Differentiating Beyond Price – Your Tool Kit For Making Intelligent Jet Charter Decisions

Part 3 – Pilot Certification

When you hire Stratos Jet Charters as your air charter agent, it is our job to identify all relevant aircraft, ensure the proper certification, maintenance and safety of each plane and to create a competitive market for your charter flight. And determining the motivation of your broker can sometimes be difficult, especially those brokers with limited aviation expertise – who place a priority on their profits, not your safety. This is why we created this educational series, or “tool kit”, to provide you with the knowledge that you need to make well-informed jet charter decisions.

Our first two topics discussed aircraft insurance verification and aircraft maintenance, and how vital each is to your safety. Our third, and equally critical topic focuses on the issue of pilot certification.

First, some basics on pilot certification and training. To fly air charter, a pilot must progress through flight training and obtain a commercial pilot’s license, an instrument rating, and a multi-engine rating. After obtaining these licenses, every operator has a minimum number of hours of Pilot in Command experience which they require for a pilot to be eligible to fly air charter. As the aircraft becomes more complex, the minimum hours required by operators and also their insurance companies increase.

Pilots should receive a minimum of 5 to 10 hours of in-flight training covering every possible emergency that can happen in an aircraft. They should also have a primary concern for safety, including the safe condition or airworthiness of the plane; knowledge of weather factors affecting the safety of the flight; flight regulations; air traffic control procedures, and air navigational aids designed to provide maximum safety in the air.

After their training, pilots take an oral and written examination, as well as a flight check in which they must demonstrate their ability to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) examiner. Pilots need to demonstrate to the FAA that their flying skills, knowledge and state of health are at all times acceptable for the particular flying jobs they perform. These flight checks are demanding, and can be failed.

And while these standard FAA requirements are stringent, Stratos Jet Charters goes even further in our own pilot requirements. Each Pilot in Command of a charter flight arranged by Stratos Jet Charters is required to have a minimum of 3,000 hours of total flight time. And each Second in Command is required to have a minimum of 1,000 total flight hours.

Operators chosen by Stratos Jets are required to only hire pilots with a 100% training record and all pilots must attend Flight Safety School at least once per year. We also require that every aircraft contracted by Stratos Jet Charters be regularly audited by an independent agency, such as Wyvern or ARGUS.

Wyvern and ARGUS have the two most recognized safety auditing standards in the industry. During an on-site safety evaluation, Part 135 charter operators are measured against the demanding ARGUS or Wyvern operating standards, both which far exceed government regulatory oversight. The reliability of audit results depends on the application of well-defined, consistent audit processes and standards. The strength of both Wyvern and ARGUS safety audit programs lie in the experience, qualifications and superior training of their audit teams, reviewing operators' aircraft fleets, crews and maintenance. Every area of the operation is scrutinized.

And meeting these standards does make a real difference in safety. This can be observed in historical safety records. A miniscule percentage of both fatal and non-fatal FAR Part 135 accidents from January 1991 to April 2009 involved ARGUS or Wyvern-compliant and recommended aircraft or aircrew, far less than 1%. Having an ARGUS or Wyvern compliant operator, crew and maintenance program is your assurance that the pilots of your flight have a record clear of accidents, incidents and enforcement actions, are adequately experienced in the aircraft they will be flying, and have all proper certifications and type ratings.

When it comes to the safety of your charter flight, know that Stratos Jet Charters will never, ever cut corners. Which is why, once again, that you should not choose a charter broker based solely on price. The safety and security of you and your fellow passengers MUST be the primary consideration for every charter flight. This is just another aspect of our commitment to you – our invaluable clients!

Joel Thomas – President, Stratos Jet Charters

Our Aviation Security Partners Can Provide The Complete Protection That You Want And Need

At Stratos Jet Charters, our jet charter agent experts often arrange transportation for government officials, dignitaries, public figures, athletes and other high-profile clients who require additional security or support during their travel experience. International travel can also present unique security and safety issues that we have the ability to handle efficiently. As yet another component of our complete client service capabilities, we work in close proximity with our security partners every day to provide the protection that our charter clients want and need.

Our highly-professional security providers are exclusively dedicated to the aviation community, and have a long history of meeting and exceeding our clients’ expectations. They deliver total security solutions and service that is consistent, responsive and innovative – designed for the complete physical safety and protection of our clients and their passengers, as well as their property and their financial interests.

Our security partners are also committed to providing us with the best personnel in the business, trained to utilize state-of-the-art techniques in preparation of the challenges they face in today’s post-9/11 security environment. Our providers are also State Department approved, and include many former members of the US military. They also provide qualified security screening and security personnel for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the Department of Homeland Security, and in support of the Aviation and Transportation Security Act (ATSA).

Through our security partners we can provide highly specialized and customized services such as:
• Checkpoint and Baggage Screening Services
• Command and Control
• Ground/Airfield Security
• Cargo Inspections and Security
• Canine Screening and Patrol

So when traveling with Stratos Jet Charters, know that we can make arrangements for any safety and security needs or concerns that you may have. Please share your specific travel security requirements with your Stratos Jet Charters agent, and we will take it from there.

