1. Does the company have its own maintenance program?

 

2. Does the quote include parking and tolls?

 

3. For trips over the road: How many local miles are allowed per day after reaching your destination? What is the charge for exceeding them?

 

4. Does the company own the bus you will use, or will it be brokered out?

 

5. What is their cancellation policy?

 

6. Is the bus available for inspection before chartering?

 

7. What affiliations are they members of?/How involved in the industry are they?

 

8. Can they provide a insurance certificate showing they have the state required $5 million in coverage?

 

9. Does the bus operator have a cell phone and the company, a 24 hour phone line in case of a breakdown?

 

10. Who pays for the driver’s hotel room?

 

Courtesy of www.BusRates.com

It is now possible to charter, rent or lease an aircraft for less than ever before and it has also become easier. Why charter an aircraft? Here are some good reasons:

· The increased security and hassle of commercial airline boarding.

· There are fewer airlines around.

· Fewer airlines are flying to fewer cities

· Because of economy restraints there are fewer seats for more passengers.

· It is now easier to charter, lease or rent a plane because there are more companies entering the aircraft leasing business.

· Also, a new generation of small jets is being produced as we speak, the so-called air taxis seating between 4 to 6 passengers for a total airplane cost of as low as 1 million dollars.

· These small jets are being produced in a so-called cookie-cutter design, 100 at a time and are also being purchased 100 at a time.

Real Air Taxis will soon be on their way into major cities,” says London based AVCEN. Avcen is to bring its innovative Jetpod aircraft design off the drawing board and into proof-of-concept build and flight trials. The Jetpod is a unique, lightweight, Very Quiet Short Take-Off and Landing (VQSTOL), 6-seat, twin-jet powered aircraft.

The Jetpod cruises at 350 mph and uses an unbelievable 410 feet of landing space. This is achieved through a combination of horizontal and vertical thrust management as developed by Avcen.

No runways are required so you can take off from a private parking lot or your neighbor’s driveway. There are similar small jets being manufactured in the US as well.

Aircraft Charter companies provide the following 4 functions in a variety of innovative ways:

1) Renting (sometimes selling) aircraft for private use, performing aircraft maintenance, providing fuel, and aircraft management.

2) The best way of finding an aircraft charter company is on line. You can also contact an aircraft charter broker who will sort of act as your airplane travel agent.

3) They will handle all of your flight arrangements, including price comparisons, they will determine the correct aircraft for your trip, they will locate the correct charter company, make sure insurance is in place, and obtain copies of FAA flight certificates.

4) There are also aircraft charter auctions available on the Web.

Using a unique online auction, your trip itinerary is instantly sent to a network of pre-approved jet operators who are invited to bid on your trip. This increases competition and ultimately drives the price down. You can view this bidding action live, online.

Fleet Membership allows you to buy occupied flight time in your preferred category of business jet in blocks of whatever flight hours you want with guaranteed availability. You enjoy the freedom and convenience of business jet travel without the costs or commitment of aircraft ownership.

One Ways and Empty Leg Flights When a one way aircraft charter flight is booked, many times the aircraft has to return to it’s original airport. In a case like this, the plane will be flying empty. This is known as an empty leg. Because the aircraft charter operators like to make money if possible, they offer these empty legs for much less than a typical charter would cost.

Flying in a Private Jet has become a Status Symbol.

One of the perks most valued to CEO’s and lawmakers today is to have the use of a Private Jet. This is another reason why the Charter Aircraft business is at present growing at an astonishing rate which will increase even more as the air taxis costing one million dollars or so will enter service.

Article Source: http://www.ArticleJoe.com. Frank Hague likes private aircraft.

The advantages of private flights over regular commercial crafts are many. Not the least of which, of course, is the privacy they offer.

Commercial airlines are great for getting from one point to another going by another’s schedule. But, when time is of the essence or added comfort and privacy is a must, charter flights can be the way to go.

The advantages of private flights over regular commercial crafts are many. Not the least of which, of course, is the privacy they offer. For businesses, charter flights come with these perks:

* No set time schedule. Charter flights can often be booked any time of the day or night. This means travel on the red eye isn’t a must to ensure arriving at a meeting or vacation destination on time. Flights can be booked to meet a customer’s schedule rather than the customer having to meet the airline’s set agenda.

* Can offer a cost savings over commercial flights. Depending on the number of passengers, a charter flight just might offer some cost savings over commercial flights overall. This of course will depend on the type of charter, the length of the trip and the number of passengers, but it’s not out of the question to save money on a charter flight.

* Flexibility in airports. Charter flights can land in a whole host of smaller airports that larger commercial liners cannot. So if you’re meeting or family reunion is in a smaller berg, there many me a direct charter flight there. This kind of convenience is incredible for families, business travelers and more and can save hours of drive time once the plane’s landed or even before it has taken off.

* Privacy. There’s no way around it, commercial flights are generally packed with people. Even in first class, there are interruptions, distractions and unwanted conversations to be overheard. By flying charter, families can enjoy some quiet time and businesspeople can plan for upcoming meetings, seminars and so on before the big engagement.

* Fun. There’s no denying it. Taking a commercial flight isn’t as much fun as having a whole plane for your family, party or business meeting. The other perks make this guilty pleasure a little less guilty.

