Flying Charter to races

Triathlon Forum
1

I manage an aircraft charter company and we are looking at the logistics of taking a private aircraft to race venues with Pro triathletes on board.

The idea is to sell tickets to athletes that would like to ride in a private aircraft, to race venues, with a big named Pro on board.

It would be in a 9 passenger aircraft, no need to worry about TSA, checking your bike/gear. Just hop on the plane and go!

Not only would it be convenient and luxurious (fully catered with Limo’s on both ends), but you would ride with a pro, great chance to converse and meet with the best in the business! I personally think it would be an awesome addition to an already fun packed weekend.

These are rough numbers but it looks possible to sell seats on the aircraft for roughly 1500 dollars (pending distance traveled).

I guess what im asking the ST community is, would this be something you guys would be interested in?

2

I would be interested but I consider 1500 round trip a bit expensive. I live in Miami and using the cost I paid to travel to IM Louisville in August, adding a limo, no hassle with bike/gear and less than 2 hrs on the plane with a pro, its just a bit too much.

Round trip flight was 250, I used tribike transport for 300 (rough estimate), taxi to the airport round trip 50. Thats 550, so your rough price is almost 3 times what I paid.

Have travelled in private planes, much larger than 9 passenger, and not really sure the fact a pro will be on board (probably wanting to rest), is worth 3 times more.

Just my 2 cents!

3

no. that’s too much money. usually pros are available to chat at some point at the expo/sponsor tents etc. but then I never get excited about meeting pros. If I see one, I’ll say hi, ask for a picture, but it’s more for the gee whiz wow factor, it’s not worth $1000 (which is how much more it would cost me than an average ticket).

4

ha ha do you have any idea how much stuff 9 athletes would carry with them to an IM race?? better be a DC9 :slight_smile:

5

Would family be allowed on or is this just for the athlete?

If so, probably.

6

Dude you are going to pack 9 bikes on a midsize cabin? More like a BBJ!

Curious what kind of aircraft though…gotta be jet for $1,500…not King Air? I have an acquaintance who was part of the now infamous DeGeorge team that zipped around on charters. Ohhhh the stories.

7

i find it interesting.
would that be $1,500 per passenger or per-bike-bringing-passenger? for me, going PHL to SLC or similar, i’d say that’s reasonable. but if you need to cover each passenger and you probably will, i can’t swing $3K for me and the missus.

if you go the route where its all competitors, can your aircraft support 10 passengers and 9 bikes? they are light but they are cumbersome.

8

Would family be allowed on or is this just for the athlete?

If so, probably.

Anyone that would be interested in flying to race venues would be welcomed. Family, friends, etc.

Does not necessarily have to be an athlete racing!

9

Trouble is you have to get to the jet so that adds cost. If you are travelling from somewhere fairly populous like NY/Nj or Chicago to IMC I bet you could get a full plane.

10

Im assuming that you are using a citation. There are a few factors that I think would not allow this to work. Although, I think its a great idea, but just no feasible.

  1. will be difficult to get people from the same city going to the same race. if you have people from different cities, it will be a substantial loss to you to go pick each person up at the low cost. also consider returning flight.
  2. no room on a citation to fit 9 bikes, people and luggage for the weekend.
11

For me the value really depends on what the commercial airline ticket would cost. If the ticket was $800 + $200 bike + $50-100 airport parking then, yes $1500 isn’t all that bad. If it was $300 + $100 + $50, then its a tougher sell.

Curiously though, I have a group of 8 adults who typically travel and meet at one IM per year. This year we are doing Cozumel. Any estimate on how much it would cost to charter with pickups at BDL, PHL, and IAD and then take us to/fro Cozumel?

-Tim

12

i find it interesting.
would that be $1,500 per passenger or per-bike-bringing-passenger? for me, going PHL to SLC or similar, i’d say that’s reasonable. but if you need to cover each passenger and you probably will, i can’t swing $3K for me and the missus.

if you go the route where its all competitors, can your aircraft support 10 passengers and 9 bikes? they are light but they are cumbersome.

It would be 1500 per seat filled on the plane, doesnt matter whether you brought a bike or not.

