Flying as a business tool

Morgan3820

Morgan3820

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looking at starting something new in a year or two. I would be a contractor not an employee.

How many use their personal aircraft to get to business clients in lieu of taking the airlines. While many trips would be overseas, there are plenty of domestic opportunities. What are your experiences? Is it practical? Living on the east coast I would still need the airlines for west coast trips. Weather I know is the biggest factor. I am ifr and so is the aircraft.
 
Definitely useful, have heard many stories and talked to people who did it. I have done only minimally but caution regarding insurance, some policies say personal/pleasure use only. And if you contemplate taking employees that could be a problem.
I had a WC policy for my business, and was not even taking employees - but just owning an airplane made them drop me like a hot potato. (they found out about the airplane through other means)
And, I know a widow who is still, after 4 years, a defendant in a lawsuit in which the contractors traveling to his home to look at a project died with the pilot (widow's husband) in the homeward-bound crash so think hard about taking business associates.
 
It would be just myself and maybe my Wife on the trips. No one else.
 
I’ve used a Mooney and now a 414 for years in my business. If you don’t put a value on your own time, the airlines are cheaper. If you do value your time and have customers/clients that are not close to major airports, GA can make a lot of sense. Usually works best if you are your own boss.

My insurance policy does not cost any more with business coverage (can’t carry passengers for hire of course). Yeah, there’s liability, but I’ve decided not to let that control what I do.

Helps if you like to fly . Helps to have a capable aircraft.
 
One of my managers at IBM was a total tool, and he flew a lot on company business.
Sorry. Not what you were asking.
Sorry
 
I don't do it a lot but occasionally fly our aircraft for business. Saves some time and is a HE** of a lot more fun than the airlines. Smells better too. Working on my IFR now so I can use it more.
 
I do it all the time. Own my own business and fly myself up and down CA. Even with a solid 182, IFR rated and pretty good CA weather, I still only average about a 60% dispatch rate on flying myself vs commercial for one reason or another including avoiding get-there-itis and Mx reliability when it comes to business trips.

My threshold is 600 miles to fly private for business with my single engine put put. Any further and I am hopping on Soutwhest unless I have time for an adventure.

You can be full reimbursed for 100% of the hard flight expenses (rental, fuel, FBO) even as a PPL as long as flying is incidental to the business AND you are solo. Once your wife...or any other human is on board, employee or otherwise, the pro-rata shares rules kick in for being reimbursed from the business.

Rarely is it cheaper, but what you are buying is the flexibility of time of being on YOUR own schedule.
 
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I too use mine occasionally for business trips in northern California. It comes in very handy at times.
 
Ditto above. I cover a few states in the midwest and regularly fly to see customers. It's saves a lot of time when the weather cooperates. Just don't put yourself in a bad situation trying to get there or home. Always leave a back up mode of transport and leave the plane if you have to.
 
I've used it a fair amount, almost all in the Mooney (M20R Ovation). Probably a trip per quarter or so, until the last year and a half-ish.

The trick is to always leave with enough time to make your destination via other means, be it driving or airlines, to relieve any get-there-itis. Weather en route can usually be dealt with via a relatively minor change in the route (you can easily go 100nm off route in the middle of a 1000-mile trip and not really add any significant distance), and weather at either end can often be dealt with via some time flexibility.

While I've never traveled to a new place every week or anything like that, I have never had to outright cancel a trip and take car/airlines... And it has been WAY more convenient, gotten me home much quicker, and been a lot more fun.

Go for it, and enjoy!
 
I did it for many years in 182RG while living in a Chicago suburb. I taught 5-day Cisco classes as a contract instructor. I rarely flew myself to locations more than a 3 hour flight away. I always bought a "provisional" airline ticket in case weather on the day before was bad. Once the airlines got so bad about fees to change tickets, I had to change my rule to an eight hour drive distance since the change fees came out of my pocket.

All in all it worked great. The Learning Partner that I was a contractor for reimbursed me for airfare so I almost always lost money. But it was close enough that it wasn't too much of a loss. But while other instructors were sitting around the airport on Friday evening waiting for their flight, I was usually home (class always ended early on the last day but you couldn't schedule a flight before 6pm since you never knew for certain). So I would walk out of the training location at 2pm, drive to the local GA airport, be wheels up by 3pm, and home by 6:30.

The biggest thing is DON'T TELL ANYONE you're flying your own plane. Many companies will prohibit it (even if you're a contractor). Has to do with liability. I think it's stupid by unfortunately, that's the way some companies operate.
 
Shepherd said:
One of my managers at IBM was a total tool, and he flew a lot on company business.
Sorry. Not what you were asking.
Sorry
Click to expand...

They sold the plane at retirement and quit flying, so you win, Shepherd. :D
 
I did this for my software clients all over Ohio a couple of decades ago. Got stuck [uncleared airport in winter] only once, but it was for a while.
 
I fly for work, but I’ve also used my personal plane for non direct aviation business travel too.

Small airports are plentiful, being able to land off airport makes that even better.

The thing you need to understand is just because the plane can fly the mission doesn’t mean you’re qualified to do it, this isn’t just a matter of money, if you get over your head things can turn out poorly rather quickly.
 
