Have you actually flown private?

[RunRonnieRun]

Lots of "I'll have my pilot fuel the jet" talk in these parts. I assume 99% of it is bloviating.

Not tooling around with your buddy in his Piper Cub. Actual private transportation.

 

[Run&Blade]

Couple times for work on private jet. It’s intoxicating.

drive to private area of airport and get on and take off. Jet flies higher than commercial and faster. The time savings vs commercial is crazy.

I am convinced the main purpose of the company is to make enough none to keep the plane flying for the owners.

 

[LesClaypool]

Never. I don't have anyone I know that could give me the hookup either, so not likely a bucket list item I'll be checking off anytime soon.

 

[Derekd3408]

Twice when I lived in LA area. Had some friends with more money then myself. Or should I say parents with more money then mine.

 

[Rifler]

Business travel,... Company owned Beachcraft, Super King Air...

 

[Herkmeister]

I've done it probably 10 times.

Honestly, aside from the great connections and avoidance of crowded public air terminals, I'd say it's absolutely no big deal. Every time I've done it I feel like I'm riding in a motor home. In other words, like everything else, it's just transportation.

Years ago I did fly with some guys to a sporting event. On the way home the guy that owned the jet decided to hit every titty bar he liked on the way home. One of my buddies looked at me and said, "How many people do you know who have bar hopped in a private jet?" I recall we landed at two airports in St. Louis. We had limos or vans waiting to pick us up.

I would have called @Saint Louis Attorney but none of the other guys can stand him.

 

[Pepperman]

Once for work. Ended up on the company jet with a very senior guy. I'd echo Herk's comments above - nice to avoid the security and the safety BS. The pilots never even closed the cockpit door. I recall one of them turned around and said "you guys ready, we can take off now if you are?"

 

[LuteHawk]

When the Iowa Hawkeyes went to the Rose Bowl,
I was on a charter flight from Cedar Rapids to LAX.
It was great because we were treated liked royalty.

 

[WisestIowan]

I flew to the Big Ten Tournament in Chicago in high school in a private rented Cessna. Also, I have flown hundreds of hours on flight simulator, so I chose two options.

 

[Kozisek]

I fly for free all the time but I work for an airline. From last Sunday til Nov 7 I will have flown on 12 flights. All on the company's dime.

 

[ATLNole1]

I have flown private a few times for work. Drive up, walk to the plane and you are in the air in a few minutes. Walk to the mini-bar and grab what you want.
I see how executives get accustomed to flying this way. It's rough going back to commercial after these trips.

 

[dgordo]

Pretty much all my clients have their own plane or a service like flexjet or netjets. Average year I’m on one of their plans every other month.

 

[Fan In Black]

used to all the time for work. We had to use the private before commercial. It was awesome. Walk right up to plane with your bag. They always had beer too.

 

[Lone Clone]

It was a bucket list thing for me. Fabulous experience.

 

[Rifler]

Best part of flying private is being able to use the zero hassle charter terminals at the airports,... Typically no more that 15 minutes between landing and getting to your car....

 

[hawkedoff]

I have done it for work. The best part is the time spent. Don't really care about the security and all that although it is nice not to deal with it

It is more the freeing experience of I am going to leave from the Midwest and be walking around in NYC two hours from now. For those that own the Jets or have regular access to making the decision to use one it would be absolutely awesome. It's cold here this weekend ... Let's fly to Bermuda tomorrow.

 

[hawkmart]

Yup, changed employers 4 years ago and this one has a company plane. Have flown on it maybe 10 times. Flying out on it from CR is no big deal but is cool not having to deal with security and people at the bigger airports.

 

[Finance85]

A few times.

 

[coloradonoles]

I used to all the time when I worked for a contractor in Minnesota. I used to like sitting in the co-pilot's seat. The company owner was the pilot (until we got a little bit bigger and they hired a pilot). We had a 6 seater.

I was surprised with how little chatter there was on the radio from ATC.

Also, landing in small airports was a whole lot more "unsupervised" than I thought. Its basically first come first serve for the runway spot.

 

[95Hawk]

Pretty much all my clients have their own plane or a service like flexjet or netjets. Average year I’m on one of their plans every other month.

Jewish mafia connections?

I kid. I kid.

 

[artradley]

A friend flew me and a few other guys from NJ to Iowa City for the wrestling Olympic Trials. Amazing experience.

 

[anon_ts5cfra6drv7r]

Yes, I flew those who flew private. Was cool. Big people of note: John Kerry and Theresa Heinz, San Jose Sharks owner, one of the Soros sons and Dennis O'Leary?(rescue me tv show guy).

Job sucked but living on Nantucket and Marthas Vineryard was awesome.

