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Karl Lagerfeld hosts private jet-themed show at Paris Fashion Week

Thursday, January 26th, 2012

Karl Lagerfeld's private jet-themed show at Paris Fashion Week 2012

Yesterday’s Chanel show by Karl Lagerfeld at Paris Fashion Week demonstrated the enduring appeal and glamour of private aviation for the fashion industry.

Chanel’s Haute Couture show at the Grand Palais in Paris was transformed into a ‘Chanel Air’ private jet, with numbered seats, strip lighting, emergency exits and of course, a bar.

Despite his unrivalled reputation for hosting lavish shows, Lagerfeld’s design was in fact far less lavish than the interiors of many real private jets. A real private aircraft would never have numbered seats – passengers can sit, recline or even sleep wherever they like. In fact some aircraft interiors have fully-fitted bedrooms and bathrooms, not to mention meeting rooms and spacious seating.

The interior of a Boeing Business Jet

The Boeing Business Jet (BBJ) is one larger private charter aircraft that offers a large, luxury interior that is suitable for the most discerning of fashionistas. The 5,390 cubic feet of cabin can be designed almost any way desired. Most configurations divide the cabin into four compartments. The four compartments generally consist of a board room, a lounge, a VIP bedroom, a business office, and two lavatories with showers. Separate galley, washroom and luggage storage are also included.

Other haute couture interiors in the sky are offered by the new Gulfstream G650 – which will be available for private charter later this year – and Embraer’s Lineage.

Posted in Aircraft, Boeing, Celebrities, Embraer, Gulfstream, Gulfstream G650, Karl Lagerfeld, Luxury travel, Private jet charter, VIPs | No Comments »

The Space Race: The new frontier for commercial air travel

Tuesday, May 10th, 2011

The founders of Virgin, Paypal and Amazon are neck and neck in the race to take you into space. PrivateFly.com compares the options and the entrepreneurs.

Virgin Galactic

Who & when: Sir Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin empire and travel adventurer, teamed up with designer Burt Rutan in 2002 to launch his current commercial space program after several prior attempts to design a passenger space flight vehicle were rejected on safety grounds. In 2005 it opened for business, helping to fund the development by asking for a $20,000 deposit to pre-book a seat. Richard Branson is expected to take his parents on an official launch voyage in spring 2012.

Price tag: $200,000 per seat

Experience: 3 day experience including 2 days of ground school training followed by a 3-hour flight in passenger ship SpaceShipTwo. This is similar in size to a Falcon 900 business jet, with an open cabin and large viewing windows both to the side and above. ‘Passenger astronauts’ are able to float freely within the cabin in zero gravity while the pilots provide a changing view.

Technology: The passenger ship is transported and released by a twin-fuselage mothership, WhiteKnightTwo, the largest all-composite aviation vehicle ever built, able to carry a heavy payload of 35,000lbs to high altitude (50,000ft). SpaceShipTwo is released at the height of a commercial airliner then, fired by a hybrid rocket motor, accelerates into space at almost 2500mph, over 3 times the speed of sound. For re-entry, the wings fold back into the cabin in a unique aerodynamic ‘shuttle cock’ design. The re-usable aircraft reconfigures as a glider once back within the earth’s atmosphere, making a runway landing back at the New Mexico base.

Blue Origin

Who & when: Jeff Bezos, chief executive and billionaire founder of online retailer Amazon, has recently confirmed that he too is developed a passenger space program at his ranch in Houston, Texas , after accepting a $22m grant from Nasa to develop low-cost spacecraft. Bezos, who is said to have a lifelong fascination with space travel, is working with partners including aircraft manufacturer Boeing. The company has not yet disclosed full details of its plans but industry insiders are tipping a launch in spring 2012 – around the same time as Richard Branson’s launch flight.

Price tag: Not yet announced.

Experience: Blue Origin’s spacecraft New Shepard (named after Alan Shepard, the first American in space), will launch from the private spaceport near the Texas town of Van Horn site, carrying seven people in total, including at least 3 commercial passengers. The company says it expects to conduct up to 52 launches per year once operational.