Your safety is of utmost importance to us, and we are dedicated to offering you the best, most highly-trained and professional security staff for your protection. This is just another of the world-class services that we are proud to offer our invaluable clients.

Joel Thomas – President, Stratos Jet Charters

Differentiating Beyond Price – Your Tool Kit For Making Intelligent Jet Charter Decisions Part 2: Aircraft Maintenance

Part 2 - Aircraft Maintenance and Your Safety and Security During Jet Charter Flights

When you hire Stratos Jet Charters as your air charter agent, it is our job to identify all relevant aircraft, ensure the proper certification, maintenance and safety of each plane and to create a competitive market for your charter flight. While there are some charter brokers who may understand all facets of the air charter industry, there are others with limited aviation experience who place a priority on their profit, and your needs second.

Determining the motivation of the broker you are working with can be a difficult task. So in order to help you read “between the lines”, we are actively working to educate our clients. With your safety in mind, we have created this educational series, a “tool kit” to arm you with useful information that will help you make the best, most educated decisions when you are chartering your next flight.

Our first topic centered on the issue of aircraft insurance verification and how important is for your protection. Now we move to a second and equally critical topic, the issue of aircraft maintenance.
When it comes to the maintenance of a Part 135 aircraft, there are different programs that can be utilized, such as CAMP, AAIP, factory maintenance or in-house maintenance. Aircraft maintenance is a major component in the hourly rate of your private charter flight. While the FAA has strict guidelines on the standards of maintenance for charter aircraft, the quality of that maintenance can vary when comparing maintenance facilities. If you are working with a broker, do they know who does the maintenance on the aircraft you will be flying? And if the maintenance is done in-house, for example, does your broker know what type of experience and certification this crew possesses?

With charter brokers who are not in business for the “long haul”, not only will your level of customer service almost certainly be diminished, but they may be willing to take more risks when it comes to your charter flight and your safety.

In their pursuit of profits, they may choose an aircraft operator who is also running at the lowest possible margins to remain profitable. Operators who run at such tight margins inevitably run into problems down the road. They can only run “thin” for so long, before they are forced to cut corners; from routine maintenance, to paying the best pilots and even retaining a quality dispatch crew. The business philosophy of these operators doesn’t leave much, if any, leeway when it comes to the issue of aircraft maintenance. This is certainly not a situation that you, your family or business associates want when boarding your next charter flight. Knowing that the operator(s) that your charter broker selects aren’t experiencing any financial difficulties or cash flow problems can give you the confidence and peace of mind you want and need during your next charter flight.

This is why you should never choose a charter broker or an aircraft operator based on price, and price alone. The safety and security of the passengers must be the primary consideration for every charter flight.

When you choose to work with an air charter broker, you will want to inquire about the broker’s aviation industry experience and knowledge of Federal Aviation Regulations as well as ensure the air charter broker provides you with the information requested in this Stratos Jet Charters Aircraft Charter Purchasing Guide so that you will be familiar with the air charter operator(s) that may conduct your flight(s). If the air charter broker is unwilling or unable to provide you with this required information, you should consider working with another agent, such as Stratos Jet Charters, who can provide you with the necessary information.

Of course, sometimes there are legitimate mechanical issues or problems that will arise, ones that are not the result in any way of improper maintenance or cost-cutting measures. After all, these are extremely complex machines we are talking about! In these situations, how will your charter broker handle the situation? If there is a mechanical problem of this nature during a Stratos Jet Charters flight, you can rest assured that we have backup aircraft sourced and waiting on standby for you. Our promise to you is that we will have another aircraft ready and available to you within 4 hours. This is all just another part of our commitment to you – our invaluable clients!

Joel Thomas – President, Stratos Jet Charters

Your Safety, And The Mission Of Stratos Jet Charters

Picture yourself in this situation. You’re on a jet that is headed for Minneapolis. Your flight seems unusually long. Then you suddenly realize that your pilots have over-flown the airport by more than an hour. Even scarier still; after landing, you receive word that your pilots may have been asleep during the flight.

For the 144 passengers onboard the Northwest flight 188, this nightmarish vision became a reality. Early reports indicate that the pilots flying the Airbus A320 out of San Diego were not asleep at the wheel, but were engrossed in a new, complicated crew-scheduling system. They were so distracted from their duties that they failed to respond to frantic radio calls from air traffic controllers on the ground in Denver and in Minneapolis.

The incident, which resulted in both pilots losing their licenses, could have been avoided had the pilots been restricted from using laptops during the flight. Currently, no federal rules exist to specifically ban pilots’ use of laptops and other personal electronic devices on flights above 10,000 feet. However, there are rules against unnecessary distractions during a critical phase in flight at any altitude; critical phases include taxi, takeoff and landing.

Furthermore, the pilots were distracted by the confusing crew-scheduling system, a system that should have been figured out on the ground, or by somebody else.

