I think we’ve all been slightly overwhelmed with all the holiday activities; myself included. I’ve, once again, slacked a little on by blog writing. I have been working extremely diligently on my marketing efforts after speaking with one of my favorite clients. He handles all of the private jet charter for a top-notch NBA team. About a year ago this gentleman put together a list of preferred vendors. I was flattered to be on his short list of only seven from around the world. That list was put together in August of 2008. Here it is – December of 2009 and he shared with me that only three of the seven preferred vendors on his list for aircraft charter still exist. That news was both heart wrenching and exciting. It is impossible for any decent human being to not feel for the many companies in my industry who have both suffered a loss and who have suffered the ultimate loss (losing their business) but yet there is still that selfish side who hopes that as the economy continues to be repaired that, with less competition, it will allow Exquisite Air Charter to continue to grow.
Exquisite Air Charter has experienced a record year while so many others have failed. It is difficult to come up with an answer when I ask myself why? I think that a low overhead and not living above our means has been a blessing. I also think that it is a blessing from God, as Exquisite Air Charter was truly founded on the highest principles. After working in private jet charter industry for so long, there were so many disappointing practices that I saw and had no control over. I wanted Exquisite Air Charter to be different… AND IT IS! I didn’t want to steal other people’s clients; I didn’t want to compromise our client’s safety just to get the trip. I’ve had many of clients come back to me and tell me that another company was offering a lower price and when that happens and the client is willing to disclose to me some information about the aircraft and/or company operating the aircraft, it is almost always certain that the company with the CHEAPER price also has a CHEAPER reputation – usually accidents or incidents and/or the crew has very low hours of experience flying. The client is more than welcome to take that CHEAPER flight but Exquisite Air Charter will most certainly pass up the business instead of having our clients’ safety (or lack thereof) on our conscience. We want to change the way people fly – only on the most airworthy aircraft which are crewed by the most experienced crew members and we want to create an organization of lasting value. So far, we couldn’t be on a better path.