Technology: New Shephard is a vertical take-off/vertical landing (VTOL) suborbital shuttle which comprises of a crew capsule atop a launch rocket. The aircraft takes off from the ground in a similar way to existing space shuttles and is controlled by on-board computers, without ground control. Then, after accelerating for two and a half minutes, the rocket engines will shut down, using momentum to continue before releasing the crew capsule in space. After re-entry the capsule deploys parachutes for a ‘splashdown’ landing in water. The technology is less innovative than Virgin’s but is expected to be much cheaper to operate.

SpaceX

Who & when: Elon Musk, founder of online payment system PayPal, established his space development company in 2002 in Los Angeles using $100 million of his own money and in 2005 announced plans for manned commercial flights. Musk has subsequently also received venture capital funding for his SpaceX business, which has a clear focus on undercutting other players in the commercial market via largely in-house processes and a simplified management structure. No official launch date has been announced for passenger flights though last year Musk suggested a 2 to 3 year timeline.

Price tag: A passenger price has yet to be announced although operating costs of $7M per rocket launch have been disclosed.

Experience: SpaceX describes its long-term goal as ‘enabling humanity to become a space-faring civilization’. Its Dragon spacecraft orbital vehicle is intended to carry up to seven people and is launched atop a rocket launch vehicle. The company has launch facilities at Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands, Cape Canaveral in Florida and at the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

Technology: SpaceX has developed a family of partly-reusable, two-stage ‘traditional’ rocket designs. Its Falcon 9 has been designed for manned spaceflight, carrying the passenger craft Dragon, a conventional blunt-cone ballistic capsule which, after re-entry, deploys parachutes and lands in the sea. SpaceX plans to eventually use the passenger vehicle’s thrusters to achieve a land-based landing.

PrivateFly’s view

Of the three contenders, there is no doubt that Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic is currently the front runner. Closest to completion, on the cusp of FAA approval and backed by Virgin Atlantic’s experience and safety record, it is now a very real prospect on the (suborbital) horizon.

Posted in Aircraft, Aircraft manufacturers, Airlines, Celebrities, Environment, Falcon 900, Innovation, Pilot, Price comparison, Prices, Pricing, Private jet charter, Sir Richard Branson, Space, Special occasions, VIPs, Virgin Atlantic | 2 Comments »

Mixed messages from Lord Sugar

Wednesday, March 9th, 2011

Lord Sugar appeared on stage yesterday at the British Business and General Aviation Association’s annual conference in St Albans. During his informal interview by George Galanopoulos (MD of London Executive Aviation) he made a series of surprising and contradictory statements. He certainly knows his stuff when it comes to business aviation but, in this instance, I couldn’t help but wonder: Was Lord Sugar making any sense?

At the outset of the interview, Lord Sugar wooed the audience of private jet operators and service providers by describing how he was introduced to private aviation. He talked about how, in the early days of his career, he was required to visit an factory in Aalborg, Denmark twice a week. By chartering a private jet he was able to leave his home at 8am, fly directly to the factory, spend a full day’s work in Denmark and still be home by 6pm. Inflexible airline schedules and long ground transfers were just not an option for his business needs and there was a clear argument for private jet charter in order to significantly increase his efficiency.

This was the music to the industry’s ears and the room was warming to our celebrity business guru. However then Lord Sugar switched approach rapidly and stated that, actually, he and other business leaders used private aviation fundementally because they were lazy and enjoyed the luxury of avoiding busy airports and the masses.

So which Sugar is your cup of tea?

Lord (white) Sugar A: “Private aviation is all about efficient use of executive times”

Lord (brown) Sugar B: “Executives use private aviation because we are lazy and enjoy the luxury of avoiding airports and people”

Self-deprecating humour perhaps? Or playing up to the bloated tycoon stereotype? Many of us in the room weren’t quite sure.

Posted in Aircraft, Airlines, Airports, Business, Business travel, Celebrities, Closest airports, Lord Sugar, Luxury travel, Private jet charter, VIPs | No Comments »

Mobile airport terminal showcased at Geneva

Thursday, February 10th, 2011

Interesting news this week from Geneva Airport where a mobile airport terminal design was showcased – a world-first. The mobile terminal, developed by Austria’s TMT Management GmBH, provides the same facilities that would be found inside a conventional, fixed airport terminal but within an outdoor structure that resembles a large marquee.