 

[dgordo]

Jewish mafia connections?

I kid. I kid.

surprisingly few of my clients are jewish, i had no idea non jews were allowed to be rich

 

[dgordo]

Yes, I flew those who flew private. Was cool. Big people of note: John Kerry and Theresa Heinz, San Jose Sharks owner, one of the Soros sons and Dennis O'Leary?(rescue me tv show guy).

Job sucked but living on Nantucket and Marthas Vineryard was awesome.

why did the job suck? i thought flying private was a goal for pilots?

 

[95Hawk]

surprisingly few of my clients are jewish, i had no idea non jews were allowed to be rich

Dude: you’re taking all the fun away from stereotyping.

Boo this, man.

 

[dgordo]

Dude: you’re taking all the fun away from stereotyping.

Boo this, man.

shit, my bad.

 

[QChawks]

Our company has a private jet with two pilots on the payroll. It’s ridiculously expensive but it is a nice perk.

I’ve used it 4-5 times and one time I was the only person on the jet. I don’t think I’ve ever felt more like a big shot than the time the pilots are waiting for me at the hanger one with a fresh cup of coffee and the other holding a newspaper.

 

[Hawki97]

Our pilots where I worked always had a cooler of cold beer and fresh warm cookies on the plane when you arrived. Loved it.

 

[Rifler]

Our fridge is always stocked with beer,.. typically reserved for the return flight.

 

[SSG T]

I've flown in a C-12 Huron a couple of times.

 

[DaveSnedeker]

Some for work and some for recreation. I represent a couple aviation companies. They like to fly us to depositions and business meetings. I have used their services for personal use as well. Flew a group of four of us from Vegas to Mesa for the Iowa-Missouri Insight Bowl and into Burbank a couple times for Dodgers games.

Real close friends with an Iowa guy who now lives in Vegas who has his own plane. We flew in to Lincoln for the 2011 Iowa-Nebraska game and were home in our beds by 1100 that night. A group of six of us blitzkrieged into San Jose for the Bama-Clemson title game last January. Again, back in our own bed by midnight. Definitely the way to go.

 

[Lone Clone]

Best part of flying private is being able to use the zero hassle charter terminals at the airports,... Typically no more that 15 minutes between landing and getting to your car....

When the limo picked us up at the hotel, the driver asked the tail number of our plane. Got to the airport, drove out onto the tarmac beside where it was parked.

 

[jamesvanderwulf]

A couple of my friends are pilots and have asked if I want to fly to the lake or somewhere else with them to which I usually reply, " hell no, you can barely drive a tractor "...

 

[anon_ts5cfra6drv7r]

why did the job suck? i thought flying private was a goal for pilots?

Maybe for a large fortune 100 company. But on demand charter is miserable. Always on call and pay sucks. Can’t drink, can’t afford to drink. Airlines are better. Much more stable and you work 12 days a month.

 

[unIowa]

It is great!

 

[Fijimn]

Yes, but never enjoyed it because always with a partner and and felt obligated to work.

 

[tarheelbybirth]

After the RJR Nabisco merger, Nabisco's Ross Johnson came to "bucolic" Winston-Salem to check things out. The top brass here arrived to pick him up in a Buick. Johnson refused and demanded a limo. He was also shocked to find out that RJR execs almost always flew commercial - there was no private jet. RJR/Nabisco soon owned a private jet and a dedicated hanger at the local airport. There were also limos for the execs though the holdover RJR guys continued to drive their own cars to work.

That's the set-up to me getting flown to Chicago on the jet to look over a job for RJR. They were looking to set up at least one special marketing office in every state and they were looking at what the costs would be so I was spec'ing the Chicago deal. The plan would be me spending about a year and a half flying all over the country to different cities, hiring a local crew, and setting the offices up. I wasn't married at the time so it would have been a helluva adventure. Then Johnson and KKR got into their bidding war and the plan was killed but I did get that one round-trip flight.

 

[noleclone2]

I so badly wanted to lie and said I had. But I have not. SAD!

 

[desihawk]

So many people are breaking the private plane glass ceiling these days that i’ve gone back to the basics and just bang hot models in my truck.

 

[BubsFinn]

I’ve done it more times than I care to count.
I am a private chef and my boss owns several planes (and a few helicopters). I travel with them to their vacation homes in Colorado and California. And I once flew on a Gulfstream 4 as flight attendant on a trip from Texas to London to Tokyo to Hong Kong to Singapore and back to the States. We stopped for fuel in Siberia and Anchorage.
The first time I did it, it was pretty damn cool. Driving up to the plane and getting on without dealing with checking in, security, and the rest of it was awesome. I guess it is still pretty damn cool, but it has lost a bit of its luster.