"I've worked with a lot of airlines clarifying complicated issues," says Duncan. "I can quickly asc

In the travel industry, dinner cruise new york the primary goal is to get people from point A to point B reliably, safely, dinner cruise new york comfortably, and on time. To accomplish this, many large tour companies decide to invest in, and operate, their own airlines with large aircraft to support their products.  However, many tour operators don’t have the capital to acquire one or more $40 million assets, nor the expertise dinner cruise new york to meet the stringent regulatory requirements necessary dinner cruise new york to start up and maintain a commercial airline.
Fortunately, reputable air charter services are available that are willing to step in under a variety of lease agreements. dinner cruise new york For the travel dinner cruise new york industry, there are several options to lease large aircraft, including an ACMI (aircraft, crew, maintenance and insurance) or “wet lease” arrangement, which can be set up in literally weeks.
As the ACMI acronym suggests, the air charter service would fly the plane and supply the flight crew and attendants along with required maintenance and insurance.  The tour company would be responsible for fueling, landing fees and other operational costs, but it also controls where the plane goes, when it departs, who’s on it, etc.  Full charter options are also available and include everything, right down to the magazines and bags of peanuts.
If an air charter service is flexible dinner cruise new york enough, it is a great resource for travel dinner cruise new york and tour operators looking to create a specialized and exceptional client experience.  Depending on the length and type of lease agreement, the plane can even be painted to reflect the tour company’s brand.  Almost any option is customizable down to color of uniforms and language spoken by the attendants.
Turnkey air charter services are available on a one-off basis to corporations or groups looking for air transportation for a single event, all the way up to businesses looking for long term airlift solutions to support privately scheduled dinner cruise new york service operations.
For tour companies, chartering large aircraft can supply scalable lift to cover peak demand cycles and allow them to take advantage of seasonality without dinner cruise new york having to commit to long term fixed expenses. Examples include resorts and tours partnering with global sporting events like the World Cup or Olympics, or other seasonal peak vacation demands. dinner cruise new york These short-term lease agreements with a charter service will give tour operators dinner cruise new york full exclusive control of their product.
Even large tour companies with dedicated airlines find themselves in need of more “lift capacity” to meet the demands of seasonal peak demand cycles or to supply replacement lift during extended maintenance on owned aircraft.
Resorts and tour operators dinner cruise new york can use air charter services to support secondary market development as well.  Using aircraft with relatively smaller capacity (B737-400 with 158 seats versus 189-250 seat aircraft, for example) can provide the opportunity to test a market or demand concept before committing dinner cruise new york to longer-term capital expenditures.
As with any industry, there are reliable operators and less reliable operators.  It is a significant undertaking to enter into an ACMI or full charter lease agreement, so the travel company would need to know how to pick a reliable carrier. Yet in this crowded, competitive dinner cruise new york market, the task of finding a reliable carrier can be daunting.  Choosing the right air charter firm can virtually guarantee that flights proceed without a hitch.  On the other hand, an ill-advised choice may bring aircraft mechanical failures, delays, poor service and financial setbacks.
Air flight logistics veterans say that finding the best charter air carrier is not difficult when following a basic checklist.  Listen to industry buzz, review dinner cruise new york company track records, and test the stability and transparency of each air charter service by asking probing questions.
Emily Duncan, operations manager for Worldwide Charters is well aware of the advantages charter air services can provide.  Before expanding into domestic and international tours and corporate business trips, she organized flights for athletic teams and their fans travelling to bowl games and other events.  She knows that the ideal charter carrier is highly competent in maintenance dinner cruise new york and flight operations, dinner cruise new york and backs it up with stringent oversight.
dinner cruise new york “I’ve worked dinner cruise new york with a lot of airlines clarifying complicated issues,” says Duncan.  “I can quickly dinner cruise new york ascertain what type of person and company I am working with.  If I’m putting dinner cruise new york my client and future business with that client in the hands of an air charter company, I need to know they’re strongly qualified and capable of delivering dinner cruise new york first class service.”
Chris Lapointe, general manager of Flair Air, a Canadian charter firm operating B737s and 767s backed by the venerable maintenance provider Kelowna Flightcraft, says failure to address due diligence has long-term consequences that can sink a charter aviation start-up. dinner cruise new york Lapointe also warns tour companies entering into agreements with air charter services to beware of the “implied sense of safety and quality” the airline industry exudes simply because it is “regulated.”  He suggests utilizing online resources such as the EU (European Union) blacklist or the Aviation Safety Network to research carriers.
“Anyone chartering aircraft should understand as much as possible about the carrier before they enter into an agreement,” says Lapointe.  “It’s not always an equal comparison from carrier to carrier.  Cost may be less, but also safety may be compromised.”
“Some airlines misrepresent fuel burns and fuel pricing in charter quotations resulting in unexpected fuel surcharges,” says Lapointe.  “So when a charterer is comparing quotes they should make sure they are comparing apples to apples both on the fuel side, which can represent over 40% of the total air charter cost, as well as other potential ancillary expenses and how these costs are handled or passed through.”
Ben Nierop, president of Travel Guild Inc. agrees that safety comes first.  But once that competency has been established, dinner cruise new york in today’s market his clients want customized comfort and high standards in the cabin of an aircraft.  The “economy” dinner cruise new york consciousness once associated with “working man” leisure tours is a thing of the past.
“I used to sell economy class seating for these round-the-world trips, now the travelers want the big, luxurious seats.  That puts pressure dinner cruise new york on me and my staff to find a charter company that can customize an interior to create VIP seating,” he says. Swapping seating is not a trivial matter, since such alterations affect the aircraft balance. It is therefore dinner cruise new york a costly, time-consuming task that requires approval from strict civil aviation regulators.
Yet two years ago Nierop learned how quickly good things can happen when hiring a nimble, dinner cruise new york flexible and determined charter air carrier.  Nierop’s ties throughout the industry had made him well aware of Flair Air since 2004.  He called them within a month of the departure dinner cruise new york date of a world leisure tour and they were able to provide dinner cruise new york an aircraft with 72 business class seats, mount a crew, devise dinner cruise new york an international flight dinner cruise new york plan with ground services, and gain regulatory authority from 14 jurisdictions.
Lapointe is the first to admit that the tour with Nierop may not have been possible without the backing dinner cruise new york of Flightcraft.  For example, Flightcraft’s purchase department tracked down pre-owned business class seats and had them delivered within days, a process that can take weeks.
Duncan adds, “With the economy being the way it is, stability and financial transparency are also really important.  We know, for example, the planes we charter won’t suddenly be repossessed.  This can happen with lesser firms.  You sign a contract and then a week later they are in bankruptcy and you have to eat the loss.”
Once the mechanical and flight operation details have been vetted, Duncan says successful aviation comes down to people.  Travel dinner cruise new york customers want an air carrier that has a flight staff and crew that are friendly, dinner cruise new york helpful, dinner cruise new york and show interest in the care and well-being of the passengers.
“An air charter service basically says, ‘leave the flying to us,’” concludes Lapointe.  “You handle dinner cruise new york the business aspects of the tour.  This arrangement is a lot less expensive than immediately buying aircraft and assuming all that debt.”
Using the services of an air charter company can open new doors to sales, marketing, and service opportunities to develop new streams of business for your resort or tour company. Best of all, experienced companies like Flair Air can be in and operating, or replacing a service that is now defunct, with a turnkey air service dinner cruise new york within weeks.
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