Perhaps the only thing that will prompt improvements in airline service is the growing defection of business travelers – especially those from business and first – to business jets. In an article in USA Today, Reporter Dan Reed indicated there was little hope for passenger service improvements despite all the focus this year. In addition, Business Week harkens back to the early days of airline travel when it quoted one business-executive-turned-pilot, who said while setting your own schedule is important, ‘just getting there becomes an enjoyable part of the travel.”
Reed quoted Roland Rust, executive director of the Center for Excellence in Service at the University of Maryland, who said the advent of VLJs may quicken the defections. “Airlines have been losing high-end customers to corporate jets steadily over the past 30 years,” said Rust, “because schedules don't meet their needs, and because many such travelers judge airline service, even in first and business class, to be a poor bargain relative to flying by corporate jet.”
Rust indicated that the on-demand, air-taxi services target business travelers who can't or won't pay for corporate-jet travel, according to Reed. "There's a lot of revenue that airlines have left on the table because they haven't invested properly in ... great customer service," said Rust.
Business Week’s Lauren Shepherd, also reported on the defections from scheduled services saying executives are now piloting themselves. “Most of these executives either buy or lease small planes, called single-engine pistons, with seating room equivalent to a family sedan and the ability to fly up to about 1,000 miles,” she wrote. “With many airlines cutting back flights to smaller destinations, small business owners and mid-level executives are realizing that flying themselves might actually be feasible.”
She cited FAA statistics projecting that the single-engine piston hours flown will increase 17 percent by 2020, growing about one percent annually. “Anecdotal evidence seems to confirm that more businessmen are seeing personal aviation as a transportation option,” she wrote. “Flying clubs, where pilots can share ownership of a plane or receive additional training, are filling up with executives…Airports have also started to recognize the importance of the businessman pilot. Clark County, Nev. recently spent $30 million remodeling Henderson Executive Airport, outside of Las Vegas, to appeal to executives.”

Trends Show Increase in Private Jet Use for Leisure
A growing number of affluent travelers are seeking private, luxurious getaways, booking more private yachts, villas and jets than ever before, according to the Platinum Travel Service, a new American Express travel team created to capitalize on the trend. Platinum Travel Service jet specialists are seeing an increase in private jet travel for purely leisure vacations and these travelers are younger in age than they were in the past. Specialists continue to book jets for business travelers, especially when tacking on personal vacation time following a business trip.
Private jets are becoming central to the vacation itself, especially for families, said American Express. Jet specialists are increasingly booking private jet charters for customers to hop from city to city within European countries and Asia. One family recently booked a private jet charter within China to experience a 12- day private tour of four cities during the trip. For on-land activities during these jet tours, specialists are coordinating private viewings, private dinners, and private art gallery tours, enabling the families to enrich their travel experiences in a close and personal manner.
The Amex specialists are dedicated full-time to planning and booking these vacations. Specialists reported that there has been a significant increase in first-time customers who are seeking more customized and enriching travel experiences with friends and family. These travelers want to spend less time planning, packing, and transporting, specialists say, and more time indulging and immersing in the destinations and experiences with loved ones.