This may seem shocking or underwhelming, depending on your background. For those of you with smart phones or iPads who already use your systems to map out directions while diving in the car, this will seem hardly worth mention. But for others still new to the idea of something called an app store, this will seem radical indeed.

In fact, despite the amazing advances in computing technology over the past two decades, most pilots are still stuck in the 20th century, or, at best, in the year 2000. Required to bring navigational charts on their flights, pilots usually bring either paper maps or an 18-pound electronic flight bag, which are portable computers designed for pilots and their aviation needs.

Last month the FAA approved a charter airline’s application so its pilots could use an iPad to provide them with their required navigational charts. An application available for download to the iPad for free from iTunes’ app store delivers the charts to the pilot, taking away the need for paper or bulky electronic equipment. With iPads weighing 1.5 pounds, and being strapped to the pilot’s leg during flight, all of a sudden things in the cockpit just got a lot roomier.

While the FAA has only approved the application of one company to use iPads for navigational charts for its private charter planes, two other major commercial airlines are testing the use of iPads for their pilots too. And the developer of the application used on the iPad is developing more applications for use on other tablet computers as well. With this key initial approval, tablet computers could become the standard of the charter flight, and even of the larger commercial airline, industry, assisting not only with charts, but in training and more.

The Big Story: Jet charter services help evacuate stranded foreign nationals from Libya

Charter airplanes assist tremendously in times of emergency, going exactly where they are needed and ensuring the safe delivery or transport of people and critical supplies. In the recent chaos in Libya, with thousands of foreign nationals stranded in the country, jet charter services have been essential in evacuating citizens from the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, among others.

Industry Expansion: The business climate for corporate jet rental and general jet charter services improves in the U.S., booms in other parts of the world

As the United States and the rest of the world recover from the recent economic downturn, there are signs that the rate of corporate jet rental is increasing. As The Wall Street Journal and the National Business Aviation Association note, the industry appears to be starting a slow, but steady recovery in North America.

Meanwhile, in emerging markets that have recovered much more quickly from the global recession than has the U.S., the jet charter industry is expanding rapidly. In the United Arab Emirates, for example, jet charter brokers have posted record revenue growth, with one company experiencing a 120 percent growth rate from January 2010 to January 2011.

China has also experienced rapid growth in its jet charter services industry, despite a difficult regulatory environment. With a growing wealthy class in China looking for high quality services, some Chinese are shelling out tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars to charter a plane for either domestic destinations or abroad. This expansion is highlighted nicely by a report from the end of January about the first-ever direct charter flight from China to Hawaii, hopefully the start of many more flights to come.

For Rest of the Year: Rising oil prices could increase costs, damage business

According to Britain’s Independent, one jet charter broker has already increased fees on passengers due to rising oil prices stemming from the recent unrest in Libya and the greater Middle East. Could this damage the corporate jet rental business and its attempts to recover? Check back in with us throughout the year to see how this and other stories in the jet charter services industry play out.

1. For your luxury and comfort

Private aircraft charters are the ultimate in travel luxury, and our charter jet service is no exception. Our staff caters to your every need, giving you the exact amount of service you want, nothing more, nothing less.

2. For your schedule

Rather than worrying about your take-off and arrival times, set them according to your schedule so our planes depart when you say and go where you want.

3. To impress your friends/clients

Flying by the Matterhorn or jetting into Macau for a getaway weekend will make the right impression on your clients and will make your friends feel extra special.

4. To get to where you need to go

Sometimes airlines aren’t flying to your destination, or can’t get you to where you need to go in an appropriate time frame. We cut through all that, with private aircraft charters that offer you the quickest service possible so you get where you need to be.

5. To see the world, safely

Travel can be intimidating, especially when going to countries or regions unfamiliar to you. Our private jet charter service can take you on trips you’ve always wanted to do, with the same friendly faces and service following you every step of the way.

6. For time-sensitive cargo

Highly valued goods and produce need to get to market quickly, and we can give you the customized service to make sure your cargo arrives safely, securely and promptly.

7. For your family

With a private charter service at your disposal you can be sure your children and significant other sleep, eat, stretch out, and play whenever you and they may want to, making travel impossibly easy.

8. For that special date

Whether a romantic anniversary or moment, or the marking of a special time or person, our private jet charter service will make any date unforgettable.

9. For your safety

With our highly trained pilots and top-of-the-line private aircraft charters, you can rest assured that you, your family, and your friends are traveling as safely as possible, no matter your destination.

