Go Barnstorming For Sales…You’ll Be Astonished By The Results!

Business Aviation Education from Aargus Air Charter                                                                                  Volume 1, Post 12

When you have to be face-to-face to close new business, charter a plane for a day and put your best sales team aboard. Tell them to hit one geographical region.

Call up each prospect and say, “I’ve got the company plane next Thursday and I’m coming to your state. There’s an airport about 15 minutes from your office. If I ask the pilot to land there, could you see me at 10:00?”  

People you've been trying to see for months will suddenly make room for you on their schedule. It's the novelty and curiosity. They've all got to see this salesperson who's out barnstorming for sales in "the company plane."  You’ll be astonished by the results!

Call Dan Dunn at Aargus Air Charter with all your questions and to arrange your trips.

(616) 956-7600 or (616) 822-0099.

Bring Your Customers To You

Business Aviation Education from Aargus Air Charter                                                                                  Volume 1, Post 11

Make it exciting for your customers to visit you!

Charter a plane to fly serious prospects and customers to your plants, manufacturing facilities, showrooms, office buildings, and sites. You’ll have a competitive advantage because customers will send the whole decision-making team, not just one representative, when they can easily make the trip the same day in your aircraft.

Everyone agrees to make the trip if you offer to send the company plane!

Call Dan Dunn at Aargus Air Charter with all your questions and to arrange your trips.

(616) 956-7600 or (616) 822-0099.

Selecting the Nearest Airport

Business Aviation Education from Aargus Air Charter                                                                                  Volume 1, Post 10

With business aviation, you can land at the airport closest to your business meeting. That way, you aren’t forced to use the airports served by the scheduled airlines.

Suppose, for example, you flew from Grand Rapids to Columbus, Ohio. If your business meetings were in the Northwest suburbs, such as Dublin, you’d fly into Don Scott OSU Field. If your meetings were downtown, you’d likely use Port Columbus. For meetings on the Southwest side of town, Bolton Field would be the choice.

There are about 5,000 airports in the United States that can be used by business aviation. That gives you a lot more city choices than the scheduled airlines; and more choices of locations within larger cities.

With all that selection, how do you know which airport to pick? The answer is…you don’t need to select the airport. Your operator will do that for you.

If you will tell us the name of the town where you need to go, we’ll find the closest airport. If a city has more than one airport, we’ll ask you for the part of town you want to visit and select the airport most convenient for you.

Call Dan Dunn at Aargus Air Charter with all your questions and to arrange your trips.

(616) 956-7600 or (616) 822-0099.

How Do I Find The Plane?

Business Aviation Education from Aargus Air Charter                                                                                  Volume 1, Post 9

The very first time you charter a business plane or jet, everything will be new and exciting! After that, it’ll still be exciting, but you’ll know how everything works. A very common question from first-time passengers is, “how do I find my airplane?”

When we confirm your itinerary, we will give you very specific information. We’ll tell you what general aviation terminal, or FBO, you should drive to. (As mentioned in an earlier post, we’ll even include driving directions and an airport map.)

With your itinerary, you will have the tail number for the aircraft, along with the make and model of the aircraft (e.g., a Lear 35A or a King Air 200). The tail number serves somewhat the same function as a license plate, only it is painted on the tail of the aircraft. The pilots use the tail number to identify the aircraft when talking on the radio with Air Traffic Control.

When you enter the FBO, walk up to the service desk, give your name and the tail number of your aircraft, and ask for the pilots to be paged. Within about a minute, either the Captain or the First Officer will greet you and escort you to the aircraft.

As it turns out, you don’t need to find your aircraft at all! Just announce your arrival and let one of your pilots greet you and take you out to the plane. How elegant!

Call Dan Dunn at Aargus Air Charter with all your questions and to arrange your trips.

(616) 956-7600 or (616) 822-0099.

Ground Transportation and Business Aviation

Business Aviation Education from Aargus Air Charter                                                                                  Volume 1, Post 8

 

In an earlier post, I explained that your business charter flight lands at a general aviation terminal, frequently called an FBO. The customer service folks at the FBO can arrange rental cars, taxis, car services, or limousines for you.

It’s actually easier if you allow me to arrange all that for you when we set up the trip. Some airports have more than one FBO on the field, and your air charter operator knows which one the pilots will use. So it makes your life very easy if you let us make the ground transportation arrangements.

If you have a preferred car rental company, we’ll use it if there’s a location on or near the airport. At some airports, almost every car rental company has a desk. At others, there might be just one company. In any case, you’ll know ahead of time and have a confirmation number.

The rental car agents will bring the car to the FBO and usually have it waiting planeside for you. When you are finished with your business, you return the rental car to the FBO; and someone from the FBO will drive it back over to the rental car office for you.

If you prefer using a taxi, car service, or limousine, we’ll order these ahead of time. The customer service folks at the FBO will make sure the service provider is waiting for your arrival.

Call Dan Dunn at Aargus Air Charter with all your questions and to arrange your trips.

(616) 956-7600 or (616) 822-0099.

Where Do I Catch the Plane?

