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Cessna Citation

I looked up from the terminal building at my local airport and noted that a Cessna Citation was pulling up to park on the ramp. Soon after, a corporate helicopter, most likely owned by Unisys, had pulled into that same spot about 10 minutes after the corporate jet had dropped off it’s two executives at the terminal building. Then, it came to me, what about Private / Business flight? What will happen to the industry that NetJets so proudly serves? 

My thinking is that, these companies are paying good money for these pilots / fuel. I highly doubt that a CEO of a large fortune 500 company is going to give up his private jet because of fuel. However, it is possible that small businesses may. Having worked at a research center for a large business school, I can tell you that when a small company loses a contract or their drug doesn’t get FDA approval, the company will make cuts, usually at the bottom of the chain are research centers. I don’t think it’s right to assume that business aviation has a lower / same priority of a research center. In fact, I think many CEOs and executives keep it as a top priority. Therefore, they keep it.

Secondly, I think it’s important to note the strides made by the private / business jet manufacturers to make business aviation a cheaper expense. More specifically, the suppliers; the engine builders. Engine manufacturers such as Pratt & Whitney, a United Technologies Company, have realized that fuel consumption is going to be a problem. One engine that is turning heads with fuel consumption is the Talon II engine. It is known for it’s success in reducing CO2 emissions and fuel efficiency. It is also quiet, which is a plus at small regional airports, like Wings Field. Engines like the Talon II, when combined with a light aircraft model, help increase fuel efficiency for large executive jets like a Cessna Citation or Gulfstream. 

My third and final point: Airline delays. If you’ve flown in the last 7 years or so, you might have noticed that you usually have to be at the airport one and a half hours prior to your flight, sometimes more. You spend about 30 minutes just getting to the closest regional / major international airport. So far that’s 2 hours. Then, you have delays. In May, roughly 20% of the nation’s flights were delayed. So your flight just got delayed an hour, and when you arrive, you have to wait for your checked baggage to arrive (if it does). With executive jets and aviation, there are no lines and no delays (except for weather). It saves prominent executives hours and hours each year of wasted time at a major airport.

I personally don’t think that Executive and Business aviation will suffer. At my home airport, the traffic is still the same. I have not seen any businesses pull out. As a matter of fact, a new lease / charter business just opened at the field. No matter what the price of fuel is, executives will still want paramount service.