Letter to the editor: More travelers turn to chartered jets
· The Washington TimesOPINION:
The desire for chartered business jets is experiencing steady growth. For Super Bowl LX, a half-dozen Bay Area airports accommodated 800 parked business jets in less than a week.
Owning a business jet can raise great revenue as more travelers seek optimum flexibility, comfort and privacy. Even Sean “Diddy” Combs earned $4 million this past year from prison by having a luxury jet rental company charter his private jet.
Travelers are mostly unaware of commercial airlines’ near-zero profits, but as the chief of the International Air Transport Association, Willie Walsh, said, “Apple will earn more selling an iPhone cover than the $7.90 airlines will make transporting the average passenger.”
Still, the global aviation industry is pursuing a 2050 net-zero carbon goal, requiring investments of $3.2 trillion. Unfortunately, the current net-zero solution of engineered “drop-in” sustainable aviation fuel, which burns in existing jet engines, will force airlines to incur far higher prices for the “green premium” fuel.
Strides toward net-zero carbon continue, with 185 airports worldwide distributing sustainable aviation fuel. The higher operating expense of using such fuel is simply not sustainable given the airline industry’s meager profits.
However, the higher-priced chartered business jet market will absorb the cost of sustainable aviation fuel into its profits and fuel the public’s desire for zero-inconvenience travel without guilt from environmentalists.
Commercial flying is hectic and troublesome, and for some, paying a hefty premium for comfort is the only option. Chartered business jets offer travelers convenience, and the owners still turn a profit while reducing environmental impact by using sustainable aviation fuel.
JAMES JASON LAWYER
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Anchorage, Alaska