No matter where you’re looking for charter flights, the internet is a great place to turn. Here you’ll find a whole host of companies that offer flights out of large, commercial airports and even much smaller ones. Direct flights on a set schedules, personalized itineraries and more can all be found.

When looking for private charter flights it’s important to know what you’re looking for. Do you want a charter that’s booked solely for you and your passengers or are you willing to share accommodations? What is the desired timeframe for the flight? Will a return flight be needed? Is there a plane size in particular you’re interested in?

Charter flights might seem like a luxury, but for many this is a viable option for business and personal travel that takes some of the hassles of a large airport off the table. With flexible schedules and private accommodations available, charter flights can be a great way to go. Do check out flight companies before booking and make sure the planes meet your personal specifications. Article Source: http://www.Article-Search.eu/.

For more information visit http://www.charterairsearch.com.

Meetings are valuable components of organizations. Yet they need process, discipline and leadership/facilitation to work best. Here are some indicators to watch out for to highlight where things may be going wrong.

1. No Agenda

When there is no agenda, there is no opportunity to prepare, no framework for the meeting and no purpose. When this happens a lot, there is a tendency for 5 below.

2. Wrong people there

Ever been to a meeting where there was no logical purpose for you to be there? Meeting time is valuable and it is important for efficiency and effectiveness that as few people attend as purposeful. People should appreciate that non-attendance at a particular meeting is OK and get used to it.

3. Overrun

Those times when you sit in a meeting and watch your life slip away, are those that happened with poor meeting management. There is nothing worse than unkept promises (and meetings are just that – a contract to the participants time) and must be honored. Everyone has a role here.

4. Indiscipline

Many meeting participants do not know how to behave. These are things about them and their ego, lack of self-confidence and poor behaviors (out side the meeting too). Lack of courtesy, understanding and space for others to say their piece is inexcusable and not constructive for the outcome.

5. The Leader Leads

Here the meeting is at the beck and call of the leader or chair who really is holding court for themselves. This sort of meeting is about them showing that they are democratic, but they are nothing of the sort. This is a rubber-stamping meeting and is of little or no value.

6. The Leader Doesn’t Lead

Here there is free-for-all, with no leadership from the chair. Poor behaviors, timekeeping and outcomes riddle this sort of meeting, with and end no-result and frayed-tempered, frustrated people.

7. Environment

Too hot, too cold, no water, no breaks, too big, too small. Have you ever been in one of those meetings? And aren’t they awful, so awful in fact that you can’t do your best. This is a meeting where the organizers do not respect the participants.

8. Nothing Happens

A lovely chat, a few disagreements and ‘see you next month’. This is the nice-to-have meeting which does nothing and goes nowhere. As Peter Drucker said, ‘Meetings are a symptom of bad organization. The fewer meetings the better’.

9. Side-tracked/New Stuff

With an agenda, people know what the meeting will be about – or will they. Even with the best agenda, meeting weak processes tend to leave to new issues, side-tracking and wasted time. This is solvable with effort from the facilitator.

10. No Review and Growth

Meetings come and go and are always awful. They are unproductive, boring, overrun and people are there who shouldn’t be. If there is no review of just how good or bad the meeting has been, there will be no improvement. The leader/facilitator can add in meeting feedback as the first agenda item and stick to it – tough at first but gets easier.

Just ten things to watch out for - maybe a sign, or maybe something deeper about you, your organization or your people? Were does the responsibility lie for changing that for the better?

Article Source: http://www.Article-Search.eu/

About the Author ©2006 Martin Haworth is a Business and Management Coach. He has thousands of hints and tips at his website, Coaching Businesses to Success - http://www.coaching-businesses-to-success.com.

For meetings to consistently deliver the required performance and hence outputs, it is critical to have a prepared communication process in advance of the meeting.

For meetings to consistently deliver the required performance and hence outputs, it is critical to have a prepared communication process in advance of the meeting.

This enables participants to be aware and where appropriate prepare for the meeting in advance.

It also allows for them to circulate any preparatory information and pre-reading before the meeting to minimize any information-giving during valuable meeting time.

This time when all participants are together must be devoted to the interchange that can only happen when people are together.

The agenda format may vary, but it will need to have some components which are common, as follows:-

* Location and time and who

* Preparation required

* Review of previous agreed actions

* Objectives

* Items to be discussed

* Next meeting location and time

* Review of meeting

By having this structure, it becomes possible for the right people to attend and to:-

* Focus completely on outcome and purpose

* Be prepared

* Develop meeting skills

Exercise

1. Review meetings you hold, however informal, without agendas.

- How focused are they?

- How sidetracked do they become?

- What do you notice about behaviors of people who attend?

- Describe how you feel at the end of three different meetings this week – some with and some without an agenda.

2. Plan one meeting this week for which you would normally not have an agenda using the agenda detail provided in the workshop.

3. Discuss the benefits and concerns about using an agenda

- What is better about having an agenda?

- What might be negatives about using an agenda?

- How might you ‘sell’ these in a positive way?

Meetings are hugely valuable contribution to business life, as long as they work well. Preparing people in advance is ‘one giant step for meetings, one giant step for value-creating interactions of like minded people’.

Article Source: http://www.Article-Search.eu/

About the Author

©2006 Martin Haworth is a Management Coach. He has hundreds more at his website, Coaching Businesses to Success - http://www.coaching-businesses-to-success.com.