Charter Services Provide Corporate Flight Convenience

Charter plane services deliver the hottest commodity in corporate travel — time.

They typically charge by the hour, depart at the customer’s convenience and are on standby for the return trip.

The price to fly several people to a specific meeting is reasonable when the down time associated with the mandated schedule of commercial flights is considered.

A chartered aircraft can also travel to a number of locations over a couple of days, and chartered planes are generally able to land at smaller airports, providing closer access to destinations.

“There are thousands of airports available to general aviation aircraft,” said Philip Butcher, owner and operations director of Blue Skies Charters.

Bill Schwyhart, one of four investors in Pinnacle Air Executive Jet Service, said private charter services are often price competitive with commercial flights when a group is planning to make the trip. He declined to provide price information.

Butcher also declined to say what Blue Skies charges per hour but said his most expensive trips are $15,000 to $20,000 — likely a cross-country jaunt.

Ninety percent of the trips handled by Blue Skies are one-day trips, but two-day trips are also common.

Blue Skies also has a light twin-engine plane. One jet seats nine people, the other seats six, and the twin seats eight.

Butcher said he added a number of corporate customers when he added jet service four years ago.

“People who can afford to travel by charter want to go in jets,” he noted.

The small jets have an excellent safety record, he said.

Blue Skies has four full-time pilots and Butcher, who still handles a large portion of the charter flights. It has three mechanics who handle maintenance of the Blue Skies fleet as well as other outside aircraft maintenance.

Blue Skies has about a dozen regular corporate clients. The service operates from two 10,000-SF hangars at the Rogers Municipal Airport — one is used for planes and Blue Skies’ home office, and the other is for the company’s aircraft maintenance operation.

“The good solid economy of Northwest Arkansas has been the biggest reason for maintaining the business,” Butcher said.

“Tens of millions” were invested to form Pinnacle Air Services, Schwyhart said, declining to be more specific.

“It’s a very capital-intensive venture, not for the faint of heart,” he said.

The thriving economy in the area and the need for private charters leads him to believe Pinnacle Air will grow. It’s been busy through the first six months of operation, and Schwyhart is confident the company’s penchant for safety precautions and quality equipment will help it succeed.

All Pinnacle Air flights include a captain and a first officer. Two operators means additional safety assurance for each flight and allows one pilot to deal with any emergency in the cabin, while the other continues flight operations. Pinnacle Air jets also are doubled up on a number of emergency devices and critical equipment.

Pinnacle Air operates from five aircraft hangars at the Springdale Airport with about 50,000 SF of hangar space. The charter service has two Lear 31s and a Lear 35. Each seats eight passengers.