Odyssey Airways: Private Jet Management
As one of the premier air charter companies in Florida, Odyssey Airways is always searching out the best private aircraft and jets to manage. There are many aircraft management companies that exist; however, they may not always be looking at quality over quantity. At Odyssey, we are seeking a certain quality of aircraft to take under management to ensure that we are staying true to our reputation as one the best private air charter services around. For those that are not familiar with the role of an aircraft charter company, it's important to look at the many factors that exist in private jet ownership.
Buying A Private Jet
Buying your own private aircraft can be an exciting purchase. Although, if you are not careful, it can end up being a financial nightmare. This is, generally, where an aircraft management company, such as Odyssey Airways, begins their journey with you. There are many factors to consider. The old saying, “you get what you pay for” cannot be truer than when purchasing a private aircraft. Once, we were told by a potential customer that he just got a steal on an aircraft. He could not believe that he was able to buy a beautiful King Air for a fraction of market value. We could not either. Turns out, the maintenance was not totally up to standard and was essentially unairworthy (i.e. not safe to fly). It was his goal to place his new King Air on a Part 135 charter certificate and generate charter revenue when he was not using it, thus, reducing his fixed costs of ownership. Unfortunately, it took hundreds of thousands (yes, $100s) and several months to get the aircraft to the maintenance safety standards required to be used in charter operations. With a qualified private jet management company involved in the purchasing of the aircraft, this financial nightmare and disappointment could have been avoided.
Odyssey Airways will walk you through the process and be your advocate in the aircraft purchase. Our dedicated Director of Maintenance will thoroughly look at all the past aircraft maintenance records to ensure that the previous owners followed the manufacturer’s maintenance programs or other approved inspections. These records are paramount to ensure the safety of the private jet or aircraft you are looking to invest in. Also, this due diligence process will also serve to investigate the future to give you an idea of upcoming and, potentially, costly repairs or inspections to ensure they are within your budget.
Flight Crew Staffing
Aircraft maintenance is obviously important to the safety of operating and owning a private jet. A close second would be hiring the right pilots. There are lots of pilots out there as there are with any other skilled position. However, there are fewer pilots that may be right for you and your aircraft. Odyssey Airways will ensure that your aircraft is flown by only the most skilled and professional pilots. As an experienced aircraft management company, Odyssey is always looking for ways to reduce your fixed costs of ownership without sacrificing safety. No, we do not underpay our pilots. In fact, we feel it is important for safety, morale of the flight crewmembers, and retention of qualified pilots to ensure that we pay well over the industry average. One way we can reduce your fixed costs of ownership is to reduce your insurance costs. Having the right experience and proper certifications and training are key to reducing your insurance premiums significantly.
Odyssey will always take care of the proper training. All pilots receive annual indoctrination training centered around company procedures and mandatory safety guidelines. After, they will attend a qualified simulator or flight school which will stress normal and emergency procedures. An example of this would be FlightSafety International, a Berkshire-Hathaway company. As an aircraft owner and passenger, you can rest assured that your pilots receive the best flight training and will be ready for anything when flying you, your family, and your business colleagues. After training is complete, a comprehensive checkride will be completed by a qualified check pilot or FAA inspector. These checks are completed, generally, every 6 calendar months.
Finally, each flight crew member will be pre-screened, and all pilot records thoroughly reviewed by our Chief Pilot prior to hiring. Background checks and placing the pilots on a DOT-approved drug and alcohol testing program will also be required.
Aircraft Maintenance Tracking
Unlike a car, if your private jet breaks while using you cannot just pull over and call AAA. We take maintenance very seriously. Our Director of Maintenance will track all maintenance items to ensure that required aircraft maintenance is completed and scheduled appropriately. This has numerous benefits:
1. Safety – Strict maintenance standards will ensure that nothing critical to safety is ever ignored.
2. Reliability – Aircraft that are not maintained correctly are not only dangerous but can also lead to your aircraft being out of service when you most need it. Or, it can leave you stranded somewhere.
3. Retention of Value – Just like when you bought your aircraft, the future buyer of your aircraft should be equally as careful in his purchase. An aircraft with better records and maintained to the strictest standards not only sells faster than those that do not but will usually sell at a better price.
Corporate Flight Department
Finally, using Odyssey to handle your aircraft management services can be like having your own corporate flight department for your business. Corporate aircraft are a great way to make your business operations and corporate travel much more efficient, safer, and productive. Odyssey will ensure you have all the required agreements, invoicing, and administrative paperwork in place to make this a reality.
Contact Odyssey Airways today and find out why we are the best aircraft management company for you or your business.