I have probably done 200+ work related trips in my piston single. Not a single cancelation and have never bought a backup airline ticket. I do watch and plan weather like a hawk and have occasionally adjusted timing (eg leave the night before with better weather rather than the more convenient day of as originally planned). I also have a fairly new plane and invest in the best MX I can.

Compared to flying the airlines (where delays and cancellations are routine), I find GA business flying to be much more reliable.
 
I do it reasonably frequently, mostly to get to the more remote field locations. Have landed contracts because our company was the only one that came out to have a look at the job requirements and meet the potential customer(s).

However, if its a "must be there" meeting in a major city I go commercial.
 
I have been flying my own plane relatively routinely to support my business for the past fifteen years or so. I typically take my plane unless the commercial flight is relatively easy and quick.

There have been many times that I elected to fly commercial airlines when I contemplated taking my plane with the belief that it would be easier; many times I ended up delayed for hours or days and I could easily have been home if I had taken my plane.

As was mentioned earlier, using your own plane is particularly great for getting into areas not heavily serviced by a airline traffic, but it is pretty convenient to come and go on your own time frame.

Abram Finkelstein
N48KY
 
Lance F said:
I’ve used a Mooney and now a 414 for years in my business. If you don’t put a value on your own time, the airlines are cheaper. If you do value your time and have customers/clients that are not close to major airports, GA can make a lot of sense. Usually works best if you are your own boss.

My insurance policy does not cost any more with business coverage (can’t carry passengers for hire of course). Yeah, there’s liability, but I’ve decided not to let that control what I do.

Helps if you like to fly . Helps to have a capable aircraft.
Click to expand...
What constitutes “business use” from an insurance point of view? Im considering a job where the headquarters would be out of town and I’d need to fly in now and then, but I wasn’t considering that business use.
 
donjohnston said:
I did it for many years in 182RG while living in a Chicago suburb. I taught 5-day Cisco classes as a contract instructor. I rarely flew myself to locations more than a 3 hour flight away. I always bought a "provisional" airline ticket in case weather on the day before was bad. Once the airlines got so bad about fees to change tickets, I had to change my rule to an eight hour drive distance since the change fees came out of my pocket.

All in all it worked great. The Learning Partner that I was a contractor for reimbursed me for airfare so I almost always lost money. But it was close enough that it wasn't too much of a loss. But while other instructors were sitting around the airport on Friday evening waiting for their flight, I was usually home (class always ended early on the last day but you couldn't schedule a flight before 6pm since you never knew for certain). So I would walk out of the training location at 2pm, drive to the local GA airport, be wheels up by 3pm, and home by 6:30.

The biggest thing is DON'T TELL ANYONE you're flying your own plane. Many companies will prohibit it (even if you're a contractor). Has to do with liability. I think it's stupid by unfortunately, that's the way some companies operate.
Click to expand...

I was wondering about the contingent airline ticket. My home drome is served by AA and USAir. I wonder how that works. Maybe joining one of the preferred traveler programs would get you the ability to cancel without penalty.
 
Salty said:
What constitutes “business use” from an insurance point of view?
Click to expand...

I would get that answer from the policy provider. In writing.
It could be that each insurer has a different definition, I have not heard of an industry-wide definition.
 
My first planned trip was a few weeks ago. Would have been a 10-15 min flight vs 1.25 hour drive for a meeting. All week perfect VFR forecast. Might before there’s oral of low ceilings. Am of flight. -LIFR everywhere. 1/2 mil vis. Fog. Stayed that way almost all day too.
 
Morgan3820 said:
I was wondering about the contingent airline ticket. My home drome is served by AA and USAir. I wonder how that works. Maybe joining one of the preferred traveler programs would get you the ability to cancel without penalty.
Click to expand...

I book backup flights on Southwest on points...no change or cancelation fees for everyone and fully refundable at any fare level when you use points...so yeah, status helps.
 
donjohnston said:
The biggest thing is DON'T TELL ANYONE you're flying your own plane. Many companies will prohibit it (even if you're a contractor). Has to do with liability. I think it's stupid by unfortunately, that's the way some companies operate.
Click to expand...

The company I retired from 3 1/2 years ago (Intel) prohibited the use of GA for company travel. The only exceptions were listed by tail number and happened to be the company shuttles (ERJ 135s and a BE-1900). I asked about it one time and publicity in case of an accident was the real reason given. The one time I tried to cheat and fly from KOLM to KHIO the plane must have known and flunked the run-up. Fouled plug that I couldn't blow clear, so I put it back in the hangar and drove.
 
Morgan3820 said:
I was wondering about the contingent airline ticket. My home drome is served by AA and USAir. I wonder how that works. Maybe joining one of the preferred traveler programs would get you the ability to cancel without penalty.
Click to expand...

I had decent status on AA and United but the change fees every week just kept piling up. So rather than letting them continue, I just shortened the trip threshold.

I don't travel as much now, but my wife is Diamond 360 on Delta and they pretty much give her anything she thinks about. So it's worth investigating.
 
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