Private Jet Charter News

[caption id=“attachment_272” align=“aligncenter” width=“500” caption=“Full Route for 2009 \‘Speed Around the World\’ Attempt”][/caption]
As reported in CharterX Daily

Jared Isaacman and his co-pilot Doug Demko have taken off for their latest attempt at an around-the-world speed record in a light jet while raising money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Airport operations at Morristown Municipal Airport in New Jersey confirmed that Isaacman’s Cessna Citation took off about 6:30 p.m. Sunday, destined for St. Johns, Canada, the first leg of the flight.

Isaacman, 26, of Washington Township, New Jersey intends to fly around the globe, more than 22,000 miles, in about 65 hours. If all goes according to plan, the jet will return to Morristown Airport Wednesday. That would break the record of 82 hours set in 1991. Light jets weigh between 6,600 and 13,200 pounds.

Landings are planned in St. Johns, Canada; the Azores; Sardinia, Italy; Luxor, Egypt; Muscat; Oman; Thailand; Manila; and Seoul, among other stops.

Last year Isaacman raised $60,000 for the Make A-Wish Foundation, which grants the wishes of children with life-threatening illnesses, but fell short in his attempt to break the speed record.

Isaacman is the founder and chief executive officer of United Bank Card Inc.

Donations can be made online at http://www.speedaroundtheworld.com.

Isaacman will use funds from his company’s account to match all donations on the Web site up to $20,000.

After a months long free fall, it feels like the business jet market is starting to stabilize, said Jack Pelton, head of Cessna Aircraft.

As reported by Molly McMillan for CharterX

After a months long free fall, it feels like the business jet market is starting to stabilize, said Jack Pelton, head of Cessna Aircraft.

“At some point there, we’ll be able to call the bottom,” Pelton, the company’s chairman, president and CEO, said of the drop in the market. “The negatives, like (order) cancellations are slowing down; we’re starting to see orders start to rise again.”

Aircraft deliveries are expected to hit their low next year, which will be followed by a steady climb, he said.

“The slope of that rise will be dependent on what the economy does,” he said.

Pelton’s boss, meanwhile, said Cessna’s parent company is not interested in selling the Wichita company.

“I don’t know where all the rumors come from,” said Scott Donnelly, president and chief operating officer of Textron. “I think I can be clear that no one is interested in any way, shape or form in divesting Cessna out of Textron. It’s a central asset of what Textron is.”

Pelton spoke last week in a broad-ranging interview on the eve of the world’s largest gathering of general aviation airplanes and airplane buffs at AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wis.

Cessna has cut half of its work force — about 8,200 people — since November. The company has had to cut production, and employees, as order cancellations and deferrals have stacked up during the economic downturn.

The layoffs include last month’s announcement of 1,300 cuts, including 500 employees who will receive 60-day notices by mid-August. Those cuts, Pelton said, will put Cessna at the right employment level for 2010’s planned lower production rates.

Pelton said he also has heard the rumors about Textron looking for buyers for Cessna.

“I work closely with the Textron board of directors,” he said. “I’ve never felt better than knowing in this difficult time, they are really committed to Cessna.”

Donnelly said there is no question Cessna and the entire general aviation industry are going through a tough time.

“We’ll come out of this an even stronger company,” he said. “We have a great brand, a great franchise and one, I know, will drive a lot of value going forward.”

Even in a business that is as cyclical as general aviation, Pelton said watching the business jet market continue to deteriorate has been difficult.

“When we saw the indicators continue to deteriorate past what we saw in the last recessionary period ... it became very clear we were in uncharted territory with circumstances that we’ve never seen in the past,” Pelton said. “That was very startling.”

Pelton said downturn has been a personally distressing time, forcing the company to dismantle what employees have built over the past five years. 

“Every time we have to reduce production and lay people off, it is a recurring nightmare,” he said. “I’ve had more of those days than I would ever like to relieve in my life again.”

Pelton also touched on a variety of other topics:

He said the biggest surprise of the downturn has been the amount of negativity and stigma surrounding the use of business jets.

Leaders of the Big Three automakers were criticized by members of Congress when they arrived on private jets to ask for a federal bailout. Early legislation, later changed, would have required companies receiving federal bailout funds to divest their corporate aircraft fleet or their jet leases.

It’s been a “constant haranguing — almost as if you’re involved in something that’s evil,’’ Pelton said. “It hasn’t stopped.”

Earlier this year, Cessna Aircraft unveiled an ad campaign to showcase the value of business aviation.

The company may have canceled the long-range, large Citation Columbus program, but long-term, the fundamentals for the aircraft remain.

Last year, the state, county and city approved more than $70 million in cash assistance and tax breaks to entice Cessna to develop the new jet in Wichita. The project was to have created 1,000 jobs with an annual payroll of $74 million. Cessna returned $10 million to the city and Sedgwick County earlier this month.