The mobile terminal can be constructed and taken down within a week and is intended to provide overloaded airports with an extra means of processing and handling passengers during peak demand – such as extra ski season passenger traffic at Geneva, major sports or arts events, or for natural disaster back-up.

It will be interesting to see if the idea catches on within the private jet sector. I could see it being a successful idea for smaller private jet airports or FBOs, which can find themselves under pressure during nearby major sports or arts events – or those which are overlooked altogether because their facilities are not perceived to meet demand, even though their location may be better.

Examples that spring to mind are Cranfield airport, which could be an ideal hub for Silverstone during the F1 Grand Prix. It already handles multiple helicopter flights and could become the de facto landing spot for other aircraft if the terminal facilities were bigger. Similarly Southend Airport in Essex could become a competitive landing site for events in London and the South East if something like this could be deployed – especially with the London 2012 Olympics just around the corner.

One ‘tented’ FBO that already operates successfully - albeit as a permanent structure – is Signature’s terminal at Toulon Airport, in the South of France. This offers very good facilities within a stylish tented structure and adds another, much-needed option for private jet customers arriving during the peak summer season on the Cote D’Azur, for events such as the Cannes Film Festival.

The ability to add FBO terminal space for a short period of time would allow smaller airports or terminals to market themselves more successfully to private jet operators and private jet customers (IF the facilities were of the right quality for the private jet customer of course). So this really is an interesting development which could open up the market and provide more choice to the private jet customer – something we always celebrate at PrivateFly.com.

Posted in Airports, Celebrities, Closest airports, FBO, Helicopters, London 2012 Olympics, Luxury travel, Private jet charter, VIPs | No Comments »

Flying like a G6 (aka the Gulfstream G650)

Wednesday, November 24th, 2010

The new Gulfstream G650, Gulfstream’s latest long range business jet, has been immortalised in song. The platinum-selling track is ‘Like a G6′, by Far East Movement, from their album Free Wired, currently at number 6 on the UK charts and number one on the US BillBoard Hot 100 last month. ‘Like a G6′ has been generating a lot of attention, not least because many listeners are wondering what a G6 actually is. The lyrics (“I’m feelin’ so fly like a G6″) compare feelings of exhilaration to flying in the ultra-long range and ultra-large G650, which will become Gulfstream’s largest, fastest and most expensive business jet when it enters the market in 2012, priced at $59 million.

The new aircraft will ultimately replace the Gulfstream G550 – Gulfstream’s current aircraft operating in the same category. And manufacturers of competitor aircraft such as the Dasalt Falcon 7X will no doubt be re-tuning their radios whenever the song is played. So for lovers of music and aircraft everywhere, here is PrivateFly.com‘s rundown of the G6:

With a weight of less than 46,000kg (100,000 pounds) the Gulfstream G650 will give passengers a wide choice of airports, including those with smaller runways. The aircraft will have a range of up to 7,000 nm (13,000 km) and will fly at cruise speeds of Mach 0.85 to 0.90, with a maximum speed of Mach 0.925. The cabin will provide the ultimate in comfort and design with internal features to include a full bar, kitchen and a variety of communication and entertainment options – such as satellite phones and wireless internet. To maximise internal volume, Gulfstream’s designers moved away from the usual circular cross-section in favour of an oval shape, which allows a flatter lower portion. The cabin will be 6 feet 5 inches high and 8 feet 6 inches wide, and will have sixteen oval windows, each measuring 71 cm (28 inches) wide.

The wing design is also notable, using a greater sweep at 36 degrees than previous Gulfstream aircraft – for example, the G550 wing has 27 degrees of sweep. The wing’s leading edge is a continuously-changing curve, and the airfoil varies continuously from root to tip.

For pilots, the G650 features the most technologically advanced cockpit with a number of enhancements including four 14-inch, adaptive, liquid-crystal displays, and a fully automatic, three-dimensional scanning weather radar with an integral terrain database for efficient ground-clutter elimination. It also uses state-of-the-art vision systems to improve both pilot situational awareness and flight safety.

