We are strong believers in transparency. When you are looking for a reputable business jet charter broker, we encourage you to ask important questions. At Stratos Jet Charters, we want our clients to feel they have the right information to make informed travel choices. So here are our Questions to Ask Your Jet Charter Broker, and our answers to those questions.
1. How long have you been in business?
Stratos has been serving the jet charter industry since 2007. Founder Joel Thomas built Stratos Jet Charters with the belief that success is the result of a continual pursuit towards excellence. Our business success is not a static achievement, but a sustained, ongoing effort to improve air travel for our business jet charter clients.
2. Can I read reviews?
Our Stratos Jet Charter reviews can be found on this Stratos Reviews Page. And we hope that after you have traveled with us and experienced our jet charter travel professionalism, you will continue the dialog by adding a review of your own.
3. What is your industry accreditation?
Our business jet charter clients know that Stratos maintains some of the most stringent accreditation in the air charter industry. These accreditations fall into two important categories: company practices and airline safety. As industry leaders, Stratos voluntarily opens its books to both ARGUS and Wyvern, which audit the charter airline industry, to ensure fair pricing practices. We also subscribe to the highest safety standards of the Air Charter Safety Association. Stratos belongs to seven corporate and safety organizations; you can find them on our Stratos Accreditations webpage.
4. Is my aircraft safe?
We strive to make every business jet charter experience as safe as possible. Even in a highly competitive industry, we will never sacrifice safety to provide lower prices. Our approach is pro-active. We pre-screen our aircraft operator partners to ensure they are in compliance with Part 135 of the Federal Aviation Regulations. We review their training and maintenance standards and ensure they measure up to third-party safety audits. Our customers deserve nothing less.
5. What does a business jet charter flight cost?
At Stratos Jet Charters, we have two pricing models, depending on your preference. The most common is On-Demand Pricing, which is based on three variables: the type of aircraft being chartered, the availability of this aircraft, and the aircraft’s location relative to your departure location. To help you estimate the costs, we recommend our using our Instant Quote Calculator, or you can also look at our commonly-flown routes on our Pricing Page. The second pricing model is Fixed Rate Pricing, available with our Stratos Jet Card Membership. You can lock in hourly rates for an aircraft and only pay for the time you need, without worrying about repositioning fees or rising fuel costs. Many of our corporate clients love the convenience and easy accounting that comes with Fixed Rate Pricing.
We hope these questions and our answers have given you an insight into our culture of safety and our desire to provide superior customer service at Stratos Jet Charters.
When you are ready to arrange your next luxury charter flight anywhere in the world, call Stratos Jets—888-593-9066.
Should You Hire a Private Jet to Travel Supersonic Speeds?
Supersonic passenger flight is making a comeback, so what can we expect?
For decades, supersonic passenger flight was the pinnacle of air travel. The graceful delta-winged Concorde filled this role for almost 30 years. But fuel prices climbed, and supersonic technology plateaued. With dwindling profits, the last Concorde flight was on October 24, 2003. Since then, the only way to fly faster than Mach speed was in a military fighter jet. However, several corporate initiatives and technological breakthroughs have revived the dream of high-speed passenger travel. But before you hire a private jet to break the sound barrier, let’s have a quick look at the challenges and perks of the new supersonic air travel.
Challenges
Development Time – There is a growing list of travelers who would love to hire a private jet for supersonic flight. But the technology is not ready yet. Boom Supersonic is developing Overture, an elegant business-class supersonic jet. But according to the company website, “Overture is in the early design stages, and we’re targeting the mid-2020’s for it to enter service.”
Technical challenges – Supersonic flight has a number of obstacles to overcome. The venerable Concorde was plagued with technical issues such as overheating, and substantial carbon emissions. Also, it could only travel at supersonic speeds across oceans, to avoid creating window-shattering sonic booms over populated areas. These hurdles will need to be addressed by the next generation of aircraft.
Fuel costs – This is the biggest variable in the supersonic industry. Engineers can minimize carbon emissions and sonic booms, but not fuel costs. The feasibility of supersonic passenger flight boils down to economics. Is the potential time-saving worth the price if passengers have to absorb a rise in fuel costs?
Perks
Speed – This is the ultimate goal of advanced air travel. Aircraft developer Spike Aerospace sums it up with their corporate motto, “Fly supersonic. Do more”. Spike claims its S-512 jet will fly from New York to London in 3.3 hours, compared to 6.2 hours in current jets. Likewise, Boom is promoting that the Overture jet will fly from Tokyo to San Francisco in 5.5 hours, instead of 11. Their website proclaims, “Do business across the world and be home before jet lag sets in.” In a hectic corporate world, faster travel means more opportunities.
Luxury – When you buy or hire a private jet, you expect certain luxury amenities. The Spike S-512 is designed with the luxury traveler in mind. The aircraft promises to fly 18 passengers at Mach 1.6 without creating loud sonic booms. In addition to elegant leather seating and high-speed internet, the S-512 has replaced the windows with high-definition screens on both sides. You can view the aircraft surroundings, just like through a traditional window, and then switch the view to a movie or work project. Likewise, Boom’s Overture jet is billing itself as an “all-business-class” jet, with an emphasis on privacy, comfort, and productivity. Overture is designed to fly 55-75 passengers to international destinations at Mach 2.2 in perfect elegance.
When can you hire a private jet to travel supersonic speeds? Once these aviation marvels are tested and available, supersonic jet charter won’t be far away. In the meantime, Stratos Jet Charters will get you where you need to go with the most efficient and most comfortable aircraft in our charter network.
To arrange your next luxury charter flight anywhere in the world, call Stratos Jets—888-593-9066.
Sustainability in the Corporate Jet Charter Industry
How do the aviation industries develop and maintain sustainable air travel?