Business Aviation Education from Aargus Air Charter                                                                                  Volume 1, Post 7

Business aircraft arrive and depart from terminals that are different from the ones used by the scheduled airlines. There are several terms for these business aircraft terminals. Depending on the airport, you will hear them called the: general aviation terminal;  private hangars, or; a Fixed Base Operator almost always referred to by the acronym FBO.

You won’t need to waste any valuable time trying to find your way to the general aviation terminal or FBO. That’s because when you book the trip, you will receive an airport diagram and precise driving instructions so you can easily get to the proper destination at the airport.

Parking is right outside the door, and if there’s an FBO anywhere in America that charges for parking, I haven’t found it. At many locations, you can receive permission to drive up to the plane to make loading and unloading luggage much easier. And if someone is dropping you off, you can step out of the car, walk a few steps, and get into the aircraft.

When you arrive at your destination, your pilots will park the aircraft at the FBO or general aviation terminal in the destination airport. If you have a rental car reserved, or a car service is picking you up, you’ll often find them waiting planeside as you step out of your aircraft.

You’ll also be able to get a map showing the FBO’s location at that airport, so you can easily find your way back to the plane when you’re ready to go home.

Call Dan Dunn at Aargus Air Charter with all your questions and to arrange your trips.

(616) 956-7600 or (616) 822-0099.

How Business Charter Pricing Works

Business Aviation Education from Aargus Air Charter                                                                                  Volume 1, Post 6

 

Unlike the scheduled airlines, where you buy a ticket for each person, business aviation is priced for the aircraft. Think about it this way. If you have a six-seat business jet, or an eight-seat turboprop, you’ve got all the seats for your use.

The price is the same no matter how many of the seats you fill. Many businesses make it a matter of procedure to try and fill all the seats. That’s not always possible, of course. If one or two people must go somewhere right away, some seats may stay empty because no one else at the company needed to go along or could fit a trip into their schedule.

But when trips are planned several days in advance, which is often the case, it’s pretty easy to fill all the seats, if that’s what your company wants to do. A senior executive who’s visiting a plant may order the plane; but folks from accounting, human resources, internal audit, or purchasing may also need to visit the plant…and could be asked to help fill all the seats. 

Between company email and the internal “grapevine” you will have no trouble at all finding people who would much rather go on the “company plane” than the airlines, even if it means re-arranging their schedule!

Call Dan Dunn at Aargus Air Charter with all your questions and to arrange your trips.

(616) 956-7600 or (616) 822-0099.

Is Business Aviation Cost Effective?

Business Aviation Education from Aargus Air Charter                                                                                  Volume 1, Post 5

Sometimes yes, and sometimes no. It's pretty much like any other business investment or expenditure. If you are trying to cost-justify business aviation purely in terms of travel expenses, you'll almost always get a better deal on the scheduled airlines. Note that I said almost.

But having said that, if your only criterion is travel expense, the scheduled airlines are a terrible choice. If you want to travel at the lowest possible cost, you should be riding the bus. Or maybe taking the train. Even driving a car would be cheaper.

Don't be silly, you say. We'd never take the bus. While it's true we cannot possibly get from here to there at a lower cost, look at the travel times. And the route. And...well everything. No one would ride the bus for business.

So, say I. Cost is NOT the most important criterion, is it. Well no, you'd admit. It's cost balanced against travel schedules, itineraries, nights away from home, days away from the office, that sort of thing. Might you also consider privacy, the ability to have confidential discussions en-route, being able to review and change presentations along the way? Would these things be important? And what about arriving rested and refreshed so you can go directly to your meeting or sales call? Would that be important?

You're starting to see the bigger picture. Business aviation is all about the benefits of saving time. On some trips, saving time would be nice but really doesn't matter. If you're going to a plant and staying a week, you may not care how fast you got there. (You might care a great deal about how quickly you can get back home, though!)

On the other hand, if you're buried in work at the office but you're also the company's top "closer" and the regional sales manager needs you out in the field to get the deal closed, time is very important to you. Being able to go there non-stop right after lunch, close the sale, and be back home by 6 PM may be the best possible use of your time.

Oh, about that comment almost. If you have 3 people going to the same place, and it's last minute full-fare tickets, business aviation can be about the same cost as the scheduled airlines. If you have four or more folks going at the last minute, business aviation is frequently a better deal than the scheduled airlines.

Trade Shows and Conventions...Here’s Where Business Aviation Can Really Pay Off

January and February are busy months for trade shows and conventions. This article points out practical, cost-effective ways to use chartered business aircraft in conjunction with trade shows, vendor display booths, and industry conventions.

Customers and Prospects

Throughout 2013, your reference accounts offered their time to talk to your prospects, and perhaps gave on-site tours or demos of your product at their facilities. You can repay them by offering a ride to and from the trade show in your chartered plane.

Ask yourself if there are any hot prospects, located on your way to the show, which might be impressed by a ride in the company plane. We aren’t suggesting that a trip in your business aircraft would close the deal; but it would certainly get you concentrated attention.

