Business Jet Traveler s first annual Readers choice survey Nearly a thousand subscribers responded to BJT s first annual survey on business jet travel. Turn the page to find out why our readers fly privately; what they like best and least about fractional, jet card and charter providers and their own jets; and what aircraft they d pick if they could have any available model. 0 I BJT october_november 0 I www.bjtonline.com
PHOTOGRAPHS BY BILL BERNSTEIN
Flying privately The ability to save time and access more airports both productivity enhancers scored much higher than other reasons to fly privately. What are the most important reasons you fly privately? Save time Ability to use airports that the airlines don t serve More comfortable flight Privacy Ability to work en route Security 9% Readers were asked to indicate three reasons. % 7% % 77% 69% Fractional shares, jet cards and charter Age of Aircraft Peak-Day Policies/Pricing Overall, business jet travelers seem to be a pretty satisfied bunch, but charter customers appear particularly happy, with 7 percent saying they would Aircraft Model Choices Value for Price Paid definitely use their provider again and recommend it to others. Fractional shareowners, jet-card holders and charter customers all gave their highest marks to customer service and cleanliness of aircraft. Jet-card holders assigned the lowest scores to peak-day policies and pricing while fractional owners gave the worst marks to residual-value terms. Charter customers record- ed relatively high scores in all categories but showed the least enthusiasm for peak-day policies and pricing. Availabilty of Aircraft on Short Notice Will You Renew, Buy Another or Use Again? DEFINITELY PROBABLY PROBABLY NOT DEFINITELY NOT Fractional-share holders Jet-card holders Charter customers Gives me the ability to visit more than one client on the same business day. I BJT october_november 0 I www.bjtonline.com
Fractional shares, jet cards and charter Cleanliness of Aircraft Would You Recommend This Provider? It allows me to take a client with me, which enhances the relationship-building experience. Customer Service DEFINITELY PROBABLY PROBABLY NOT DEFINITELY NOT Residual-Value Terms Fractional-share holders Jet-card holders Charter customers Aircraft Range, cabin size and economical operation topped the list of important aircraft features in our survey. Cabin amenities scored surprisingly low, as did product-support history, perhaps because most of our readers aren t directly involved with maintenance. When readers evaluated their own airplanes, the highest scores were for reliability, with nearly three of four respondents rating it excellent. Gulfstreams earned the highest marks in that category as well as for aircraft and cockpit technology, value for price paid and manufacturer product support. Dassault scored best for cabin amenities and overall satisfaction. Owners of all models seemed relatively dissatisfied with the cost of maintenance, but Bombardier earned the top grades in this category. If you could receive a complimentary year of flying privately on any aircraft, what make and model would you choose? GV-SP, G00, G0, G60* 9% CITATION X, TEN, CJ, CJ, EXCEL/XLS/XLS+* 6% CHALLENGER 00, GLOBAL (000, EXPRESS, XRS)* % FALCON 7X* 7% HAWKER (000, 800, 800XP)* EMBRAER % LEGACY (600, 60), PHENOM 00* BOEING % BBJ, BBJ, BBJ* OTHERS 0% *Frequently named models 0% MOST IMPORTANT AIRCRAFT FEATURES Range Cabin size Economical operation Age of aircraft Runway performance Speed Aircraft manufacturer Cockpit technology Accident history Baggage space Cabin amenities Product support history Readers were asked to indicate five most important features. I BJT october_november 0 I www.bjtonline.com
Aircraft Private aviation gives me RELIABILTY the flexibility to work 67 6 comfortably without opening the doors to the competition. As well, it keeps the time spent between locations less, 78 8 80 0 8 8 66 0 7 giving me more time to concentrate on major decision making. AIRCRAFT TECHNOLOGY 6 7 0 8 6 66 9 8 0 VALUE FOR PRICE PAID 9 6 8 7 0 0 9 8 8 0 6 CABIN AMENITIES 8 67 0 6 0 8 6 8 Percentages in bars on this and the next page don t always total 00% due to rounding. Percentages for all manufacturers include the listed companies and others for which we received relatively few responses. 6 I BJT october_november 0 I www.bjtonline.com
Aircraft Very convenient for business at 67 9 6 COCKPIT TECHNOLOGY 7 out-of-the-way places 8 7 not served by airlines. 68 You would not invite strangers to your boardroom. Our private jet is our boardroom. 6 8 COST of MAINTENANCE 0 6 7 6 7 0 9 0 8 6 6 8 8 9 9 MANUFACTURER PRODUCT SUPPORT 8 8 7 0 7 0 0 6 8 OVERALL SATISFACTION 6 77 67 8 7 0 Visit BJTonline.com for demographic information on our survey respondents and to read more of their comments about flying privately. 8 I BJT october_november 0 I www.bjtonline.com