The G650′s first test flight took place on November 25, 2009. Joint certification from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is being pursued and expected to be completed during 2011. Deliveries are expected to begin in 2012.

Crew: 2 pilots
Capacity: 11 – 18 passengers
Payload: 6,500 lb (2,950 kg)
Length: 99 ft 9 in (30.41 m)
Wingspan: 99 ft 7 in (30.36 m)
Height: 25 ft 4 in (7.72 m)
Wing area: 1,283 ft² (119.2 m²)
Aspect ratio: 7.7
Max takeoff weight: 99,600 lb (45,200 kg)
Powerplant: 2× Rolls-Royce Deutschland BR725 turbofan, 16,100 lbf (71.6 kN) each
Maximum landing weight: 83,500 lb (37,876 kg)
Wing sweep: 36 degrees
Maximum speed: Mach 0.925 (530 knots, 610 mph, 982 km/h)
Cruise speed: Long range cruise: Mach 0.85 (488 kn, 562 mph, 904 km/h) Fast cruise: Mach 0.90 (517 kn, 595 mph, 957 km/h)
Range: Long range cruise: 7,000 nautical miles (8,050 mi, 12,960 km) Fast cruise: 5,000 nmi (5,750 mi, 9,260 km)
Service ceiling: 51,000 ft (15,500 m)
Wing loading: 77.7 lb/ft²

PrivateFly’s view
Gulfstream is the Audi of the private jet world, consistently producing aircraft which are absolutely reliable (99.6% despatch rate), safe and stylish – at a price. Distinguished by their egg-shaped windows, which give a birds-eye view of the landscape, Gulfstream aircraft are extremely popular with private jet customers. The G650 with it’s excellent range and fuel capacity promises to be be a highly successful entry to the private jet charter market.

Posted in Aircraft, Aircraft manufacturers, Airports, Business, Business travel, Dasalt, Dasalt Falcon 7X, FAQs, Fleet, Gulfstream, Gulfstream G550, Gulfstream G650, Luxury travel, Pilot, Price comparison, Prices, Pricing, Private jet charter, Safety, TCAS, VIPs | No Comments »

New FBO at Paris-Le Bourget

Thursday, October 7th, 2010

Paris Le-Bourget airport

The announcement of Execujet’s new FBO at Paris – Le Bourget airport means private jet customers now have even more choice at what is the number one private jet hub in Europe, averaging 65 private jet departures each day.

As Execujet are also themselves an operator and broker of private jet charter, it remains to be seen whether other private jet operators or brokers will choose to use the FBO. Obviously there will be some reluctance from them to expose their customers to a competitor’s brand! At PrivateFly.com we are increasingly seeing customers having an opinion on which FBO they choose – many of our customers using Paris-Le Bourget will ask to use Signature’s FBO services.

The private jet industry is undergoing much change as it comes out of recession and it will be interesting to see what happens to the FBO landscape. At PrivateFly we aim to make private jet travel more transparent and easier to arrange and to give customers as much choice as possible. I predict that customers will begin to have more and more of an opinion about which FBO they wish to use as the industry evolves in the next few years.

Posted in Aircraft, Business, Closest airports, FBO, Private jet charter, VIPs | No Comments »

The ash settles

Tuesday, April 27th, 2010

Eyjafjallajokull and it’s volcanic ash cloud have provoked a media storm over the last couple of weeks – not to mention huge disruption for passengers across Europe and beyond. It’s been an unprecedented time for the private aviation industry as vast numbers of stranded travellers who would not normally consider taking a private jet have sought to do just that. For the most part, it’s been a great opportunity for us at PrivateFly – and the whole of the industry – to showcase the flexibility of private aviation charter: With such a large operator network at our disposal, we were able to help clients in a number of ways – including using European airports and operators outside of the no-fly-zone (organising ground/rail transportation to get clients there) and, for shorter journeys, using traditional piston aircraft which were still able to fly.

