"Commercial airline hassles make charter air travel a popular alternative"

["Stephen Irwin" <stepheni@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Monday, June 18, 2007

Commercial airline hassles make charter air travel a popular alternative
By Jamie Appling
The Memphis (TN) Business Journal


Missed connections, canceled flights, lengthy check-ins, limited
destinations and expensive last-minute flights are just some of the reasons
charter air travel is quickly becoming the way to travel for executives and
other professionals. 

Recently, the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics reported that only
72.5% of airline flights are on time. 
 
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, charter air travel has
grown from 3,800 aircraft in 1995 to 6,900 aircraft in 2005. Private
charters made up 10.6% of flights in 2005, the latest year for which data is
available. 

Charter air travel was used an estimated 2.86 million hours in 2005. The FAA
estimates 3.24 million hours of commercial airline travel was used for
business purposes in the same year. 

Charter flights are becoming more popular because they are more time
efficient for business executives, says Dave Ivey, vice president of Wilson
Air Center. 

Executives can shave hours from a normal airline flight because passengers
can arrive as late as 15 minutes before take-off and the plane can land in
up to 3,000 airports across the U.S. 

Wilson Air Center, a fixed based operator at Memphis International Airport
since 1996, also operates FBO's at Houston Hobby Airport and Charlotte
Douglas International Airport. The company owns and operates Wilson Air
Charter, which started in 1988 with one helicopter. 

Wilson Air Charter currently flies a 2005 Learjet 40XR and a Beechcraft King
Air 200, which both seat seven passengers. 

"We are a one-stop shop -- I hate that word, but it is the best way to
describe us," Ivey says. 

Charter air travel can also be more cost-effective. If a passenger takes an
emergency commercial flight, it could cost more than $1,000 because it is
booked within 72 hours of the flight. And if a team of executives must take
the same flight, it would be even more expensive. 

The use of the entire plane is paid for when taking a charter flight,
whether there is one passenger or eight. For example, a flight to Nashville
on the King Air 200 is $2,800, or $400 per passenger if there are seven
people flying. 

Signature Flight Support, which operates more than 100 FBO's all over the
world, has seen a steady growth in its business at Memphis International as
well. Signature-Memphis provides fuel, maintenance and hangars for 16
aircraft. 

Charlie Kimbell, Signature-Memphis general manager, says in some cases it is
more economical for one passenger to fly on an airline, but if there is a
group of passengers flying together, it is better to charter. 

"The most beneficial thing about charter air travel is being able to leave
on a moment's notice," Kimbell says. "Whether you have a business meeting to
get to in another city or you want to take a weekend vacation, you can leave
quickly." 

Ken Hammerton, owner of Vectair-USA, has been offering charter flight
services in Olive Branch since 2004. He says the bulk of Vectair's business,
about 70%, comes equally from both company executives and attorneys. 

Attorneys are traveling via charter more because it helps save on the cost
of overnight stays in other cities, Hammerton says. Commercial airlines do
not have a schedule that matches the schedules of attorneys and charter
travel allows them to spend more time with clients and less time at the
airport. 

The growth for Vectair has come in a round-about way -- word of mouth was
the most effective advertising for the company. The company has a
maintenance shop and a flight school, which is where most of its business
has come from. 

"This business is more like a taxi service," Hammerton says. "You either
have too many airplanes, or the very next day none at all." 

Vectair flies with a six-passenger Navajo Chieftain and a three-person
Cessna 172. Hammerton is looking to add a King Air and a Cessna out of
Jackson, Tenn., and another King Air out of Oxford, Miss. 

A flight from Olive Branch to Nashville in the Cessna is $1,000; the same
flight in the Navajo is $1,700. 

And this is without the long lines to check in or having to remove your
shoes for security. 

Wilson Air Center 
Fixed-base operator
President: Robert A. 'Bob' Wilson
Address: 2930 Winchester
Phone: (901) 345-2992
Web site: www.wilsonair.com

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