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A meaningful approach to large cash spending has always been at the forefront of any business. Today, smart economy is more relevant than ever. In this regard, Andrey Kalinin, Managing Director of the Business Aviation Club, decided to talk about optimizing the flight budget.
At what stages of flight planning and implementation can you maximize budget savings? What are some techniques to avoid additional costs?
Request a flight from several supply companies at the same time.
If this is your first time searching for a business aviation flight, find 5-7 companies that are most suitable for you according to certain criteria. After communicating with brokers, studying offers, the unnecessary will be eliminated and only a couple of reliable suppliers will remain with whom you will work in the future. You should always have an alternative in terms of price and risk optimization. In case of failure with one of the suppliers, there will be a fallback option at hand. In addition, if a client works with several brokers at once, these companies will try to make their offer more profitable.
When choosing an airplane, be guided primarily by your own tasks for the flight, and not by fashion trends and personal sympathies.
As practice shows, a model of an aircraft that is not so expensive in price and luxurious in positioning successfully copes with the same tasks as any other aircraft. At the same time, the savings in renting such an aircraft are obvious. For example, you need to drive 10 people to Nice. You can fly on the Global Express for 50 thousand euros, or on the Challenger 850, which will cost only 30-35 thousand euros. Moreover, the only difference will be in the engines of these two aircraft. They are about the same in terms of cabin size and comfort. If your flight involves a short (about an hour and a half) flight time, then you can take an airplane even less. During such a flight, you will not have time to get tired, you will not feel any oppressive atmosphere, but you will significantly save your budget.
If you are planning a one-way flight, you should turn your attention to the Empty Leg system (a route on which the plane travels without passengers).
Not all companies and do not always talk about what you can request an Empty Leg. For example, another client paid for a trip from Nice to Moscow, to the base of the plane, which means that the plane leaves for Nice empty. Since the flight has already been paid for, its price drops significantly, and you can take advantage of this, “hooking” on this flight to Nice at a lower cost. Thus, if you are only flying in one direction, then it is better to try using the Empty Leg. The average price of a regular flight on a Challenger 605 aircraft is 35 thousand euros. But if you use the Empty Leg system in this case, the pleasure can cost 25-28 thousand euros. Accordingly, in order to make the most of this system, it is worth planning your trips on dates when there are suitable empty flights on your itinerary in one direction and the other.
Do not order large quantities of food on board.
Often, going on air travel, the client orders almost everything that is on the menu. However, upon completion of the flight, 70 percent of the order is simply thrown away as unnecessary. Therefore, you should be more modest in your queries. After all, as a rule, people do not eat so much on the plane. On board, dry air, a person is exposed to overload, pressure, which is why the taste of food may not seem as pleasant as in normal conditions. Also check your meal budget before confirming your flight.
Avoid very expensive alcohol.
If you or your passengers are not connoisseurs of certain expensive brands of wine or champagne, then unnecessary expenses can be avoided when choosing alcohol. The main thing here is to maintain the premium level of drinks. Before ordering whiskey or wine, ask what is on board. One way or another, there is always a basic set of premium alcohol on board. And if the brand of the drink is not important for you, then it is quite possible to get by with what is in the bar of the plane.
Consider aircraft hangar storage to save on de-icing costs.
Flights in winter involve the almost inevitable de-icing treatment of the vessel. The weather can turn bad at any moment. Here you can save a lot if you put a business jet in the hangar the night before the flight. The average cost of such a parking is about 1000 euros, while the standard de-icing treatment will cost 1500-2000 euros. The aircraft that was stored in the hangar will require less processing, or it will not be needed at all if passengers board on time.
Choose for departure the airport where your ship is based so as not to pay for the approach of a business jet to the terminal you need.
The cost of an airplane flight to your terminal is not a cheap pleasure. For example, if the plane is in Vnukovo, and you need to fly from Sheremetyevo, then its approach will cost you an additional 6 thousand euros. You can also optimize your budget while, for example, in Europe. If you force yourself to drive from Courchevel to the airport, you can save 3-4 thousand extra by taking a plane based directly in Geneva.
If you plan to fly on holidays, then book flights in advance to fix the best price.
In the so-called high seasons, you can save money. It is best to start booking flights 2-3 months before departure. You can try to find out about Empty Leg, but finding a suitable flight will be quite difficult. On holidays, people usually fly for 2-3 weeks. For example, in May, many people want to fly away on the 1st and return on the 9th. At the same time, there are very few people who want to fly, say, on the 8th. There are two ways out of this situation. The first is to book a flight on holidays at least one and a half to two months before the trip. The second is to fly not on holidays, but at the end of holiday dates, when everyone comes back. The savings will be substantial.
