A crowded departure hall at Way-Too-Early O’Clock, a check-in line that seems to stretch for miles, screaming children, arguing couples, a self-check in machine that won’t scan your app and no-one to help you put on that sticky luggage tag.
You’ve already quite paid enough for the flight despite the website saying it was cheap and easy; you shelled out even more to bag a seat near the front, and paid more still because you need to check in luggage.
It’s two hours before your flight leaves. The all-important meeting at your destination is a make or break deal. You brace yourself as you go through security (taking off shoes, belt, watch, remembering to remove your laptop from its bag and put it correctly in the tray...) And then, only then, after the X-ray machine, scanner and possible pat down can you retreat to a crowded café for a coffee (that’ll be £2.50, please). There’s no escaping the crowds with a Priority Pass to a Business Lounge because you’re flying budget. You haven’t even started your working day. Let’s just hope your flight isn’t delayed.
Time is money, as every SME owner knows. And in today’s fast-paced, digitally connected high stress working world, low cost airlines may not offer the easy, stress free, cost-effective answer to business travel any more. Today’s corporate leaders require seamless Business Travel. The answer? Private Jet travel. It’s more cost effective than you think.
Since founding Red7 in 1997, I have flown as often as five times a week. And I’ve seen first hand, since the budget airlines first took off in the late 1990s, how the travel landscape has changed out of sight.
The 9/11 terror attack in 2001 and subsequent horrific attacks in the UK and Europe have (rightly) made airport security checks ever more lengthy and more involved and the numbers of budget airline operators has grown exponentially.
More operators mean increased competition and ever more narrow operating margins. But for consumers, the ‘easy’, cheap service that the first no-frills airlines promised is a distant memory.
This is why Private Jet travel is the answer for today’s travelling business leaders. And why Red7 - as a leading Business Travel Management Company - has commercial agreements in place with some of the best Private Jet owners and brokers worldwide.
When business travel really matters, you need to be able to control your journey. Low cost air travel doesn’t offer that. But Private Jet travel, more affordable than ever before, does. Here’s why:
You save time. Forget turning up to the airport 2 hours before your flight; with a Private Jet, you arrive 10 minutes before the flight leaves. In the south of England, the most widely used airports by Private Jets are London Luton, Farnborough, Biggin Hill and RAF Northholt. Check-in is carried out ahead of time by a dedicated team. A member of crew will meet you in the terminal, take your luggage and then you literally walk up the steps onto your plane. People are ever more time-poor. Private Jet travel offers literally hours of savings within a working day.
You save money. Private Jet travel is cheaper than ever. One trick is to book a ‘dead leg’ flight - where a plane has to relocate to a destination. Private Jet operators are keen to recoup the fuel costs of these dead leg flights but there are fantastic savings to be made. I’ve seen a dead leg flight for up to 6 people from London to Paris as little as £1.8k (£300 per person). A full charter from London to the South of France will cost around £12K but you can get an empty leg flight for 6 people for as little as £6K. You’re most likely to make savings with empty dead leg flights if you’re flexible on dates. The best bargains are to be had the closer to the date of the flight. This often works in the favour of the business traveller, whose plans are arranged or change last minute.
You’ll arrived focused and relaxed: with WiFi, a full in-flight service from your crew and no distractions apart from a really comfy seat, light buffet and a glass of Champagne, flying Private Jet is a seriously luxurious and pleasurable experience. You can give your full attention the important work, meeting, or deal ahead of you.
It offers real flexibility. Forget tiresome, expensive and lengthy transfers, a private charter can fly you almost anywhere. There are physical restrictions around where a Private Jet can land (the runway has to be long enough and be of hard standing) but flying Private Jet can usually get you within 20 minutes of where you want to be. And for those really hard-to-get-to meetings, you can always take a helicopter. Some clients might be in Rome for a breakfast meeting, then at the last minute need to be Wroclaw by 5pm. Low cost airlines can’t offer that kind of flexibility. Red7’s Business Pleasure Class Private Jets can.
You can join Business Pleasure Class: Private Jet travel enables you to seamlessly transition from working week into a fantastic weekend with friends and family. More and more of Red7’s Business Travel clients choose to extend their corporate trips to enjoy a weekend away at their destination with their spouses, children and friends. Easy, stress free and cost effective. What’s not to like?
For more information on Private Jet travel, contact Red7’s Business Travel Team on business.travel@red7.co.uk or 01273 872222
