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I used to fly "private jets"...specifically Learjet 35s. The vast majority of "private jets" would be better called a "corporate airline". In most cases, these jets are mainly used to ferry corporate employees to far-flung locations to conduct business. Many companies use them as corporate shuttles...instead of paying hundreds or thousands per ticket for business flights on airlines, they pay much less per person to fly them on a corporate-owned jet.
The problem with corporate aviation is most people envision the big boss flying to Monaco for dinner, etc. While undoubtedly some corporate aircraft are used that way (mostly in the entertainment industry, etc), the majority are used to conduct legitimate business travel that in most cases is more cost-effective to do without relying on airlines. Here are a few examples of what I've seen in the industry:
- Corporate jet used to fly tech reps to various factories to solve production problems ASAP. Most of the factories are located in small towns with no large-jet service, so the corporate jet saves time and gets the problem fixed faster, ultimately saving the company wasted time and money.
- Junior and mid-level management schedules the jet to attend meetings in areas that aren't easy to get into (like Waterloo, IA). Using an airline would require a $800 ticket per person, fly in the day prior, rent a car, hotel rooms for the 6-8 people for two nights, and then fly out the next day due to limited airline service. The jet flies them in there in the morning, they do the meetings and conduct their business, then fly home that afternoon. The flight on the jet costs about 2/3s the cost of the airline tickets, plus no rental car or hotel rooms to pay for...and the personnel don't waste 3 days of company time.
- One company does site inspections to ensure quality control, etc. They require a team of 10 people to do these inspections. Instead of flying all 10 via airline twice a week, they fly them on a corporate shuttle aircraft, saving time and money.
I've seen corporate aircraft all used in those manners, and in my years of experience, that's the norm, not the exception. The trips to luxury locations with a CEO and his family are generally the exception. They do occur but when you look at a company's aircraft utilization, 90%+ of the aircraft's time is used for actual business purposes. In fact, many companies forbid execs or anyone else using the jet for personal use (many, but not all).
Most corporate flight departments employ a dispatcher that schedules the aircraft...they are often kept busy because many people from different departments request travel on the aircraft. Corporate jets actually save a company money if they are used correctly and are utilized enough.
In my time flying the Learjet, I'd say many of the locations that I flew to were very out-of-the-way places with no or very limited air service. I never once flew the jet to some exotic destination for a passenger's personal use.
Bottom line: If your company has a lot of employees doing a lot of travel, it often makes more sense to own an airplane instead of paying someone else (ie airlines) to do it for you. If your company does NOT do much travel, it's cheaper to fly commercial. That being said, many companies perform a lot of business travel.
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