Anyone who read my piece about US Airways, perhaps more appropriately known as U/S Airways, might be forgiven for thinking I had something against aviation generally.
Not a bit of it.
I spent 18 months acquiring a Private Pilot's Licence at Exeter Flying Club, have wingwalked six times with AeroSuperBatics, the UK's world-famous flying circus, and produced a six-part TV series for Discovery RealTime called Martin Shaw: Aviators, in which the star of Judge John Deed and The Professionals met his aviation heroes and went for a once-in-a-lifetime flight in a Spitfire.
In short, I love aviation. But not the sort of aviation that U/S Airways and its scheduled airline competitors indulge in.
Flying doesn't have to be like that. Having to arrive several hours before check-in. Shuffling shoeless through security. Trying to find a spare seat in the departure lounge. Crammed into sardine seating. Joining endless queues at Customs. More shuffling through security. Then staring intently at the carousel for ages in the hope that your luggage might just have made it to your destination, too.
There is a better way.
Imagine being able to fly where you want, when you want, with the aircraft waiting for you when you arrive instead of you arriving and waiting for it.
A pilot who calls you by your name. Flight crew who know what you like to eat. Comfortable seating with room to open your laptop lid - or plenty of room to take your PA along to do the typing for you!
And no need to make the trek to Heathrow or Gatwick, as the aircraft comes to whichever airport is nearest and most convenient for you.
It's like having your own private jet without having the expense and headaches of owning one. And once you've tried it, you'll never want to fly by a conventional airline again.
Of all the private jet charter companies I've come across, the one that impresses me most is Day Aviation.
Owned by Captain Paul Day, an airline pilot who has spent his entire life in aviation, Day Aviation is one of those niche operations that most of us have never heard of but which is well known and respected by the people who use it again and again.
Captain Day, as befits the founder of a private air charter operation whose clients expect the utmost discretion, doesn't talk about the people who fly with Day Aviation.
Those clients - who include Royalty, Government Ministers, celebrities, Premiership football teams, senior executives of banks, and self-made millionaires - prefer it that way.
If they suddenly need to get from The Ritz to Monte Carlo in time for dinner with a starlet at The Hermitage, they know that Day Aviation will be able to procure them a luxury aircraft, assemble a crew, and have them ambling through Casino Square in plenty of time and without a well-coiffed hair out of place.
And unlike most airline travel, they can stop on the way and pick up a friend or a business contact.
Could you imagine asking a British Airways pilot if he'd mind just stopping off in Surbiton because Bunny's just decided she can make the party after all?
But private jet hire can do that. Booking a round-the-world business trip for 200 people can be a logistical and financial nightmare - especially if the passengers aren't all starting from the same place - but an air charter business of the calibre of Day Aviation can arrange individual connections for each passenger, whether that's by a light aircraft from a private airfield a mile from their home or a helicopter flip from their back garden, if large enough.
Perhaps surprisingly, it's not as expensive as many of us might think. That's because flights can be shorter and more direct, the aircraft can be chosen for the number of passengers it will take, avoiding the wastage of empty seats, and a lot of the waiting time and travelling to airports isn't necessary.
That's why a growing number of people who work in finance or run their own companies use Day Aviation. They want to fly on their terms, to their timetable, and to the standards of comfort to which they've become accustomed.
Others, of course, just want to celebrate an occasion with a bit of glamour. Turning up at a wedding in a Ferrari will raise the odd envious eyebrow, but arriving in a helicopter is rather more impressive if you want to make a hat-clutching, skirt-billowing, "who-on-Earth's-that" sort of entrance.
And quite a few of Day Aviation's clients do. Not just for private events, but for business meetings. Land on your prospective client's lawn for a meeting, and he'll remember the day for a long time to come. Offer to take him up for a quick flip, and he'll remember it for a lifetime!
Jon McKnight
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