Government statistics show that the average UK resident spends 361 hours per year travelling, 15% of which is commuting and 3% being business travel.
bmi regional doubled its private charter business in 2013 and this year expects to provide an increasing number of shrewd UK businesses with charter aircraft: a cost effective air transport solution, ideal for corporate meetings, travel to trade exhibitions or staff incentives.
Government statistics show that the average UK resident spends 361 hours per year travelling, 15% of which is commuting and 3% being business travel. “There are wiser ways to invest that time – often the precious resource for a small or medium size business”, said Colin Lewis, Marketing Director at bmi regional.
The award-winning airline – bmi regional was named Silver Airline of the Year at the European Regions Airline Association (ERAA) Awards in 2013 – is renowned for its punctual scheduled services from hubs across the British Isles including Birmingham, Bristol and Manchester. An increasing number of customers – including Air Charter Travel – are taking advantage of the airline’s charter services, previously seen by some as the preserve of ‘big business’.
Lewis said: “Our 49-seater charter aircraft – complete with flight deck and cabin crew – can be hired from £15,000 per day which works out at as little as £300 per person for a return flight to almost anywhere in Europe. The flexibility and speed of our service saves businesses time – sometimes the most precious resource of all – by reducing wasted hours queuing at airports, waiting for scheduled flights and transfers. We apply the same high service levels to our private charter flights as our scheduled services.”
Other commercial benefits of chartering a private aircraft include:
- Departure and arrival airports chosen by the client, for proximity to destination
- Timings chosen by the client to enable one-day trips and provide total flexibility
- Less chance of delays caused by external factors
- Clients may choose their own catering products on board and may create bespoke in-flight offerings
- Clients may add their own logo to the aircraft’s exterior
- Takes the worry out of meetings, events or activities running late as the aircraft runs to the client’s timetable
- No hidden charges: the fee includes all taxes, baggage, check-in and ticketing
- The service is open to any business regardless of size
- Subject to availability, bmi regional can have clients in the air within two hours of booking.
Air Charter Travel has used bmi regional charter services for over eight years, primarily as a way of transporting sports teams and corporate groups around Europe. Jon Cavalli, charter sales manager at Air Charter Travel, said: “bmi regional is one of the best airlines we work with in terms of flexibility. They can literally offer anything we require from dates, times, departure airports and in-flight extras. The entire set up of their charter service is one of the best in the sector. We tend to book with them well in advance but we’ve also had to call on bmi regional at the last minute and they always provide a first class service.”
Another business which has used the service is Direct Air Charters. Managing director, Wendy Murphy said: “I have had the pleasure of working with bmi regional on numerous demanding projects for over 20 years. Chartering aircraft with musicians for a tour or on individual sectors is a challenging project; the commercial staff need to satisfy the demands of the tour accountant; operations and crew need to satisfy the demands of the passengers – it’s a balancing act that bmi regional perform very well!”
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