Like many 21st century industries, Stratos Jet Charters and our peers in the corporate jet charter industry are striving towards environmental sustainability. New technologies, practices, and insights are reducing our impact on the environment. Some of these environmental concepts seem visionary, others are just common sense. Both travelers and travel providers have a shared responsibility to pursue the best alternatives for the future. Here are three ways the commercial airline and corporate jet charter industries are developing sustainable air travel.
New Initiatives
There are two recent initiatives in the aviation industry that address aircraft emissions. The first is CORSIA, the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation. The plan is designed to offset aircraft carbon emissions by planting trees and using alternative, non-petroleum fuels. More than 70 countries representing 85% of international aviation have volunteered to participate. The program is being phased in, starting in 2021.
The second initiative was launched in Norway last year. In July 2018, Norway’s transport minister Ketil Solvik-Olsen took a short flight in a two-seat plane made by Pipistrel, a Slovenian company. What was unique about this flight was that the aircraft was entirely powered by electricity. By 2040, Norway intends all short-haul flights to be on electrical aircraft. And though the technology and the Norwegian initiative are still in the early stages, it demonstrates an important trend towards emission-free aviation.
New Technologies
Corporate jet charter travelers don’t have to wait for the development of electrical aircraft to enjoy efficient air travel. Stratos Jet Charters routinely books charters on the most fuel-efficient jets currently available. For example, in the charter airliner category, the new Boeing 777-8 is built with General Electric GE9X engines made with a ceramic matrix composite. These engines have fewer emissions and are 5% more fuel-efficient than previous engines.
Similarly, in the super mid-size jet category, Brazilian manufacturer Embraer has designed its Praetor 600 line to fly further, faster. Since a large amount of fuel is burned on take-off, Embraer re-designed the jet for greater range between refueling stops. Fewer refueling hops mean less fuel wasted on multiple take-offs.
Common Sense
Sometimes the easiest solution is the best. Technology and political initiatives can only get us so far towards reducing carbon emissions. At Stratos Jet Charters, we’ve applied a common-sense approach to reducing fuel usage.
First, we recommend the aircraft best-suited for your specific trip. By customizing your corporate jet charter flight, you travel efficiently at the right altitude, on the best route, in the ideal-sized aircraft for your destination.
Secondly, if we can avoid it, we don’t fly empty planes. We encourage effective fuel use by offering Empty Leg Flight discounts for our repositioning flights. If your itinerary is flexible, and one of our charter aircraft is going to your destination anyway, it makes sense to offer a discount. Our goal is to reduce the number of empty aircraft using up fuel.
Time will tell what impact these new technologies and initiatives will have towards carbon reduction. But there is a strong international commitment to improve air travel every day. If you wait for the perfect future technology to be developed, you may miss some amazing travel opportunities today. Book a flight, and enjoy the most efficient air travel available right now.
For an extraordinary private jet rental company that can arrange luxury charter flights anywhere in the world, call Stratos Jets—888-593-9066.
Five Private Jet Perks, Including Flying with a Dog
Sometimes you don’t want the whole pitch; just the perks. For example, our previous blog entries have covered weighty topics such as airline regulations or international passports. But today, let’s take a brief look at one of our industry’s most-asked questions: “What are the perks of traveling by private jet?” Here are the five top perks of flying with a private jet charter, including flying with a dog.
1. Private jet charter travel is better than first class on a commercial jet. With Stratos private jet charter travel, every seat can be first class, since you and your group are the only passengers. So, perks such as ultra-comfortable seats, VIP in-flight meals & amenities and flexible itineraries can be yours. Plus, if you look into Stratos Empty Leg Flights, you can fly for considerably less than our typical prices. (And we haven’t even mentioned flying with a dog yet.)
2. Charter jet travel is time efficient. Time management is crucial for corporate travel, but even holiday travelers don’t want their time wasted. Here’s how Stratos Jet Charters helps you reclaim those precious minutes:
- Private jet charters can usually depart from a smaller regional airport. That means you spend less time than driving a major airport, finding the gate, and processing your luggage.
- The security and pre-flight check-ins are speedy, with shorter line-ups. In most cases, arriving 30 minutes before your flight is all you need.
- Most private jets fly as fast as commercial airliners. Smaller charter jets need shorter take-off runways, can climb to cruising altitude faster, and fly to their destination efficiently.
- You can work on the flight. Instead of hunching over your laptop, you can use in-flight meeting areas with tables, WiFi, satellite phones and TV screens for presentations.
3. Go where you want. Commercial airlines are limited to about 550 airports in the U.S. It’s adequate until you consider that Stratos Jet Charters fly to over 5,000 airports! So, when you want to go to a remote factory site, an exclusive holiday resort or even a reunion at your grandma’s farm, Stratos can get you as close as possible. (Speaking of the farm, you might still be wondering about flying with a dog. We’ll get to that.)
4. Cargo flexibility. To conserve fuel and cargo space, commercial airlines limit what you can bring. And though private jets also have limited cargo space, there is much more flexibility. For example, if your group is going on a golf or ski holiday, we would recommend an aircraft with additional luggage capacity for your gear. Likewise, many of our charter aircraft have extra interior cabin space, so you are not limited to one carry-on bag.
5. Flying with a dog. One of the most popular perks of charter jet travel is flying with your pets. For domestic flights, your pet may need a travel crate, food, water and toys. Also, remember a leash or collar, medication and waste disposal bags. For international flights, you will need to prepare well in advance. This could include arranging documentation and vaccinations. Talk to your veterinarian for more details. We also recommend visiting the US Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection (APHIS) website.
When you are ready to enjoy these travel perks, call us. For an exceptional private jet rental company that can arrange luxury charter flights anywhere in the world, call Stratos Jets—888-593-9066.
