While travelers were stuck in hour-and-a-half security lines at Denver International Airport last week because of heightened terror alert, some air charter businesses were busy answering calls from travelers seeking another option.
Air Denver Inc., a charter referral service, had a 20 to 30 percent increase in calls, said president David Kempa.
“A lot of them are just fed up with the airlines anymore,” Kempa said. “Lately, we’ve just been having people stranded at airports and have to get someplace, and this is an option for them.”
Chartering a plane isn’t cheap. Flying from Denver to Chicago on a Lear 35, for example, could cost about $11,750 for 8 passengers, according to Kempa.
Mountain Aviation Inc. at Jefferson County Airport, which offers charters, said it has been fielding more calls for flights to and from Europe.
Marketing manager Kerry McPherson said news of a terrorist threat “is terrible.” But, he acknowledged, “When there’s things like this going on, our business goes through the roof.”
He expects that increase in business to be temporary.
Taking a private jet is often seen as a way to bypass the hassles of flying airlines and long security lines.
But charter operators are still subject to security requirements, including checking passengers against government watch lists.
The number of businesses that charter planes for some flights has been growing in recent years among members of the National Business Travel Association, according to spokesman Caleb Tiller.
“Some companies are already looking at an alternative that they may not have decided two days ago,” Tiller said Friday. “But that’s only for the short-term … unless the increased security stance is extended for a long period of time.”
Particularly with long security lines Thursday morning at DIA, “a lot of people were calling from DIA saying they needed to get somewhere and they weren’t getting there from there,” said Mary Randolph, a sales manager for Aero Jet Services, a Scottsdale, Ariz.-based charter operation.
“We put the phone down. We pick the phone up,” she said.
National Business Aviation Association spokesman Dan Hubbard said the effect on business travel will depend more on the economic impact of the events Thursday, which he said didn’t appear to be long-term.
Centennial Airport-based Adam Aircraft, which is developing a new “very light jet,” had a 30 percent increase in hits on its website Thursday and Friday, according to president Joe Walker.
“When things become harder to do, you look for other alternatives,” Walker said. “It’s an alternative to the public air transportation system … and these kinds of events reinforce this alternative.”
Staff writer Kelly Yamanouchi can be reached at 303-820-1488 or at kyamanouchi@denverpost.com.