You might have key accounts that are at-risk from the attention your competitors will lavish on these customers during the event. One way to protect your relationship is to offer your at-risk accounts a lift to and from the trade show on your chartered company plane.

Imagine a trip where an at-risk account, a reference account, and a hot prospect were sitting together with you and your top sales person discussing your products and services. The reference account can answer the prospect’s questions and give first-hand information about the benefits of using your products. The at-risk account listens to all this and is reinforced in his current usage of your products and services. You and your sales manager would keep the conversations moving in the right direction.

Logistics and Security

If you have a booth or display at a trade show, you need to ship the booth, all the collateral, along with computers, monitors, and scale models to set-up inside the booth. You might have samples of the product itself, or prototypes of a new one coming out soon. Getting all this stuff to the vendor hall, with nothing lost, broken, or tampered with, can be a major headache. Why not charter a King Air 200?  These turbo-props have enormous on-board storage capacity…almost like a flying walk-in closet. Everything you need for the trade show can be stowed aboard.

Your Sales Team

Since the King Air is carrying all your materials anyway, you might as well fill the seats with the sales team that will be working the show. During the outbound flight, they can be reviewing their “at-show” strategies and getting a final sales briefing on target accounts. On the way back, the team can debrief on contacts and leads developed during the show; and discuss the “post-show” sales strategy.

Leverage Your Time

The scenarios we just described all have one thing in common…they leverage your time. They suggest ways to turn commercial travel into productive sales time. Give us a call so we can help you save time on your shows and conventions as you plan the first quarter.

(c) 2008-2014 AirPSG, LLC. Used with Permission.

All About Luggage

Business Aviation Education from Aargus Air Charter                                                                                  Volume 1, Post 4

One thing for sure…it won’t get lost! Your luggage is always on the same flight with you. And for those of you who worry about this, probably because you’ve had the scheduled airlines lose a bag or two, here’s how it works.

When you arrive at the private hangar or terminal (called an FBO), someone from the FBO staff, or one of the pilots, will assist you with your luggage, take it to the plane, and immediately load it aboard. You can watch them do it, if you’re so inclined.

In some aircraft, you can access your luggage from inside the cabin during the flight, too. In any case, as soon as you land and the co-pilot opens the door for you, the process will reverse and your bags will be off-loaded and placed in your car. Simple!
 

Call Dan Dunn at Aargus Air Charter with all your questions and to arrange your trips. 

(616) 956-7600 or (616) 822-0099.

Working on the Flight

Business Aviation Education from Aargus Air Charter                                                   Volume 1, Post 3

One advantage of flying in a business aircraft is being able to board the flight without strangers – or competitors – looking over your shoulder! You will find that all business aircraft have fold out worktables that are nearly the size of a small desk. These aren’t flip-down laps trays like a coach seat on the scheduled airlines. And on large cabin business jets, you often find a full-size table permanently installed.

Many, but not all, business aircraft have power outlets so you can recharge your electronic devices. If that’s going to be important, let us know. In all aircraft, you’ll find individual reading lights, air vents, and shades to adjust the amount of sunlight streaming in.

You will have plenty of room near your seat for your briefcase, purse, laptop bag, or anything else you need at hand to be productive on board. And best of all…you’ll have a comfortable seat with plenty of legroom and elbowroom so you can relax and think! What a wonderful thing!

 

Call Dan Dunn at Aargus Air Charter with all your questions and to arrange your trips. (616) 956-7600 or (616) 822-0099.

Food and Beverages On Your Flight!

Business Aviation Education from Aargus Air Charter                                                                  Volume 1 Post 2

Unlike commercial airports, where you can’t take liquids through TSA security screening, you’re welcome to bring your own beverages on board. You don’t need to, because the aircraft will be stocked with an assortment of hot and cold beverages. But if you just opened that bottle of water, there’s no need to glug it down on your way to the airport.

You may also bring food aboard, which is nice on a morning flight if you stopped off on the way to the airport for donuts, coffee, or a bagel. Your flight can also be catered. Tell us what you’d like for a meal or snack, and chances are very good we can provide it.

The larger the aircraft, the more likely it is to have a galley where hot meals can be prepared or heated. But even on the smaller aircraft, you can have a continental breakfast, a boxed lunch, or appetizers and hors d’oeuvres on an evening flight.

For answers to all your business aviation and air charter questions, please call Dan Dunn at Aargus Air Charter at (616) 956-7600. 

Scheduling Your Charter Flight

Business Aviation Education from Aargus Air Charter                                                                                  Volume 1, Post 1

Unlike the scheduled airlines, where you have no choice at all about the schedule, you can easily specify the departure or arrival times when you charter a business aircraft for your trips.

Let’s assume you live and work in Grand Rapids. When arranging a chartered business trip, you typically want to arrive at your destination by a certain time. Just tell me when you need to arrive, and I’ll let you know what time we need to take off.

When you’re planning the return trip, you’ll typically know what time you expect to be finished with your business. Let me know when you expect to be finished, and we can set up the return trip to take off as soon as you get to the airport!

For answers to all your business aviation and air charter questions, please call Dan Dunn at Aargus Air Charter at (616) 956-7600.