Until you fly a mile high in his or her shoes, we have a few suggestions of things you might want to avoid when talking to your boss about corporate travel.
- “The airlines are cheaper.” This is absolutely true when you compare the cost of a charter flight to the price of a ticket on Expedia. However, you may not be taking into consideration the value of your boss’s time or peace of mind. If she gets up at 3:30 am to make it to the airport, park, lug a briefcase and a Ziploc baggie through security, and navigate a boarding line for a 6:00 flight, how well rested is she for the 10:00 meeting in a different city? If she has a connection, a delay, or a crying baby in the row behind her, does the increased frustration impact her effectiveness?
- “______ Airlines flies there.” You may work for one of the rare companies that is located near an airline hub and only does business in big cities. If so, this point does not apply to you. For those of you that live, work, or travel to locations more than 30 minutes from a major airport, you should know that in the US alone, there are 500 airports with commercial service and 5000 that service private aircraft. This represents a much larger number of small towns and remote locations. A trip that could be accomplished between 9 and 5 on a regular day can turn into a three day trip when you account for lengthy connections, rental car queues, long drives, inconvenient commercial flight schedules, and the limited number of commercial airports.
- “You can drive the rest of the way.” There’s not much worse than getting into a rental car with navigation on an iPhone after a long and frustrating commercial airline experience. If your boss has an important meeting to close a sale or save business, the last thing he needs is to miss a turn, miss a meal, or miss the mark with a client. It’s much better to land near the factory or office building.
To find out more about the true ROI of flying privately, or to learn which aircraft best suits your mission and budget, please give us a call.
