American Business Airways, and all other air charter companies have an advantage over airlines with security because almost always, every passenger on the flight are known to each other.  In addition, the on demand, non scheduled nature of the flights make it more difficult to plan an attack against the airplane.

Here at American Business Airways (ABA) we take your security seriously.   We can not go into to details as to the actual steps we take, but some of the more obvious are that we get to know you and your employees and customers.  The more you fly with us, the more we get to know each other, and your travel routines.  Any thing out of the ordinary will prompt us to ask you about it, if for no other reason than we want to provide you exemplary customer service.  For instance,  we do not accept packages that do not accompany you to the flight, this way YOU identify the package.  If no one knows of the package or bag, it does not go on the airplane.

The airlines will be required to increase the security at the airport to include full body scans.  Because of the reasons discussed above, the TSA will not requires us to use those more invasive measures.  With ABA, you walk up to the airplane, we introduce ourselves and check your ID, and then board the airplane and take off.  We are in the air before most airline passengers get through security.

Second to our ability to increase the efficiency of your business travel time,  Security is a major reason to use a charter aircraft or other business airplane.  You do not have the hassles at the airport, you know the crew and passengers.  We keep your itinerary and identity protected,  Our employees do not discuss your route or passenger identities or business with anyone not having a  need to know.  The facilities we use and drop you off at have their own security and also keep your information confidential.  If fact, please ensure you have your pilots’ contact number before leaving the airport at your destination, as the airport personnel will usually not give you his contact number.   However, the airport and the ABA operations officer will always be able to contact him and have him call you.

So what do the increased security measures mean to you and ABA?  Hopefully, they give you another reason to try us and see for yourself that we offer a more enjoyable, secure and efficient way to meet your business travel needs.   In fact, our Navajo Chieftain is one of the most economical alternatives in a cabin class business aircraft, it is fast, relatively quite and allows face to face meetings while en-route, just like the larger turbo props and jets, just with a lower price tag.  For a trip of less than 300 miles, it is perfect.

For more information with no pressure to book contact us at:

http://www.americanbusinessairways.com/contact.php

or 248-444-5202

To subscribe to this blog:

American Business Airways has a program to reduce your travel costs by pooling your flight with other customers wanting to travel to the same areas.   Assume you are considering a flight to Traverse City with your family of 3.  Although the round trip cost for this with an overnight stay would come to about $2500 with taxes and overnight fees, (about $833 per person) you would like to reduce this cost further.  Call us and we will gather names of other customers also wanting to fly to the same general area  (Northern Lower Michigan) and put together a shared flight.  With 3 more passengers, this can reduce the cost to $416 per person.

We are also planning on operating a scheduled charter to the Traverse City and Mackinac Island airports over the weekends.  This will only operate if we can get enough passengers to sign up.  This is a special and not a regular charter, and the prices will be $300 to Traverse City and $350 to Mackinac Island.  We will need a minimum of 4 passengers.  The flights will leave Friday afternoon and return Sunday afternoon. This then is a variation on the shared ride concept.

So if you are interested in sharing a ride anywhere or in our scheduled charter flights “up north”. call us and get on the list.

Also call us for specialized business charter flights.  Many times we can beat the airlines on total travel and employee costs.

Check our blog report on justifying air travel.

Posted April 6, 2009 by Michael J. Ryan

It’s Monday morning, April 6 at your office in Pontiac, MI. You just found out that three of you need to be in Canton, Ohio Wednesday April 8 for an important sales meeting. The client wants to meet at 2:00 PM and told you to expect to be there until 5:00. Here are your choices:

Driving: MapQuest shows it takes four hours to drive 233 miles each way. You’ll need to start at 9:00 AM to allow for a rest stop and a lunch break. The return trip will start at 5:00 PM when the meeting ends. You’ll get back to Pontiac at 10 PM. Total travel time 10 hours. This saves the most money but wastes the most time for all three travelers.

Airlines: It’s a good thing you checked Travelocity right away, because there were only a few non-stop airline seats left! Unfortunately, you’re buying the tickets at the last minute and pay full fare coach. You leave the office at 10:00 AM to drive to Detroit Metro, park, check in, go through airport security, and hike out to your gate. Your flight departs at 11:58 AM and arrives at 12:53 PM. You’ll need to kill an hour in Canton waiting for your meeting to start, so you might as well have lunch. When the meeting’s over, you can go out to dinner, because the return flight isn’t until 7:02 PM. The tickets cost a total of $1,713.60 for the three of you.

