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private jet service at sharply reduced rates. Its service is aimed at business travelers who might be tempted to drive to their destinations. “We basically turn a three- to eight-hour drive into a one- to two- hour flight,” says President and CEO Ben Hamilton, who adds, “Our average price point is around $1,200, whereas a private jet might be $7,500.”
ImagineAir is able to offer the service because they fly a fleet of Cirrus SR22s, a three-passenger craft that’s very efficient, Hamilton explains. “We do mostly business trips, and the majority of them are three people or fewer. We have enough scale in our fleet of 11 aircraft to mix and match flights and fill dead legs, passing those savings on to the customer.” The company also handles bookings online rather than through a call center and, like a scheduled airline, uses demand-pricing models. “Our average customer books about four days in advance. You can book the same day if it’s available, but the price gets a little more expensive as the time gets closer,” Hamilton explains.
Any number of companies have been hailed as the “Uber of private aviation,” al- though none have (or probably will) been able to get past the FAA prohibition against selling
Eagle Air
seats in personal planes flown by amateur pi- lots. The safety requirements that charter op- erators have to meet are a major factor. That’s not to say there aren’t companies getting closer. “There are companies who have part- nered to market empty seats,” White Cloud’s Schiavone points out. “If you’re in Chicago and want to get back to White Plains, there’s an app for that now. If there’s an aircraft fly- ing empty on a leg, it just makes sense.”
Blue Star Jets, a NYC-based jet broker, recently launched an app that includes 24/7 personal telephone contact, to follow-up on the booking you make on your smartphone. Their business is designed to fill the 30 per- cent of business aircraft they estimate fly empty to or from their charter destination. The company claims that within four hours of booking a flight, you’ll be in the air. “We like Blue Star Jets very much,” Rossi says. “We like that model and have worked with them several times.”
Still, the industry does face some head- winds. “The uncertainty of the regula- tory environment is a long-term obstacle,” Zipkin explains. Potential changes in secu-
“As people become busier and
wealthier, their time becomes
more valuable. They need to get
to places ‘now,’ and that’s why
the future [of private aviation] is
good. The demand will be there
for the foreseeable future.”
—Javier Diaz, president, Wings Air Helicopters
rity procedures, for example, could put a crimp in the private-aircraft experience. “We have internal security, but not the stand-in-line, take-your-shoes-off type of thing,” he says.
Another problem area is a shortage of pilots, according to Zipkin. “The FAA changed the rules for airline requirements for copilots, and that has had a ripple ef- fect throughout the industry,” he says. “We used to pay twice what an entry- level airline pilot would make, because we wanted to attract the best candidates. The airline had trouble filling those seats, so they started raising their pay, which has set off a sort of race.”
Rossi adds one more industry-wide threat: budget constraints on air-traffic control. “The federal government has threatened to shut down operations at a number of small airports around the country,” he says. The ability of private- flight passengers to land at small airports, like Hilton Head Island Airport instead of Savannah International, is a big attraction for the business. “I’d hate to see that be- coming a limiting factor on growth of the industry,” Rossi notes.
Overall, however, the private-aviation business in Westchester is strong. As Zipkin says, “The challenges we face are those faced by any business that’s growing. Our product has been very well received, and the market is growing here, so it’s onward and upward.” •
Dave Donelson flies from HPN frequently, although not on private planes nearly as often as he’d like.
40 914INC. Q2 2016
THE BUSINESS OF: Private Aviation