10. For your own personal discretion

Our clients, whether public icons or private citizens, can be assured of 100% privacy in their travels as they explore the globe on their own terms.

Renting a private jet can seem like an excessive expense, but there is actually a lot of good that comes from private jet rentals. The National Business Aviation Association released its 2010 Business Aviation Fact Book, which demonstrates well the value of the charter airplane industry.

Contributions to the American economy

Business aviation – or renting a private jet – contributes $150 billion to the U.S. economy each year. The industry employs more than 1.2 million people, with jobs from the industry in every state of America. In fact, according to the NBAA, the business aircraft manufacturing industry is one of the few positive contributors to America’s balance of trade. From the manufacturing industry that creates charter planes, to the small airports and service staff that are busy when people charter a private jet, business aviation is an extremely positive contributor to America’s economy.

Provider of vital services

Private jet rentals are essential for smaller communities, especially in emergency situations. For organ transplants, patient transports, law enforcement actions, rescues in emergency situations, firefighting, and even postal deliveries, private jet rental can be a lifeline for communities and individuals, even for those in larger cities who are located closer to community airports. Furthermore, in times of extreme humanitarian need, private jet rentals are often the ones evacuating citizens (as seen in 2011 in Libya), delivering supplies (as seen in 2005 in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina), and generally supplying logistical support (as seen in 2010 following the earthquake in Haiti).

Essential for Good Business

For safety and security reasons, many business staff choose the option of renting private jets over taking commercial airliners. This is more than just a choice of comfort. On private jet rentals employees can talk candidly about projects and decisions without the fear of eavesdroppers, and they can efficiently use all the tools at their office on the private airplane, without many of the restrictions commercial airlines have.

Moreover, industry lists that rank companies on important factors – like innovation and corporate citizenship – feature firms that are, overwhelmingly. users of business aviation. The efficiency and comfort that comes from renting a private jet seems to contribute to many of the values these highly ranked companies cherish.

Business Coming Back?

According to a recent release from the NBAA, the charter airplane industry is coming back, albeit slowly. It seems the industry mirrors that of the general U.S. economy, with a slow recovery following the sharp contraction of 2008 and 2009. With the business, social, and economic benefits that private jet rentals provide, a soaring charter airplane industry should have positive impacts on other sectors of the economy as well.

He’s The Guy Who Was Too Fat to Fly. And by too fat to fly, we mean too fat to fly by Southwest Air’s standards.

At 330 pounds, Smith felt he would need two seats on the plane. So, he bought himself two seats; his weight wasn’t even breaking any print regulations from the airline.

He admitted that he liked to have the room; and at 30,000 feet cramped up with a hundred other people like fish in a can, who doesn’t? But when he decided to board a standby flight, he wasn’t able to have two seats.

Still, he boarded the flight and sat down without a problem in a single seat between two women, buckled in–and then was kicked off the flight for being too fat.

Though Southwest has since apologized, given Smith a lousy $100 voucher for his embarrassment, and tried to save face by issuing a statement about how their concern was for the safety and comfort of the other passengers (though none had complained), there’s little they can do to derail public attention from Kevin Smith’s new cause–nor his Twitter feeds regarding his public humiliation.

The actor has since issued dozens of tweets regarding the situation–most of them facetious, all of them at least tinged with outrage. One notable tweet read, “Don’t worry: wall of the plane was opened & I was airlifted out while Richard Simmons supervised.”

The TSA claimed that since security measures were getting so stellar in the commercial sector (yes, they actually stated this as a fact), they made private planes and smaller airports more vulnerable to an attack. Terrorists would, apparently, be so terrified of hijacking a commercial plane that they would have no choice but to commandeer a personal plane instead.

As usual, a very logical point from the TSA.

The plan called for every general aviation flight–personal plane used for business or pleasure–to be checked against all terrorist watch lists. Expensive new security programs would be required for at least 300 small airports across the nation.

It turns out that the Administration quickly realized the redundancy of their plan, and the idea for the new increased security measures–a costly and controversial mandate–has now been scrapped.

The decision has been attributed to a strong outcry from the general aviation industry as a whole. Pilots complained that the measures were unnecessary given the small risk of a terrorist attack, as well as the lack of trust in their decisions to carry safe people on their planes.

Of course, the TSA still maintains that a risk is very real and dangerous, and general aviation manager Brian Delauter says that a collaboration between the industry and the TSA in negotiating new measures will be necessary.