Charter: You drive over to Oakland County Airport for your charter flight on American Business Airways at 12:30 PM. All three of you had productive mornings in the office or calling on local clients. You’ll find a box lunch on board to eat on your one hour flight to the Canton-Akron Airport. Arriving at 1:30, your rental car pulls right up to the plane. You drive out of the airport five minutes after landing and head over to the client’s office. When the meeting ends, you head back to the plane and take off about 5:30 PM for the one hour flight to Oakland County. You’ll enjoy some light snacks and a cold beer on the flight home, discussing in complete privacy everyone’s comments from the successful sales meeting where you closed the biggest sale so far this quarter. Landing at 6:30, everyone heads home for a late dinner with their families. The cost was $1,524. Really!

Comparison

·    Driving wasted 15 business hours and 15 personal hours, and was the lowest cost.

·    Airlines wasted 9 business hours outbound and 9 personal hours on the return, and cost the most because you bought your tickets at the last minute, paying full fare coach. The combined airfare was $ 1,713.60.

·    Charter didn’t waste any time at all. And best of all, you saved $189.60 by flying privately on American Business Airways.

Does It Always Work Like That?

No, it does not. But anytime you find yourself paying full-fare coach, and two or more of you are going to the same place, give American Business Airways a call at 248.444.5202 for a price comparison…and don’t forget to compare the time savings, too!

(Ryan is president of AirPSG, LLC and can be reached at mike.ryan@airpsg.com, 800.769.6082 or www.airpsg.com )

Starting in January, 2009.  We will be offering weekend special fares to Boyne Mountain Michigan or other airports in the area (such as Atrim county, Traverse City, etc) for $300 per person.  This fare is based on six passengers making advanced reservations.  If we do not get six bookings the flight will not operate unless the remaining passengers want to pay the fare for the missing passengers.  We will leave Friday night and return Sunday. the exact times will be based on what the majority of the passengers agree on.  This is still a charter but we are making the flights available on a per seat basis.  If we have enough bookings, we may start a regularly scheduled flight.

Please post messages on this blog letting us know how often and at what times you would like to have service from Southeast Michigan to the Northern lower penensula.  Flights will leave the Oakland International airport in Waterford Michigan.

The following article was written by David J. Wyndham, VP and Co-Owner of Conklin & de Decker,  an aviation data and consulting company.  It is used with permission of David J. Wyndham and applies equally well to the use of a charter aircraft or aircraft ownership.

Reason 1 Why not to have a Business Aircraft:  They save too much time. Time is a non-renewable resource.  In Latin, it is Tempus Fugit:  Time Flies.  Why use the aircraft to be in several places during a short amount of time?  What’s the use?  Showing your commitment and concern to your business, your clients, and your employees by making the most efficient use of this most limited resource will not pay off.  Productivity is overrated.

Reason 2 Why Not to Have A Business Aircraft.  They save wear and tear on valuable employees. Next to customers, employees are the most difficult part of running a business.  If keeping motivated, highly productive employees and top executives were important, we’d look for ways to keep the aircraft busy helping these employees get and keep customers.  As it is, these folks are overpaid,  They don’t bring in new business, make the company profitable, or add value.  Given the unemployment rate, you can always find another intelligent, honest, motivated senior executive to run the division, company or operating site.  These folks are like laptop computers, replaceable.  So let them languish on the road rather than being productive and happy.

Reason 3 Why Not To Have A Business Aircraft:  Aircraft allow you to meet with your customers more often. In poor economic times, your customers don’t have any money.  Why work hard to maintain that personal relationship? We’ve all heard stories about how business down cycles do inevitably turn positive and that those companies who work smarter in keeping their current customers tend to flourish when things get better.   Do you really believe all that business school lecturer fodder?

In being sarcastic, I’m trying to say that a well-chosen, well managed business aircraft is not a luxury, but a necessary investment in the current and future success of a business. It can be a Cessna 172 for a small firm or a global jet for an international firm.  The right aircraft can help the right people retain the right customers to both create value and ensure future growth.  During these down times, we all must carefully evaluate what is important to the future success of our companies.  The business aircraft can be one of those important tools.  Sometimes you jet need some help in justifying one.

And please remember, the important thing is to have access to a business aircraft.  You can do this by charter, ownership or, ownership with a leaseback, management agreement.  The course that is appropriate to your business is dictated by how much flying you will do yearly.