The hassle of getting ski/snowboard equipment and boots onto commercial airlines, lugging the baggage through a busy airplane terminal and facing the same ordeal at the end of a long day on the slopes, can be daunting.  And if you talk to a skier whose equipment was delayed or lost by commercial airlines, frustration can border on rage.

Long distance ski travel by plane can be even more perplexing if you have to make a connecting flight in route to your resort destination, and miss it. That’s why today’s savvy travelers are opting to take charter group flights to their favorite ski resort. The flexibility charter flights offer also eliminates the long hours of pre-flight booking required by commercial carriers.

A jet charter that can carry anywhere from four to nine trekkers can be booked and ready to go on short notice. Many chartered aircraft operate from a variety of major and smaller airports throughout the country, thus making boarding and unloading easier and faster. Though even when operating out of major airports, air charter planes offer a much quicker and easier means of travel.

“ Oh, but private jets are too expensive,” some will say. “ Charter jet service is only for corporate types with large expense accounts, and Hollywood stars.” Perhaps air charter once was the preferred travel of the elite few, but no longer.

Let’s do the math. Say six friends decide to take a ski trip to Aspen, Colorado or Deer Valley, Utah. Aside from the pleasure of traveling in the comfort of a private jet, the costs are well justified compared to commercial flights in many ways. Valuable downtime is avoided, you get to the slopes quicker, the overall flight charge is split six ways and a jet generally with two pilots, can make last minute flight changes if necessary. An option most commercial flight can’t entertain when they have dozens of other passengers on board. 

Charter jet rates range on average from $2,300 to $2,800 an hour, depending on the size of the aircraft. Today’s charter operations are very sophisticated. They can arrange bedside to bedside services. Charter companies can provide limo transportation to and from an airport, and provide catering service if needed.  In the case of Quik Flight, which operates out of the Million-Air building at Albany, New York International Airport, air ambulance service is also available.

According to Quik Flight President, Chandler Atkins, “ We provide medically equipped aircraft along with caring professional medical personnel, including a doctor on board when required as well as support equipment and medications.”

Atkins uses Quik Flight’s twin-engine Cheyenne turbo-prop for either private and air ambulance when transporting clients 500 nautical miles or less one way. He says this is very cost competitive. For example, a round trip flight from Albany to Washington, DC is approximately $2,619 on the Cheyenne.

At last count there were some 29,000 private jets flying around the country, with many more on order. Though chartering jets is preferred by many flyers, Netjets, owned by Warren Buffet, offer fractional ownership. Flexjet, a Bombardier entity, offers similar fractional investment.   

One entrepreneur I know buys blocks of time, meaning he puts up $150,000 so he can order in a jet to service his family or business flight needs on demand. Other owners buy a jet outright and lease it when not being utilized for personal use. Quik Flight, as well as other charter companies, are set up to manage such craft and can handle every detail from supplying pilots, bookings flights, purchasing fuel and providing hanger space.

The old cliché that the “ World is Shrinking” was never so apt as in the world of charter and fractional shares. If you want to ski in Europe, there are a growing number of private transatlantic jets available. Though the price tag, owing to the size of a jet aircraft required, and the great non-stop distance, is considerably higher.  

Though I have primarily put the emphasis on chartered jets, some carries utilize the very reliable Pilatus PC-12, manufactured in Switzerland since 1935. Powered by a single Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-67B engine, the turboprop airplane has a maximum range of 1,469 nautical miles. In ski country where runways are often limited in length, the Pilatus can use runways as small as 2,5000 feet. Furthermore, the Pilatus can carry eight or nine skiers, with plenty of storage space left for ski gear and clothing. Pilatus airplanes can also operate for one-third that of a jet, yet still cruise at a respectable 310-mph.  

Personal air travel is here to stay. Get aboard on your next ski trek.            

Sidebar:   Quik Flight offers free charter quotes on both turboprop aircraft and jets to any destination. They can be reached at: 518-869-8000.