This is one of the larger executive jets &ndash comfortably able to hold
Posted in General on 14. Oct, 2010
This is one of the larger executive jets – comfortably able to hold nine passengers plus a crew of three Today there are only two of us in the cabin. My fellow traveller is John Brutnell, sales manager for Gold Air International.On board, it is surprisingly roomy. “This is one of the few private jets that feels like an airliner,” says Mr Brutnell. The man who owns the company, and who paid $10m for the jet, is David Gold – recognised in the aircraft’s registration: G-OLDD.4.41pm: flying over the top of Biggin Hill airport at 2,400 feetAlmost as soon as the aircraft is off the ground, it makes a tight turn through 270 degrees to fly directly over the airfield we have just left. This avoids entanglement with traffic using Gatwick.4.45pm: climbing through 16,000 feet over Kent”How’s the temperature?” asks Catherine, as she brings me the mineral water I had ordered Everything is just fine, thanks Some sandwiches appear. They have been prepared in Biggin Hill’s diminutive kitchen, which can also supply more substantial meals for longer flights.
Eastbound, the former Iron Curtain countries are favourite destinations for business jets; air links from Britain are sparse, and some local airlines do not enjoy good reputations.Westbound, the US and Caribbean are popular, though the limited range of the executive jets in the Gold Air fleet makes a refuelling stop in Newfoundland essential. “People like to see a bit of somewhere different,” says Mr Brutnell between bites of prawn sandwich. “They can stretch their legs and meet the locals.” The touchdown erases time savings compared with a non-stop commercial jet. But top-of-the-range Global Expresses can connect any two points on the planet with a single refuelling stop.5.09pm: 35,000 feet above FranceIf you had hired this aircraft, you would have spent £1,000 so far. The basic rate for a jet like this is £2,000 for every hour in the air, plus expenses such as the hotel rooms and meals for the crew. That is beyond the means of the average company, let alone most individuals, but Mr Brutnell says the sums can look attractive even for leisure trips.
“If eight or nine golfers are going off to Faro or Malaga, chartering a jet can work out at £600 or £700 return, which compares well with the club class return.” Gold Air employs 35 pilots, 10 engineers and five full-time cleaners (“The thing’s got to be pristine”) for its six expensive jets. Maybe £30 per minute, or 50p a second, is reasonable.5.20pm: flying over DijonHow can a business jet cut through all the air-traffic control delays that bedevil passengers on commercial flights? Pilots do not have a “gold card” to avoid delays, but they do have some advantages. Biggin Hill hardly ever has to wait in a queue to take off or land, so there are few congestion delays of the kind that bedevil Heathrow and Gatwick. Captains request a path through the crowded skies from Eurocontrol in Brussels like other aircraft; if a long delay is anticipated, they do their best to find out where the hold-ups are and try to re-route the flight to avoid the busy sector. They are, after all, selling time.5.40pm: the flight deck jump seat, over Grenoble”I visited 93 different airports last year,” says Captain Hanlon He enjoys much more variety than other pilots. Often, his clients are on “roadshows”, visiting a number of European cities – sometimes in three different countries on the same day.
“On scheduled flights that would be impossible,” says Captain Hanlon.5.50pm: the Mediterranean in sightThe alluring curves of the Riviera can be made out from the lights that fringe the coast A wide turn takes us around for the final approach. Two hours ago, I was rumbling through south-east London on a filthy old train. “People perceive value for money in saving five minutes,” says Mr Brutnell. “If you have someone coming in on Concorde, the jet can park right next to the stand at Terminal Four, and the passenger can be on his way within five minutes of arrival.”6.09pm: touchdown at Nice C?d’Azur airportAfter exactly 90 minutes in the air, the jet taxis to a corner of the airfield and are met by a handling agent in a Renault van. He drives all of us – plus the luggage – to a private entrance to the terminal An immigration official checks passports.