07/01/2004
In the all-important area of aircraft maintenance, commercial airlines and fractional aircraft ownership companies typically have an advantage over the charter industry: consistency in safety and upkeep. For example, United Airlines and NetJets use their own mechanics to maintain their aircraft to regular standards. Furthermore, their pilots meet certain requirements set by each organization.
Because many charter services simply broker other people’s
planes for our use, and may contract with freelance pilots, safety and
maintenance standards can vary. While the larger charter services like Sentient
Jet maintain very exacting maintenance and safety benchmarks, others may not.
Before contracting with any charter service, we should ask the following
questions:1. Are the aircraft we will be flying in managed by the charter company we are contracting with, or by another charter
company?
2. Who maintains the aircraft?
3. What maintenance standards
does the charter company require of its aircraft?
4. How old are the
aircraft we will be using?
5. What credentials do the pilots have, and may we
see their resumes?
6.What kind of special training, if any, have the
pilots received on the specific aircraft they will be flying?
7.
What is the charter provider’s safety record?
8. What is the name of the FAA
inspector who examines the company’s aircraft?
According to Jon Winthrop,
CEO of the Air Group, a Los Angeles-based charter and aircraft management
company, you cannot ask too many questions. He advises prospective charter
travelers to visit the National Transportation Safety Board website to check the
operator’s safety records, and contact the operator to get the name of its FAA
inspector, called the principal examiner. Then call the examiner to confirm that
the operator conforms to FAA safety standards. Says Winthrop: “Make sure you are
getting what you pay for.”
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