I first began, $140,000 for 25 hours of flying time sounded a little expensive to me. It made more sense if I had a group of people to share the expenses with. I approached a few business colleagues and we went in together and bought prepaid air cards… hint, hint ladies… pooling your resources and working together is the way to go. The cards gave us access to jets in 25- hour blocks. It was beneficial for most of them because they had children, so it was less stressful for them as a family.

This is my third year and all I can say is I never want to fly commercial again. I feel more productive, less stressed, I have very little fatigue after landing, and I’ve saved time and money over the years. I’m free to set my own schedule, I’ve never had a problem with lost luggage or delays and I have plenty of privacy and comfort. Before flying privately, my employees and I had business deals to go up in smoke due to delayed flights. So the benefit gained from arriving on time makes up for the extra dollars spent on private jets.

Cost considerations

When considering purchasing, chartering, or getting a jet card you Jahn suggests asking yourself how many hours a year you expect to use a private jet. Generally experts agree if you plan to fly between 50 and 75 hours a year, then jet cards or chartering makes the most sense. Yearly usage between 100 and 300 hours, fractional ownership is the way to go; for over 300 hours you may as well buy a jet.

Our country has a huge demand for air transportation and one of the main factors for this demand is multi-tasking businesswomen who need the privacy, comfort and convenience that private flight provides. As a businesswoman it is critical that you get to your destination refreshed, having bypassed the hassles and confusion inherent in commercial airports. If you’re looking for a viable alternative to commercial flight, fasten your seatbelts, private aviation for businesswomen is taking off at a rapid pace.