BlueStarJets - New York Times article on charter flights, charter jets, jet charters and private jets.

New York Times, January 12, 2002

In the aftermath of September's terrorist attacks, a growing number of leisure travelers are turning to private planes to avoid the fears and hassles that many people now consider synonymous with commercial flights.

Charter companies report business across the board has surged since Sept. 11, with the most notable increases for leisure travel by families and small groups that had never considered private planes before.

After the attacks, the Federal Aviation Administration moved up plans to increase security requirements for private flights - although the rules are still less strict than those for commercial carriers. Charters generally don't use metal detectors or X-rays, but they do screen passengers and allow pilots to open bags at any time.
As for safety, though charter pilots must have 10 hours of rest between flights, as opposed to 8 for commercial airlines, the airlines generally have more rigorous maintenance programs. "We hold the airlines to a higher level of safety," said Alison Duquette, an FAA spokeswoman.

Although newcomers to private air travel since Sept. 11 might be motivated by security concerns - there are no strangers on the plane - they ultimately wind up talking most about the convenience.

"To get out of a car and walk to the plane, get on the plane, get off the plane and walk into a car, with no hustle and bustle, is great," said Jay Joel, a trucking executive in Bay Shore on Long Island who used a private plane for the first time in October for a weekend trip to Montreal with his wife and some friends. He chartered a plane, he said, because his wife, concerned about safety, refused to fly on a commercial flight. He booked the trip through BlueStarJets, (866) 538-8463, www.bluestarjets.com, a broker that doesn't own any aircraft but has access to more than a thousand.

The Lear 35 jet the Joels took accommodated six people and cost $6,000 round trip, less expensive per person than the approximately $1,155 United Airlines currently charges for a nonstop flight to Montreal in first class. The Joels liked their first charter so much that they used a private plane again for a family vacation to Miami over Thanksgiving. This time, though, they recruited another family to bring down the price. The round-trip flight from a private airport on Long Island on a Gulfstream III jet was $15,000 for 10 people (four adults, six children) - again, less than the approximately $2,000 American currently charges for first class from New York to Miami.

"If someone had suggested a charter I might have said they were crazy," said Dean Powell, a New York City photographer who booked his first charter flight through BlueStarJets in October. "But after Sept. 11, you have to think, because it's a different world."

Powell took his wife, two daughters aged 6 and 9 and their nanny on a day trip to Hershey Park in Pennsylvania. The round-trip flight for the five of them on a King Air 200 turbo-prop cost $2,500 - less per person than the full coach walk-up US Airways fare of $760 to Harrisburg, and without the inconvenience of a connection.

Commercial airlines use about 900 airports nationwide, while smaller charter flights have access to nearly 5,000 domestic airfields. There are no schedules to work around, no security lines at the airport and you don't need to check the family dog - pets are welcome, too. (As for meals, the food is extra.)

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