In 1997, a young pilot named Nicholas “NJ” Correnti, founded an “aviation company” with one four-passenger plane and no staff. As NJ puts it, “I was the pilot, the customer service agent, the accountant and the flight attendant.”
Fast forward 25 years: NICHOLAS AIR now operates some 24 passenger jets, has access to over 9,000 airports nationwide and employs over 150 people. And NJ is still running things, albeit as company CEO.
Now you, the private aviation consumer, might say, “Colorful founding stories are interesting, but why should I care?”
Because the two principals upon which NJ founded the company—safety and a personally customized flying experience—still guide and inspire its founder and employees.
As to safety, in its 25-year history, NICHOLAS AIR has not experienced a single serious safety issue or incident. Not one. Why?
For starters, NICHOLAS AIR owns, operates and is incredibly detailed-oriented when it comes to the maintenance on its planes. Private aviation flight brokers fly whatever planes are available. In addition, any NICHOLAS AIR plane that you board is no more than five years old on average. You could say that NICHOLAS AIR replaces its planes about as frequently as most people replace the family car.
While safety is job number one, NJ says, “Every mission needs to be tailored to the specific person.” And for you to truly appreciate that tailoring—that is, the NICHOLAS AIR experience—for the moment, let’s imagine…
You have a family of four—mother, father, teenage daughter, grade school age son. Based upon a friend’s recommendation, you decide to fly with your family on NICHOLAS AIR. (No surprise since 83 percent of new sales come from member referrals.)
Next, you call to make your reservation and speak to a NICHOLAS AIR dedicated Personal Travel Representative who describes the company’s three jet card options. (BLUE is aircraft specific; ISE is deposit based with hourly rates; LITE is designed for those with exceptional schedule flexibility.) You choose the BLUE Card, meaning you will actually choose which of NICHOLAS AIR’s five aircraft types you will fly on.
The day of the flight, as your family enters the cabin, the plane’s pilots are there waiting to welcome each person in your family—by name. (NICHOLAS AIR President, Peder von Harten, says all crew and pilots go to charm school in addition to their aircraft training programs. Like a real charm school.)
Once inside, you notice not only how luxurious the interior is, but also how new it feels. (Remember those “young” jets.) You also notice how remarkably clean the interior is. (Crews drive to airports to “detail” NICHOLAS AIR planes that land.)
While settling in, you see the crew paying special attention to your children, clearly making an extra effort to put them at ease, including offering them the snacks they like that you had mentioned to the Personal Travel Representative; the representative also alerted the crew ahead of time that they are “nervous flyers.”
You also told the representative that your family likes room temperatures a bit cooler than the usual. And as you ready for takeoff, you notice that, in fact, the interior of the plane is nice and cool.
Before your flight, your son was very excited when you told him he could interact with the pilots. Based on the representative’s instructions, while airborne, the crew, unprompted by you, brings your son into the cockpit.
In short, your flight, per NJ, was “tailored” for you and your family. And after this experience, you begin to understand why the likes of Nicole Kidman, who could easily afford her own jet, instead chooses NICHOLAS AIR. As a “brand ambassador,” Kidman has said that NICHOLAS AIR “feel[s] like family.” And she says that for two reasons:
One, just like you and your imaginary family, Kidman feels the safest that a passenger can feel on an airplane. Two, as was the case with your imaginary flight, each one of Kidman’s actual NICHOLAS AIR flights is tailored to be a perfect fit.
For more information about NICHOLAS AIR’s Jet Card programs and other private aviation services, visit their website at www.nicholasair.com.