As reported by Molly McMillan for CharterX “We have an enormously faithful group of installed customers that are flying everything from 172s to Citation Xs,” Pelton said. “Long term, we’ll need to have products that will satisfy their needs as they grow and expand.”

Cessna continues to make significant investments in new product development in the light and medium planes, he said.

None will be announced, though, until the market improves, Pelton said. 

“If we were to go out today and hold a major press conference… everybody would say, ‘That’s great! I’ll call you when things get better.”

Night Flight to Boston Leaves Good Impression

Last week, I had the opportunity to take an Eclipse 500 private jet flight from Hanscom Airport in Bedford, MA to Boston Logan Airport. While the flight was very short, it did finally, give me an up-close, first-hand, in-flight experience aboard an Eclipse 500.

Bedford Hanscom Airport is located approximately 20 miles from the Financial District in Boston, which is either a 20 minute drive or an hour and 20 minutes, depending on the time of day.  It is a smaller regional airport with no commercial airline activity, so any weather-related delays are minimized with only corporate and private traffic to deal with.  It is also the home for the Air Force’s 66th Air Base Group.  The car service, this time Boston Coach, dropped me off at the front door to Signature BED where I quickly checked in with the receptionist who directed me to the waiting aircrew for our night flight to Boston.  The Signature facility at Bedford is a bit smallish; however it is quite comfortably appointed and expertly staffed.  I’ve been there several times to meet clients either arriving or departing, and have always been impressed with how professional and helpful the staff has been; kudos to Signature there.  I also had a chance meeting with an old college friend who works for Airport Operations with Hanscom Airport.  He was kind enough to escort me around the ramp while I shot some video of the jet’s arrival earlier in the day.
Boston Logan International Airport, on the other hand, is a much larger and more complex facility.  Hundreds of commercial flights plus scores of private aircraft operate daily in its airspace.  The Signature facility is located at the northernmost edge of the airport property, which depending up on the runway in use can lead to lengthy departure/arrival taxi times. The lounge is quite a bit larger than BED’s facility, and a bit more nicely appointed.  Signature BOS also has an X-ray belt staffed by TSA employees as seen in the commercial terminals.  State Police troopers were also present providing over-watch security.  The indoor staff and ground personnel again showed amazing professionalism and attention to detail.  All areas of the facility were spotless and everyone seemed truly pleased to be at our service.

You may remember hearing the hubbub a couple of years ago about a new class of aircraft known as VLJs (for Very Light Jets) and their anticipated impact on the air-taxi industry.  While the timing of their arrival to the market (just before the financial market plunge in 2008 and subsequent black eye given to private aviation by congress) was unfortunate, their capabilities are proven and real.  The Eclipse is just one of these VLJs (Embraer Phenom and Citation Mustang are others) and after having ridden along on a very short flight I can assure you that the classification is right on the money.
 
With an interior cabin length and a cross-section approximating that of a mid-sized SUV, the passenger capacity is limited to 2-3.  In this particular case it was just me, and although the jet can be legally flown by one, there were two pilots.  After brief introductions to the crew at which time they checked my photo ID, I was escorted to the jet, where I quickly boarded while the crew finished the last second checks, started engines, and began to taxi.  On the way to the runway, I took a few moments to really look around the cabin – it didn’t take long!  Two of the passengers seats were removed leaving the two rearmost, one of which I occupied.  The interior was sparse, but tastefully appointed with leather seating, overhead lighting and air controls, and good sized windows, which gave the jet a larger feel.  With the two forward seats absent, I had all the legroom I could want.  The all-glass cockpit was really something to see especially in the dark of night.  Quite complex, yet thoughtfully laid out.  After a brief taxi-out at BED past much larger aircraft, we were cleared for departure.  With just the three of us, the jet quite literally leaped into the sky within what seemed like a very short runway length.  In fact this jet regularly operates from KLOM, Wings Field, in Philadelphia which is just 3700’ long.  We were vectored out west away from the city to join the trail of aircraft heading to BOS.  After about 10 minutes we were flying back east, in line, and making the approach past the Boston skyline.  Ambient noise from the jet engines was a bit loud, but certainly not uncomfortable. For a small jet, it had surprising stability during the decent through swirling winds and a 10 knot crosswind.  The approach and landing was quite smooth, with good visibility for the passengers through the front windscreen until touchdown.
 
Overall, I would highly recommend this aircraft for very short-range missions.  Charters in which you are not travelling more than 300 miles such as Boston to New York or New York to Washington, DC, with one or maybe two others, would be the best scenario.  Anything more than that and the aircraft lacks the performance to adequately measure up.  But for those regional day-trips where jet speed and the ability to get into a ridiculously short airport is essential, the Eclipse is the perfect aircraft for the job!

Many thanks to BlueBell Air for the opportunity to fly along, and to Dan and Bruce for their time and professionalism.