Our clients over this period included:

Michelle McGovern from Dublin, who was left stranded in London after a planned business day trip and unable to get home to her newborn baby. Within three hours of her call, PrivateFly arranged a PA31 Piper Chieftain propeller aircraft from Lydd airfield in Kent to Dublin Western airport with operator LyddAir. Michelle said “It was very worrying but thankfully PrivateFly were able to respond so quickly. It was such a relief to get back to my family”.
The US-based board of a leading international publishing group were in London for meetings and urgently needed to get back to New York. The Executive PA called PrivateFly on the Monday morning and at midday the clients departed from London in a mammoth 14-hour limousine transfer to Barcelona, via the Eurotunnel. Operator Aerodynamics Malaga arranged a Legacy 600 from Barcelona to Teterboro airport, which departed on the Tuesday morning via a refuelling stop in Santa Maria in the Azores. By Tuesday evening they were back in New York. The Executive PA commented “I cannot thank you, and your team, enough for the help and assistance you have given us. You have all been fantastic! Your calm and reassuring manner throughout made my job a whole lot easier”.
Telecommunications executive Andrew Reid and his wide Katy were facing the prospect of missing the Scottish wedding celebrations of Olympic cycling star Sir Chris Hoy. PrivateFly arranged a flight from Kemble airfield to Aberdeen International with operator PropStar on a Cessna 182 piston aircraft. Andrew said “We were so thrilled to make it against the odds and it certainly added a note of drama to the occasion! We enjoyed the flight too – it was a great way to travel”.

Andrew & Katy Reid with their Cessna 182

Posted in Aircraft, Business, Business travel, Celebrities, Private jet charter, Time-saving, VIPs, Volcano, Weather | No Comments »

This week in private aviation

Wednesday, April 14th, 2010

Some interesting industry news stories caught my eye this week.

1) Lufthansa’s new private jet add-on service

Lufthansa is now offering private jet flights throughout Europe. This is not to compete with their scheduled airline operation but targets customers who are looking to combine scheduled flights and private jet travel. This is a common requirement amongst private jet customers, who will take a scheduled airline for a long-haul leg, with a private jet then allowing them to get very close to their ultimate destination on a bespoke schedule - opening up far more airport options and giving total flexibility on timings.

A bit of history on this: Originally Lufthansa partnered with NetJets to supply this service but they fell out of love. Lufthansa have since decided to start their own private jet operation offering charter of a Cessna Citation CJ3, Cessna Citation XLS, and Challenger 850. What will now be interesting to see is how many other airlines will follow. It would be an excellent branding opportunity for a small private jet company to fly the BA colours.

2) Icejet and JetCom’s Alliance

As predicted by many, the recession has acted as a catalyst for industry efficiency mergers and alliances – the latest between charter operator Icejet, based at London Oxford Airport, and Swiss operator JetCom Aviation. In a move that makes perfect operational and financial sense, Icejet and JetCom have brought their fleets of Dornier 328 jet aircraft together under the same umbrella. Icejet will now manage the operations of JetCom’s 31-seat Dornier 328 Jet by providing maintenance and crew support. The aircraft joins the existing Icejet fleet which includes a Dornier 328 14 seat VIP jet and a 19-seat all-business class D328 jet. The intention is to add a second JetCom Aviation 31 seater 328 to the Icelandic fleet in the near future.

This looks to be a match made in heaven; with JetCom’s aircraft having been under-utilised, combined with Icejet’s excellent marketing strengths. The benefits are many: More back up when aircraft are unservicable/in maintenance; ability to reduce numbers of crew accross the combined fleet; increased crew flexibility for planning and scheduling and maximising the efficiency of both operations – with the aim of reducing empty sectors.

Posted in Aircraft, Airlines, Business, Business travel, Lufthansa strike, Private jet charter, Recession, VIPs | No Comments »

Private jets on the campaign trail

Wednesday, April 7th, 2010

The Conservatives use of private jets for David Cameron has attracted press attention on the first two days of the 2010 General Election campaign. The Tory leader travelled back to London on a private aircraft after his first day of campaigning yesterday and is expected to travel to the North West and Wales the same way today. Labour, by contrast are reported to be using the train as their preferred mode of transport around the regions, with only the occasional foray into the air.

