As I mentioned previously, this week I had a chance to travel on the company plane. Note: Plane. This is no jet. In fact this particular plane was the personal plane of the company owner who used to fly it from customer to customer back in his hay-day.
It was described to me as something like a little Sports Car. Yeah…it can’t go 500mph (our average speed was about 200) and I couldn’t convince them to do any tricks…. but it’s small, agile, and still a heck of a lot of fun.
Security? None. We walked right through the entrance building, onto the tarmac, and stepped into the plane. That entrance building? It was mega posh. Here’s a quick snap shot of one of these ‘terminals.’ Truth be told, this picture’s got nothing on the pilot’s lounge which is mostly leather.
No ID’s were checked. Just a handshake introduction to the pilots. The plane waited for us just outside the entrance building. We approached and the Captain opened the door. He folded back his seat to allow us to enter. We were each referred to as “sir” and the Captain offered to help us load our bags. The first thing that hit me when I crouched my way into the aircraft were the curtains.
I don’t think I’ve ever been on a plane that had curtains. It’s the simple things.
We sat down, put on headsets (to reduce noise), and clipped our seat belts. The pilots sat in front of us and maneuvered the plane onto the runway and off we went.
I was amazed.
I fly regularly and it has become very routine. But a commercial aircraft feels more like a flying condo than a plane. This little guy? It felt like a plane. The huge window/wall ratio provided a beautiful frame for the view as we soared over the lighthouses of East Haven. Unlike a 747 flight, I actually felt like I was flying.
I hate ‘picture out of the window’ shots… but can’t help it. Here’s a shot of the blanket of clouds just after we passed through them.
It was awesome.
I’m not sure when my next chance might be to fly in a little four seater like this one again, but it sure beats the long lines and shoe-removing life that is the commercial airports these days.
Three cheers for flying!
What was the inflight meal? Any snack cart service? How were the Flight Attendants?
There were a few downsides to the private plane:
1. No bathrooms
2. No inflight meals or snacks – though we could have brought our own I suppose
3. No flight attendant
Benefits:
1. No security
2. No annoying “cell phone’s off!” rule
3. Ability to check out all the sweet pilot gizmos and gauges
4. Door to (near) door service
5. No Philadelphia Airport
Four-seater: Is that including the two seats up front or not? Your basic Cessna is a four-seater and is a LOT smaller than that plane.
Indeed, the number four includes the passengers up front. There was a wealth of leg space for us. And officially, I think this plane seats five – though it’d be a tight fit with three shoulders wide in the back seat.
“It was described to me as something like a little Sports Car.”
Ah yes, the Miata of the plane world.