Thanksgiving Travel
How to Kick Off the Holiday Season Like a True Jetsetter
The holiday travel rush is upon us, and nothing gets us excited quite like being able to help our valued clients reconnect with loved ones. Thanksgiving flight bookings and open quotes are coming in hot, which signals a busy schedule ahead of us.
We’ve been working diligently behind the scenes in the months leading up to November. We’re getting airplanes through inspection(s) and building out our holiday flying schedule in advance to maximize our ability to reliably field demand. During any busy travel season, on-demand jet operators like us will face staffing, maintenance, and schedule challenges — and we’ve done the legwork to mitigate the common pitfalls associated with the rising demand.
When it comes to your holiday travel needs, a flight aboard one of our Gulfstream airframes will check all your boxes. Read our short allegory below for some perspective into the different lives of two traveling professionals: Edward, a habitual holiday business class flier, and Angela, a true holiday jetsetter.
Meet Edward, The Business Class Flier
Edward has spent the last ten years in a steadily growing Manhattan law firm. Last year, he was offered a partnership in the firm, which he’d been striving to achieve for a decade. Being a diligent and hardworking attorney, Edward has grown to appreciate the value of his time more with every passing year.
However, becoming a partner at his firm has made his schedule more complex than ever. Edward struggles to know whether each new meeting or hour spent outside casework is worth his time. It’s a transition period for Edward, who typically flies into major cities around the US four to five times a quarter but spends much of his time around the office in lower Manhattan.
He’s always been a business class flier on major US carriers and has continued to travel this way even after making partner. Last Thanksgiving, Edward arrived in Seattle for his family holiday gathering at 9 pm due to a massively oversold flight originating at JFK. He was supposed to be there at 3 pm and instead ended up on a later flight, missing dinner with his family.
It wasn’t the first time he had been sold short by the numerous performance issues with commercial air carriers. Edward tolerates the crowds and the waiting, but the stress is beginning to pile on. This Thanksgiving travel season will be one of the busiest on record. Lines will be longer than ever, fellow passengers more irritable, and chances of making it home on time as variable as ever.
Sooner or later, one of Edward’s partners will take him aboard a chartered jet for a business meeting. Until then, he doesn’t realize that a better travel option exists.
Say Hello to Angela, a True Holiday Jet-Setter
Angela switched to private charter three years ago and hasn’t looked back. She’s worked her way into upper management at her family’s kitchen appliance retail chain and currently serves as the COO. She owns approximately 30% of the company to boot.
Angela is ever-conscious about how she spends her hard-earned money. She has always been financially prudent. Another one of Angela’s great qualities is her generosity. Every year, she flies a group of friends on a Gulfstream IV or V from LAX to the Hamptons for a luxurious girls’ getaway. She also uses Jeff, her charter broker, for holiday travel needs, so she never misses important family moments.
Although her company has the resources for a jet of its own, Angela and her executive partners have agreed that chartering is a smarter move for them over the next five years. This Thanksgiving, Angela is traveling with her parents, her husband, and their children from Van Nuys to Miami. Her sister lives in Miami and loves hosting Thanksgiving for the extended family.
With her busy schedule, Angela has fallen in love with the jetsetter lifestyle. She loves her relationship with her broker and his attention to detail. She also loves the personal touch of small boutique jet operators. She saves bundles of time by skipping security lines and arriving at her aircraft at the most convenient time.
After weighing the value of chartered jets against the hassles of business class travel, she has grown ever more confident in her choice to become, and remain, a jetsetter for the holidays.