Spend now, save later.
Scroll through Instagram and it’s easy to spot the glossy jets with celebrities and influencers jetting off to the Maldives or the next fashion week. What we don’t often see are the ones filled with a corporate team working on a pitch as they go from meeting to meeting in the most efficient way possible.
Although there is an influx of mobile apps launching to make chartering a private aircraft more accessible to the average consumer, Levaero Aviation has been selling aircraft to the Canadian business market since 1997, and says that a business that owns an aircraft will hold a competitive edge over its rivals. Private aviation can be a key business tool for increasing productivity and is a lot more accessible than one might think.
Stan Kuliavas, who has been with Levaero for over eight years is currently vice-president of sales and business development and a licensed pilot himself, takes us through the ins and outs of this unparalleled investment. As part of the aircraft industry since 2006, he has always worked with the Pilatus PC-12, Levaero being the exclusive distributor, in some capacity, and calls it the most “efficient, safe and versatile airplane”.
Saved time is saved cost
“It affords you unparalleled flexibility and it’s not as expensive as people think. The Pilatus PC-12 direct operating cost is $600 per hour and when you look at that from a team travel standpoint and getting 6-8 people to various locations throughout the day, it’s really economical.”
In a world where time is money and employees are looking for better work/life balance, saving time from no security lines and no boarding lines not only cuts travel time down but also saves on time away from home. “Employees can go to various meetings in 4 different cities and still make it home in time for dinner,” says Kuliavas.
Better Access
Because of this aircraft’s capability to land on a short runaway (less than 2,000 feet) as well as being able to take off and land on unpaved surfaces, this private aircraft can land at hundreds of Canadian destinations that are simply inaccessible by any commercial aircraft.
Canada alone has 1400 airports and only 500 of those have paved runways. “Having your own aircraft allows you to reach all 1400, which are often closer to your destination anyway. So there are time savings but also cost savings.”
“Getting yourself to areas that your competitors can’t access, is a huge competitive advantage”
Office in the sky
Beyond being a business tool, this particular aircraft is also frequently used for medevac situations as well as for shipping cargo, including a celebrity polar bear to get to the next movie location, and this is why Kuliavas says it’s the best selling turbo prop in the world.
“The amount of contributions that people who own private aircraft make in crisis situations or disaster relief, whether it’s evacuating people from flooding or burning communities or providing aid to hurricane zones, the private aviation community is hugely involved in doing good so it’s unfortunate that it gets painted with that frivolity paintbrush.”
The technology is also readily available. Not only is the aircraft good for getting from A to B, the cabin itself can be an office in the air, with Wifi capabilities and an on-board media server, where important presentations and work can be uploaded and saved, just as easily as sitting back and watching a movie. Not only is the work time uninterrupted, it’s also a fully secure and private environment, “Even if you’re traveling in business class, you’re still subject to those same airline delays and you don’t know whether your direct competition is sitting in 13F.”
