Can you Justify Using your Private Jet?

One of the enduring memories of the Covid-lockdowns which enforced many to work from home for several months at a time is Zoom and Teams calls. These programs facilitated socially distanced meetings, enabling the working world to function as normally as possible.

While most of the world has returned to a ‘new normal’, a mixture of traditional office-based work with remote working (working from home was discovered to have many benefits), what Zoom and Teams could never replicate was the value of actual in-person meetings. 

Studies dating back to the 1960s and repeated numerous times since have devised a formula to describe how the mind determines meaning in communication. The research concludes that the interpretation of a message is seven percent verbal (words), 38 percent vocal (tone), and 55 percent visual. In other words, 93 percent of communication is “non-verbal” in nature.

These studies show that when there are mismatches in the message, most recipients will believe the non-verbal part of the message over the spoken words. Therefore, awareness of non-verbal cues is hugely important to effectively communicating with your families, colleagues, partners, and clients.

While video calls were, and still are useful, they limit the ability for body language to be read, minimize clear eye contact (it was quite an art mastering the ability to focus on the camera, rather than the screen during those Covid Zoom calls!), and thus barriers are created to effective communication.

The Value of Business Aviation...

People who care show up in person. More can get done in a face-to-face meeting than in a dozen video calls. And travel is part of that process.

This is where a business aircraft is an enabler. It enables travel on the most efficient schedule (your own). Airline schedules are designed to satisfy demand between major city pairs, using a frequency that fits within the commercial carrier’s route structure. They’re not tailored around the specific needs of the general public.

Most agree that the people who should be on the aircraft are the ones responsible for the financial success of their companies. They are the leaders, the designers, the problem-solvers, the negotiators, and everyone else who are leaders and job creators.

These people have a fiduciary duty to protect the shareholders, and to grow the investment that equity holders have made in the company. They also appreciate the responsibility to their families to be a good spouse, and a good parent. These people are focused on what makes their companies successful, and their families thrive.

Not only should key executives make use of the business aircraft, but so should teams who are key to executing strategic problem-solving across multiple business units. The ability for a coordinated team to travel together, meet with clients or other teams, and return home efficiently can often be met by business aircraft.

The team can work en route and minimize non-useful time (such as would have been “wasted” in an airline terminal, or in the restrictive, public environment of an airline cabin). The team can then return to the office fully debriefed and ready to move forward.

Justifying the Cost of a Business Aircraft...

Read the rest of this article, including justifying the cost of owning a business aircraft on the digital edition version by clicking the button below...