FAQ: do you fly on private jets? The small ones, right?
My dear Business Aviation friends!
I know you have been asked this question before….. and I know it can be an itchy one!
This should be added to the section of the “questions not to ask” to a Corporate Crew Member.
Let’s explain the difference between a Private Jet and a big, airline bird.
Size doesn’t matter.
The difference between an airline Boeing and, for example, a Gulfstream is not only the size.
Is the quality. The luxury. The personal touch. In one word: the details.
The VIP world is completely different than the commercial, although there is an aircraft involved.
Business Aviation is a small section of Aviation, at the same time is a different world, another planet.
The “small jets” cost less than a Boeing or an Airbus, and are more luxurious, more comfortable and stylish.
Some people try to compare a trip on a private jet as in a limousine.
This ride may costs 200.000.000 € on a private jet (this is, on average, the price from London to Los Angeles one way), while flight on the airline can cost you 5.000€ in first class.
The cost index is almost 1 to 100, although you fly “on the small ones”.
Price comparison.
An Airbus 319 costs (new) around 100 million dollars.
The base aircraft price of a Bombardier Global 7500 starts from 80 million dollar.
All the following customisations (like the shower in the lavatory; a special leather for the seats; carpet, wood or marble floor) are a plus and will be added to the final price.
The Embraer Lineage 1000 (also 1000E) costs around 50 million dollar.
Apart form the initial down payment, there are other aspects to take into consideration.
The bigger the jet is (Boeing, Airbus), the higher the operative costs are.
And higher will also be the limitations in terms of performances (might be the wrong type of jet for short runways or extra long haul flights).
Why should a pilot fly a private jet instead of a big airplane?
This is something that often aviation lover discuss about.
Somehow, it is a general believe that the bigger the aircraft, the more prestigious is the job (for both pilots and flight attendants).
Well, the private jet world works very different.
There is not much of a competition between a Gulfstream and an Airbus, because the two things runs on a completely different path.
A private jet can be fully customised, an airline airplane can’t.
A private jet flies into small runways and lost cities, an airline lands into the major airports of the world.
The private jet experience is something completely tailored made around the owner/customer, an airline flight has previously-set procedures.
In conclusion, is not about the aircraft itself, is the whole experience that is different.