The Postitive Approach

The private jet charter industry may well be able to thank bumbling customer service on commercial flights as a major contributor to the recent increase in demand these luxury flights are experiencing. Whereas customers on commercial airlines can be expected to deal with long lines, steep (and often hidden) fees, baggage checking, delayed flights, and intrusive security features that often border on sexual harassment, the private chartered flights are becoming more common, less expensive, and much more popular than they have been since the recession began.

To add to the woes airlines currently face, one overseas airline recently made colossal blunder that only serves to damage the fragile reputation of the industry even further. A Comtel Air voyage from India to Britain recently took the unprecedented step of halting the flight mid-way to demand additional money from hundreds of stranded passengers in return for continuing with its scheduled route. Crew members for the Comtel Air flight were recorded telling passengers that the airline needed an additional $31,000 to pay for the rest of the flight to the final destination of Birmingham, England. Passengers of the commercial jet charter were asked to pay in cash, or taken off of the plane one by one to be escorted to nearby ATM machines in Vienna to raise the rest of the money.

Although the airline has been grounded and is no longer traded as a result of the incident (and other financial difficulties), horror stories like this only serve to continue to drive customers away from an unpopular and expensive industry and into alternative travel options. These flops only serve to boost the sales of private charter jets and trains over the once ubiquitous commercial airlines.

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