Flying

Surf before you fly
December 1, 2007
Don't expect charter-flight Web sites to offer the kind of one-stop booking you get with the airlines on Orbitz, Expedia and Travelocity. Nonetheless, many such sites now provide tools and data that make planning and arranging an air charter flight easy.
The ideal fractional program
December 1, 2007
Considering that the fractional-aircraft field was borne of a new business model and has been around for more than 20 years, it is perhaps surprising that the basic structure remains fundamentally unchanged: you purchase a share of an aircraft from the provider at a premium; you pay management fees, hourly rates and fuel surcharges; and at the end of your contract, you sell your share back to t
Socata's TBM 850
October 1, 2007
When French airframer EADS Socata unveiled a souped-up version of its venerable TBM 700 single-engine turboprop in 2005, it billed the aircraft as the "anti-very light jet." Indeed, the TBM 850 will carry more payload, fly farther and typically complete a 500-mile trip about as quickly as a twinjet VLJ. It will also burn only about half the fuel and climb like a rocket.
Gulfstream G200
October 1, 2007
When Gulfstream purchased Galaxy Aerospace in 2001 for $330 million, the deal was sort of the aviation equivalent of the reality television show Flip This House. With an eye to quick profit, an investor on the show snaps up a distressed property he thinks needs only new paint, then discovers the place is infested with termites and has a rotting roof. Whoops.
Beware of buyback provisions
October 1, 2007
In the 1990s, a booming economy created fertile ground for fractional flying, a new form of private air travel that providers touted as having predictable costs and being much less expensive than full ownership.
Pressure points
October 1, 2007
Aircraft cabin pressure often receives blame for passenger discomfort, from mental and physical fatigue to nausea, headaches and malaise. And while some justification exists for such claims, the subject is complicated.
Listen up, aircraft owners
October 1, 2007
Simply put, air charter is the front door for all things at the business aircraft level in general aviation. It precedes fractional ownership. It stimulates full aircraft ownership. The jet card programs couldn't exist without it. And for the manufacturers it represents a free "demo" program for their products.
Catch your flight-not a disease
October 1, 2007
Before you fly, take a moment to consider whether you risk spreading disease to fellow passengers-or vice versa. "People know tuberculosis, colds and flu are contagious," said Dr. David Streitwieser, medical director for MedAire's MedLink Service.
Amateur Aviators
October 1, 2007
It can be difficult for the family on one side of a weather front, where the
In a recent discussion of sports with my British colleague Charles Alcock, he talked about England's historic admiration for what he described as the "gifted amateur." This was illustrated best in the 1981 movie Chariots of Fire, the story of Harold Abrahams, the gold-medal winner in the 100-meter dash at the 1924 Olympics.
Hawker 4000
August 1, 2007
The Hawker 4000 features a 100-cubic-foot baggage compartment, a comfortable
More than a decade after the super-midsize Hawker 4000 was announced, Hawker Beechcraft (née Raytheon Aircraft) is preparing to deliver the first copy of the business jet later this year.

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New Business Aircraft Preview
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Fractional Jet Ownership
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Inside the Cabin
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Quote/Unquote

“You want to make sure with a race in which you'll be flying home with other drivers that you don't crash into them. It's happened before, and it can make for a little bit of a tense situation.”

-Racecar driver Helio Castroneves