The PGA Championship At Quail Hollow Highlights How Pro Golfers And CEOs Save Time By Flying Privately

A new study highlights Jet Card pricing and member benefits

PGA tour professional golfers who have been using private aviation to travel between tournaments have saved 119 hours of travel time so far this year – nearly five full days of extra productivity – according to an analysis put together by Private Jet Card Comparisons and Jet Linx Aviation. This coming week features the 2017 PGA Championship at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina. In addition to the time savings benefits of private jet travel, the comparison highlights some of the advantages of most jet cards, including guaranteed availability even during peak periods, guaranteed hourly rates, one-way pricing and not having to worry about ferry fees.

“Pro golfers need to get from tournament to tournament quickly and efficiently, which is the same as executives in business,” said Jamie Walker, CEO of Jet Linx Aviation, a jet card provider operating over 100 private jets, the third largest managed fleet in North America, from 14 bases, with its own private terminals for members.

“Travel time flying commercially would have taken 192 hours, including airport time and making connections, whereas using a private jet card, the exact same itinerary would have been 73 hours, all nonstop, with minimal airport time. Flying privately reduced wasted travel hours by over 60%,” said Doug Gollan, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Private Jet Card Comparisons, a website analyzing over 100 programs by 65 variables, described by Barron’s as “the Kelley Blue Book” of private jet cards.

Gollan said the challenges of golfers reflect those of top executives and owners in the business world. In 11 of the 30 places the PGA tour has visited so far this year, private jet travelers saved time by being able to use airports that are closer to the tournament venues. In the U.S., private aircraft have access to over 5,000 airports compared to about 500 served by commercial airlines. In 18 of 30 weeks, private aviation enabled golfers to fly nonstop whereas flying commercially required a connection.

For example, it would have taken players headed to the U.S. Open held in Erin, Wisconsin in June over four hours to fly commercially from Memphis, Tennessee where the St. Jude Classic was played, making a connection, versus just 96 minutes nonstop privately. Additionally, flying commercially would have landed the golfers at Milwaukee Mitchell Field, an hour’s drive from the course versus closer airports.

According to Gollan, the itinerary highlights the value of most jet cards compared to on-demand charter, with guaranteed pricing, guaranteed availability, service recovery and no extra charges for one-way flights.

Yet programs vary. He said Private Jet Card Comparisons compares not only hourly rates but membership fees, aircraft types offered, peak days and peak day surcharges (ranging from 0 to 58 days per year with surcharges to 40%), reservations lead times (varying from four hours to 7 days), cancellation policies, refund policies, safety standards for sourcing pilots and aircraft, daily minimums (ranging between 48 minutes and 3.5 hours), WiFi availability, VIP perks, service areas where your contracted rates apply, and more.

“Depending on what type of flying you are doing, the goal of Private Jet Card Comparisons is to help consumers find the right program for their needs,” he continued. Registered users get access to easy-to-use comparisons in spreadsheet format. Paid subscribers can copy and download the charts for personal use, enabling them in minutes to compare the programs that best fit their needs.