Incidents like these, though seemingly one-in-a-million, serve as proof that an experienced air charter agent is needed to ensure the safety of every FAR Part 135 jet charter flight. Stratos Jets agents evaluate the pilots schedule around the dates of every charter flight. We do this to avoid conflicts that might arise related to FAA duty restrictions or potential risk related to pilot fatigue. Additionally, we make sure that the pilots of your charter aircraft have plenty of experience behind the yoke and are fully alert during your charter flight.

Our personal mission at Stratos Jet Charters is to provide our clients with the safest, most well maintained aircraft, under the command of the most experienced pilots. Our air charter agents are experts in the field of business aviation and we want you to experience the best flight possible. Whether you’re flying from Philadelphia to New York or Paris to Washington D.C., your air charter agent is looking out for you. Since Stratos Jets doesn’t own or operate any aircraft, we spend our time making sure every flight is a safe one.

Joel Thomas – President, Stratos Jet Charters

Differentiating Beyond Price – Your Tool Kit For Making Intelligent Jet Charter Decisions Part 1: Insurance Verification

Part 1 – Insurance Verification and Your Safety on Jet Charter Flights

In highly competitive markets, many smaller companies seeking to compete will cut corners to offer the lowest price. But cutting corners in aviation could mean the difference in arriving safely, or not. So how does one seeking to charter an aircraft differentiate beyond just price?

Our role as your air charter agent is to identify all relevant aircraft, ensure the proper certification, maintenance and safety of each plane and to create a competitive market for the proposed routing. Which is why as your trusted agent, Stratos Jets has created an educational series, a “tool kit” of information so that you – our deeply valued clients – can possess the means to make the best, most educated decisions when you are chartering your next flight. Our first topic centers on the subject of insurance verification.

Often times you will find that some our competitors are chartering flights that are NOT inclusive of the recommended or required insurance policies necessary. And when you book an aircraft for your customers, boss, or you and your family, don’t you need to be 100% sure that the flight meets your safety standards?

That’s why before every flight, you should demand to see the insurance policy that will be covering your trip. You should also be looking for a minimum of $20 million in coverage for turbo props, and at least $25 million in coverage for jets.

In this way, you can vet the companies and operators you are working with; to ensure that they have the proper insurance required to protect you and your passengers’ well being in every way possible. If they cannot produce this document, that’s your first sign, sadly, that your safety is NOT a top priority to the broker in question!

Stratos Jet Charters requires all flights are ARGUS or WYVERN certified and that the pilots, aircraft and charter operators meet or exceed all FAA requirements. Every one of our flights are operated by Part 135 carriers with exceptional safety records (including no safety breaches in the last 10 years), have pilots with the proper certifications, and the most hours on your specific aircraft and exemplary safety records, and our operators carry reliable and appropriate insurance policies, suitable for the importance of our clients.

At Stratos Jets, our top priority is to ensure your flight is the safest it can be. You won’t find another company more committed to your safety and your security. You should not settle for anything less!

Joel Thomas – President, Stratos Jet Charters

Safety First

Sometimes you read a news article and it really makes you realize what is truly important.

And it’s never the day-to-day issues or small inconveniences that most of us worry about every day. Such was the case last Sunday, April 12.

Like me, you may have seen or read the story about the charter passenger who landed a twin-engine plane at SW Florida International Airport after the pilot died of a sudden heart attack, saving four lives in the process. Against all odds, that passenger actually had some previous flight experience, although not with a plane of that type or size.

It’s every traveler’s worst nightmare, a catastrophic problem with either the plane itself or the pilot flying it.

In many ways, the situation described in that news story is worse than a problem with the aircraft itself. At least in those situations, you (hopefully!) have a professional with years of flying experience trying to solve the problem. This is best illustrated in another recent news story, the emergency landing of a critically damaged commercial jet in the Hudson River, in which only one passenger out of 150 received a significant injury! (The actions of that heroic pilot, and that outcome, were almost miraculous.)

The point is, when you travel – for business, for pleasure, for any reason – your primary concern is getting to your destination safely. Itineraries and schedules and a myriad of other concerns can take a back seat in a HURRY to your safety and that of your family or other companions.

Which is why you should always insist upon the ARGUS mandated two pilot system.

When you charter a flight with Stratos Jets, you can be assured that your flight will have two of the most qualified and experienced pilots available; verified and approved by ARGUS or Wyvern. Although not always a mandate for a legal FAA charter, this IS a requirement for every charter arranged by Stratos Jets.

(Of course, illegal charters also can’t provide passengers with any insurance coverage, and don’t have the strict maintenance requirements of legal charters. But that’s a topic for another day!)

Of course we wish that every emergency could be avoided in the first place. But while we may not know what life will throw our way, being well prepared is always the best defense, which is why Stratos Jets takes every possible precaution to ensure your safety.

For more information, give us a call at 888 472-7286 or visit www.stratosjets.com, to find out more about the safety protocols in place here at Stratos Jet Charters. We look forward to the opportunity to assist you in arranging your next flight.

Joel A. Thomas, Owner – Stratos Jet Charters
888 478-7286
www.stratosjets.com