]]> http://www.maersk-air.com/private-charter/new-rules-for-private-planes-are-a-no-go/feed/ 0 http://www.maersk-air.com/jet-charter/holiday-air-travel-fees-continue-to-rise/ http://www.maersk-air.com/jet-charter/holiday-air-travel-fees-continue-to-rise/#comments Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:27:41 +0000 admin http://www.maersk-air.com/?p=115 Continue reading →]]> Though news of holiday rates and fees escalating came in weeks ago, it didn’t report how much of an increase we’d see. In the last week alone, the $10 service fees of last month were doubled to $20 on domestic flights–each way.

Apparently the major U.S. airlines thought that a such nominal random fee wasn’t enough for their flights, which of course warrants an increase.

It seems that the companies are following in the footsteps of American Airlines, which was the first major business to charge a fee for holidays–as well as the dates surrounding them–in September. Now the charges are pretty commonplace among all of the major airlines.

And while the number of days each company would add the fee was at three, it has since been raised to 13 during the entire year.

Don’t most people who receive holiday pay only get 10 holidays per year, if that? If the airlines are declaring even more holidays, perhaps people should be getting more paid time off work.

Southwest Airlines and JetBlue Airlines are the only two companies to not add the surcharges so far. The businesses, known for the economical flights and leading environmental practices, say that they aren’t going to, either.

Funny how the little guy can maintain a profit without adding fees but the big kahunas still demand more.

And even though all of these airlines adding the fees carry international flights, there has yet to be any word on them adding surcharges in Europe. So what we have are extra holiday fees being charged in the United States only, during a time when it’s already very tight for passengers to fly.

Does that seem very wise at this point?

It’s quite another thing to engage in such activity while flying a plane, which is exactly what two pilots did last week.The two pilots from Northwest Airlines didn’t just create a minor blip, either. They overshot their own landing by 150 miles, were out of radio contact for 90 minutes and left over 140 passengers worried during their journey–all because they were both playing on their laptops during the flight.

The military even almost became involved at one point for fear of another national security disaster.

Okay, when people scoff that it’s more dangerous to be in car than in an airplane, and that riding in a plane is a perfectly safe way to travel, perhaps their words of wisdom don’t hold up as much as they have in the past.

People are often being told to stop talking–and especially texting–on their cell phones while driving their cars (or a bus or train…); perhaps a campaign against web browsing while flying a plane full of passengers is needed as well.

The two pilots, who violated aviation policy with their little laptop break, had their licences revoked by the Federal Aviation Administration as a result.

While some are arguing that these pilots must have been under severe stress to do such a thing–and it’s true that pilots have been enduring a lot during the economic crisis in the country right now–common sense has to come in somewhere. You’re flying a plane. In the sky. With over a hundred lives in your hands. You shouldn’t be on your laptop.

From random (to not-so-random) searches to people with prosthetic limbs being asked to prove they’re there to babies in blankets being checked before boarding, it’s never a surprise to discover what the latest thing being banned from the friendly skies might be.

Which is exactly why it’s so surprising that flights coming out of the Bay Area might be carrying passengers with approved baggies of pot.Granted, the marijuana they are traveling with is of the medical variety, but given the strict regulations on so many other substances, it’s still a cause for eyebrows to disappear beneath hairlines.

According to San Francisco police, as long as the patients carry cards that verify that the pot is for medical purposes, they are allowed to bring up to 8 ounces of dried marijuana on board with their toiletries. The police use the same policy within the city itself, and have been doing so since November of 2008.

Airport staff aren’t allowed to dictate who can fly or not with the cannabis; only the local police have that authority.

In San Jose, the law differs. While passengers are allowed to fly with their drugs, the police do write up a report and submit it to a federal judge, who then decides whether criminal activity has occurred or not.

The U.S. Justice Department in general is backing the patients, saying that prosecution of travelers with valid medical needs for the marijuana should be avoided as long as they cooperate with local laws.

Once considered scandalous, fees for baggage, as well as surcharges, are starting to become a normal addition with most flights. Holiday flights are still being sacked with $10 surcharges. And baggage charges aren’t just for extra baggage anymore; some airlines are charging for bringing one piece of luggage on a flight. The remedy for this? Wearing layers and carrying a large purse.

Fees for unaccompanied minors have significantly increased (perhaps in the spirit of self-pity following the film with the same title). From changing seating arrangements to in-flight meals (which aren’t exactly scrumptious fare you’d pay for on the ground), many services that were once free now have hefty price tags attached to them.

The worst part of it all is that customers can’t see these fees when they buy their tickets; they’re all added in later. So when you’re getting a deal, keep in mind that the deal could end up being as much–if not more–than a standard ticket once all of the extras are added in.