The aircraft is a Pilatus PC-12, the way the plane would be configured, we would have an extremely large cargo area. We may only be able to bring 7 passengers total but it would be a very comfortable ride (still ironing out numbers). The Pilatus has a massive payload per range and flies fast for a Turboprop at roughly 300mph, very economically. Hence, the low fee of 1500 dollars. We think it would be the right combination of luxury, price, and functionality.

We are really just fishing for opinions, what people think of the idea.

13

Im assuming that you are using a citation. There are a few factors that I think would not allow this to work. Although, I think its a great idea, but just no feasible.

  1. will be difficult to get people from the same city going to the same race. if you have people from different cities, it will be a substantial loss to you to go pick each person up at the low cost. also consider returning flight.
  2. no room on a citation to fit 9 bikes, people and luggage for the weekend.

It would have to be a similar pick up point like Boulder Colorado, and same destination. We would tie the trip into dispatch so the “dead head” legs would be minimal. AND depending on the timing we could POSSIBLY do different pickup points but more than likely it would be a departure from one destination.

This is a “pet project” of mine, not necessarily the biggest money maker but an awesome experience for everyone involved.

14

For me the value really depends on what the commercial airline ticket would cost. If the ticket was $800 + $200 bike + $50-100 airport parking then, yes $1500 isn’t all that bad. If it was $300 + $100 + $50, then its a tougher sell.

Curiously though, I have a group of 8 adults who typically travel and meet at one IM per year. This year we are doing Cozumel. Any estimate on how much it would cost to charter with pickups at BDL, PHL, and IAD and then take us to/fro Cozumel?

-Tim
Tim,

I will see what I can do about getting you a quote.

This is a very interesting idea. Maybe instead of selling seats we sell the plane hourly to a group of guys doing a big race. Much like yourself.

15

Will Faris wear his speedo on the plane?

16

we are already booked as the race is in 3wks, so don’t go too far out of your way. I was more or less curious to see if this would be an option in the future.

I would thing the challenge on your side may be getting 7-8 athletes, not in a group together, to travel on the same schedule. Marketing toward groups of ppl (eg, tri teams) may make more sense. Just my 2cents.

-Tim

17

i respect the entrepreneurship. good luck!

18

Depending on local and logistics, I would be interested. The pro would be a pleasant bonus.

19

i find it interesting.
would that be $1,500 per passenger or per-bike-bringing-passenger? for me, going PHL to SLC or similar, i’d say that’s reasonable. but if you need to cover each passenger and you probably will, i can’t swing $3K for me and the missus.

if you go the route where its all competitors, can your aircraft support 10 passengers and 9 bikes? they are light but they are cumbersome.

It would be 1500 per seat filled on the plane, doesnt matter whether you brought a bike or not.

The aircraft is a Pilatus PC-12, the way the plane would be configured, we would have an extremely large cargo area. We may only be able to bring 7 passengers total but it would be a very comfortable ride (still ironing out numbers). The Pilatus has a massive payload per range and flies fast for a Turboprop at roughly 300mph, very economically. Hence, the low fee of 1500 dollars. We think it would be the right combination of luxury, price, and functionality.

We are really just fishing for opinions, what people think of the idea.

Ok, this is becoming entertaining. I was going to stay out of it. As much as I would love to see you pull this off, Pilatus PC-12 is not your aircraft for the mission. While you are trying to keep the lid on the cost, there using PC-12, you are running into max payload/ max take off weight issues, cabin volume restrictions even though I agree, it is the biggest in it’s class. You are not fitting in there 9 people and 9 bikes, not even 7 and 7 with all the gear.
On the second note, with that load, you are running up against the stage length and clearly now running into SWA territory, $300 ticket+ $50 each way for the bike case. I hate to tell you, make sure you do your math correct. Many so called aviation industry executives have failed at this, including a failure at operational cost level. I have been in it for too long and seen in too many times.
I do like your idea, but I am not your potential customer.
And than there is the good old stereotype, “oh, single engine truboprop…” You know what I mean.
Good luck.

20

I think you should drop the pro. They wont be able to chat with everyone. Just the people sitting next to them. Also don’t go overboard with the food. Athletes will be picky close to race day. Keep it simple and cheap. Heck, can the limos too. Just being able to easily get off the plane on onto a chartered bus that is waiting is valuable. I would rather skimp on the luxury for lower price. Better yet, get a deal with a hotel at the same time.

Market to groups.

t