One reason for this is, of course, the relative campaign budgets of each of the two parties. The maximum permitted spend on an election campaign is £18.96 million (plus £350,000 for Northern Ireland) and it seems the Conservatives have this and more at their disposal, whereas Labour are reported to have a war chest of around £8 million. Labour strategists are attempting to make a virtue of this and are talking about doing things “the old-fashioned way” whereas the Tories are making clear that they will use a variety of transport options and that when a private jet is chosen, it will be for reasons of efficiency – given their aim is to visit two regions a day at the height of the campaign. Senior sources were keen to stress that Mr Cameron’s private jet trips were commercially negotiated and would be carbon offset on an annual basis.

Politics aside, it certainly illustrates the point that private jet travel makes light of a schedule that would simply defeat other modes of transport. To attend appointments in two geographically-disparate regions of the country in a single day would be logistically difficult by train or car. And scheduled flights would present a number of barriers including time wasted at the airport, inflexible flight times and potentially long ground transfers depending on the location. A private jet can take off minutes after you arrive, on a bespoke schedule designed to suit you and can access a far greater number of regional airports – which in many cases would be much closer to your destination. It’s not just politicians who recognise these efficiencies either. For today’s time-starved business executives, private aviation’s ‘hassle-free’ nature is highly attractive. However it may be surprising to many that, with careful planning, it can bring cost savings too.

At PrivateFly.com we recently flew a team of sales executives from a UK pharmaceutical company, who were on a very tight schedule, to meet with several European suppliers. They wanted to squeeze in three meetings in the same day – in Paris, Flensburg and Edinburgh – as it was important for them to minimise their time away from the office. They considered both scheduled airlines and private jet charter to compare both time and cost savings. Taking a six-seater private jet would save them nearly 30 hours in travelling time – and more surprisingly – would also save the company £1790 in overall costs, (based on scheduled business-class fares and related overnight/ driving costs versus the cost of a small, six-seater jet).

In addition to these time and cost savings, the team found that travelling by private jet charter brought many additional advantages; they were also able to use time in the air for confidential discussions and to plan for each of the meetings in the knowledge they were in a secure and private environment. The end result was that the team arrived on time for each of the meetings – relaxed, focused and prepared.

Posted in Aircraft, Business, Business travel, General Election 2010, Politics, Private jet charter, Time-saving, VIPs | No Comments »

Private jet breaks speed record

Wednesday, March 24th, 2010

Swiss pilot Riccardo Mortara has set a new speed record for flying around the world on a Sabreliner 65 private jet, flying over 20,000 nautical miles in 58 hours. This new record defeated Steve Fosset’s previous 2006 record of 67 hours and one minute. Mortara departed from Geneva on Friday to Bahrain, Colombo, Macau, Osaka, Petropavlovsk, Anchorage, Las Vegas and Montreal, before the plane was diverted to Iceland due to volcanic activity. He returned on Sunday. Congratulations to Richard and his crew.

However I wonder if this flight has helped promote the private jet industry. With environmental issues always close to the top of the news agenda, some may say that flying an empty private jet around the world portrays the wrong environmental image for our industry.

Aviation as an industry obviously doesn’t sit easily within a green agenda. Major commercial airlines including British Airways and Virgin have made major advances in biofuel development over recent years but implementing its widespread usage would come at a huge price: The amount of fuel required by commercial airlines is massive and, given the process of creating biofuel, would result in a major increase in global food prices.

Private aviation, by comparison, uses much lower fuel volumes overall (although obviously the fuel burn per passenger is much greater). What’s more the typical private jet user is also a good target for green messages. The guilt and negative press attention that often surrounds private jet usage by the rich and famous means they would probably be very open to developments that mitigate their carbon footprint - even if this meant an increase in price. Just look at take-up of the Prius amongst celebrities! So in my view the potential is there for the private jet industry to take the lead on looking at biofuels.

And going back to Riccardo’s amazing achievement, perhaps we, as an industry, should encourage records to be set and dictated by green technology eg the lowest fuel burn from Geneva to Paris in a 4 seat passenger aircraft with a flight time under 60 mins?

Posted in Innovation, Pilot, VIPs | No Comments »