By Guillemette Gouesse
Whether something is expensive or cheap is, as they say, always in the eye of the beholder. In the following we answer the question: What are the private flight costs?
If we take as an example that you have to go to a conference or meeting and the distance is too far to drive, then you can choose between train, a conventional airline or an air cab or private jet. Often companies base their choice on the possibilities of saving time and money and conclude that an air cab is the best choice.
What factors should you consider to weigh what is the most affordable option?
Several factors influence the private flight costs:
- the number of people traveling
- the average salary of the passengers
- the ticket prices of the airlines
- hotel costs
- car rental costs and
- meal fees.
The time you want to travel and also the time of booking plays a role. If you book the tickets four weeks before departure, you can usually get a relatively cheap ticket for a scheduled flight. However, if you book only a few days before departure, then a ticket can actually go up to 500,00€ per person.
You may be wondering what role passenger salary plays. A European air cab study (Small Air Transport Roadmap), in which we participated, found that the number of travelers and their income plays the biggest role in the selection of the means of transport.
Why is that?
The business traveler is remunerated for the entire travel time. This means also for the time spent unproductively waiting at the train tracks or in lengthy security checks. As well as extra expenses if the business trip lasts for several days. Therefore, it happens more and more often that companies choose the first more expensive option, which is an air cab or private jet. In the end, however, they save a lot more money and time.
Since there is little to no waiting time with an air cab, you are a maximum of 20 minutes away from the departure or arrival point and usually always have the option to fly back home in the evening.
Airtaxi rental price: Direct and indirect costs
You should always keep in mind that there are direct and indirect costs.
Direct costs include things like the plane ticket or the hotel.
Indirect costs include waiting times or the loss of extra days due to distance.
| Direct costs | Indirect costs |
|---|---|
| - Flight ticket | - Long waiting times at the airport |
| - Car rental | - Total travel time to reach the destination |
| - Hotel | - Productivity loss of top earners |
| - Meals | - Extra days on the road due to distance |
Indirect costs can increase quickly. Take for example a trip from Antwerp in Belgium to Lyon in France with 3 people. If we assume that companies pay their travelers on an hourly basis, this will cost the company approximately 6080,00€ more with a conventional airline than with an air cab or private jet. Because of the long waiting times and the 2 hours that you have to be at the airport before departure.
Flight duration
If you prefer an airline, it can take up to a full day to reach your final destination. Private planes provide much more flexibility and can reach 1600 airports. This is 55 times more than airlines. Private planes therefore bring passengers closer to their customers, suppliers, colleagues and other facilities, and in less time.
| Total flight time (incl. transfer | Travel length | |
|---|---|---|
| Air taxi | 2:32 | 1 day |
| Airline | 4:10 | 2 days |
In the example from Antwerp to Lyon, the air taxi is more advantageous financially because the air taxi has a flexible departure time. It allows us to shorten the entire trip by one day.
Cost breakdown for a three-person trip:
| Cirrus SR22 | Airline | |
|---|---|---|
| Flight time (hours) | 17.2 | 13.75 |
| Waiting time (hours) | 2 | 21.7 |
| Loss of productive time (hours) | 16.95 | 33.9 |
| Total travel time (hours) | 25.2 | 44.45 |
| Productivity loss | 3.813 EUR | 7.627 EUR |
| Employee costs (during flight and waiting time) | 2.720 EUR | 6.615 EUR |
| Air taxi/ticket costs | 3.775 EUR | 945 EUR |
| Car rental | 0 | 250 EUR |
| Hotel | 600 EUR | |
| Meals | 150 EUR | 450 EUR |
| Total cost | 10.520 EUR | 16.601 EUR |
Of course, financial models also have limitations. For example, it is impossible to calculate costs when employees cannot follow up on opportunities due to longer flight times.
If you choose an air cab from Fly Aeolus, you will be flown in either our Cirrus SR22 or Piper PA46 Meridian. You are welcome to read our blog entries about the two aircraft.
Have a look at our memberships to save money on the private flight costs.
We hope that we were able to answer the question “How much does a private flight cost?”. If we have piqued your interest and you would like to know exactly what your next trip by air cab or private jet would cost, then visit our price calculator or contact us directly.
If you have any questions or would like to receive further information, you can either send us an e-mail at info@flyaeolus.com or call us at+32 (0)3 500 9082.