Chantilly Air

The airlines often are the appropriate way to go. However, depending on a specific trip’s itinerary and the value placed on passenger time and productivity, travel by business aircraft often is the least expensive way to go when all costs and benefits are considered. Consequently, business aircraft often better pass a cost/benefit test. These employee travel judgments, typically made on a trip-by-trip basis, are subject to the same cost/benefit considerations and analysis applicable to any business decision. There also are some important trips that are just too difficult and time consuming to make on the airlines, making the trip untenable and subsequently untaken unless a more effective form of transportation, such as business aircraft, allows the opportunity to be realized.

For many companies, the protection of personnel from uncontrolled public exposure alone is justification for business aircraft use. Avoiding eavesdropping, reducing travel visibility, eliminating unwanted and unnecessary conversations and interruptions, all support the use of business aircraft to safeguard company employees and the sensitive information they carry.

At the gateway, you and your baggage will be screened by TSA security screeners. The screening process is very similar to that at a commercial airport, except that you do not have to wait in line! Generally, when you are ready to board our aircraft, TSA will need no more than a few minutes to complete the screening process of all passengers and their baggage.

We also do not require you to “check in” early for your flight as you would have to with an airline. As for all our flights, we will depart as soon as you get to the airport. However, we do ask that you please not be late for DCA flights. Although TSA will attempt to accommodate changes to departure times, TSA may not be able to accommodate every rescheduling of the departure time, depending on the availability of TSA screeners at the new requested departure time.

“Efficient employee scheduling” and “employee time saved” are key advantages of business aircraft use. Because business aircraft have the ability to fly nonstop between 3,500 small, close-in airports—ten times the number of locations served by scheduled airlines in the United States—highly efficient employee time management becomes a very real benefit.

Additionally, the value of employee time often exceeds its cost to the company by substantial margins, further increasing the importance of employee time savings. Simply stated, business aviation helps a company obtain maximum productivity from its two most important assets: people and time.

Click here to view the NBAA Aircraft Charter Consumer Guide.

The following will help you in selecting a charter operator.

1. Who is the FAA-certificated charter operator that will conduct your charter flight?
   1. What is the name and Certificate Number on the FAA commercial air carrier certificate?
2. How long have you been in business:
   1. In aviation?
   2. As an air charter operator?
3. What types of aircraft are on your charter certificate?
4. How many aircraft and crew do you have?
5. What experience does your crew have?
   1. How many flight hours total time?
      1. Captain
      2. First Officer
   2. How many hours in make/model of each aircraft? (e.g., what are your policies and procedures on crew pairing?)
   3. Do you use FAA Part 142 training schools?
   4. How often do your crews attend re-current training?
   5. Is this training schedule above and beyond the minimum training requirements established by the FAA?
6. If special operations (e.g., mountain airports, extended over water) will be conducted, what experience (initial and recurrent) does the crew have with these operations?

Safety and Security

1. What is your safety record?
   1. Have you had any aircraft accidents or incidents?
      1. If so, what measures have you implemented to ensure increased safety?
2. Have you been audited by an independent third-party organization (e.g., Wyvern, ARG/US)

Aircraft Maintenance

1. Who maintains the aircraft?
2. Under which program is the aircraft maintained (CAMP, AAIP, factory maintenance program, other program)?
3. How do you handle maintenance situations that, on occasion, might arise during a trip you have booked?

International Operations

1. What experience do you have flying to/from/within other countries?
2. What, if any, different safety and security measures do you implement when conducting operations to other countries?
3. Will you assist with immigration and customs logistics, such as visas and customs forms?

Customer Service

1. Do the crews and other employees receive customer service training?
2. How soon prior to the scheduled flight will the aircraft be at the airport, ready for departure?
3. Is there someone available 24 hours/day, seven days/week for reserving or changing charter reservations?

Aviation Insurance

1. What company issues the aviation insurance policy?
   1. Is the operator you are dealing with the Named Insured on the policy?
   2. What are the insurance coverages and limits?

TSA requires that passengers on flights to or from DCA have to be screened by TSA security screeners. The security screening is the same as that required for passengers on commercial airlines, and generally takes only a few minutes. TSA also requires that aircraft and crew that fly to or from DCA without passengers (for instance, repositioning flights) have to be screened by TSA personnel.

Only specific airports (“gateway airports”) are equipped to accommodate this screening process. Only these airports have been approved by TSA as gateway airports for flights to DCA. Currently, there are 103 such airports (plus one heliport), as shown on the accompanying map. Your Chantilly Air scheduler will be pleased to help you locate an appropriate gateway airport.

All flights to DCA have to proceed via one of these gateway airports.  Flights from DCA can proceed directly to any airport.

For the same reason that only specific “gateway” airports can accommodate the security measures required for DCA flights, there are only certain FBOs at each gateway airport that can accommodate these security measures.

Your Chantilly Air scheduler will be pleased to help you find an appropriate FBO at the gateway airport.