Posted: 4/28/2009 1:16:40 PM EDT
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Greetings.
Here's the spiel. We've got about 400 people from Vegas currently sitting just outside of Indianapolis. We have a four-day-pass starting near the end of June. Figure a hundred or more will be interested in getting home to see family before we vanish for Afghanistan. Our issues are as follows: 1) Pass begins at 0001 on Day 1, and ends 2359 on Day 4. Most commerical flights take off six hours into that window, eating up much of the first day. Return flights seem to be similarly annoying. 2) It seems that most airlines seem to do indirect routing to LAS, eating even more valuable time. 3) We will very quickly overload the regularly scheduled seating so some people won't get home at all. It has been suggested that maybe we can simply charter out a 737 or some such. Figure that if we generally fill it, it can't cost all that much on a per seat basis. So my questions are generally: 1) Roughtly how much are we talking on a per seat basis? Comparable to flexible tickets on a commercial airline? 2) Where the hell would we start looking to find a somewhat reliable charter at a good price? Ta muchly. NTM |
| I think I'd start by checking with whatever airline(s) serve Indianapolis get a price from them on their charter service. All the big guys do it. They probably wont be the cheapest, but you'd have a price to compare with some of the less expensive alternatives. You can get a phone number from their call-in direct sales reps and go from there. They're probably gonna want a fair percentage if not all of the fee, up front. |
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call omni, dc-10 seats 380 (i think) +1 https://www.omniairintl.com/contact.html |
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I agree, if a King Air is $1400 per hour what is a 737 going to run Sir James... The company I work for flies pt135 charter and brokers flights too big/long for us to do. I remember we did one a while ago from central Illinois to Seattle in a Citation (II?) was $40,000. And that was just a drop off, no wait time included. |
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Quoted: The company I work for flies pt135 charter and brokers flights too big/long for us to do. I remember we did one a while ago from central Illinois to Seattle in a Citation (II?) was $40,000. And that was just a drop off, no wait time included. A Slowtation? You could have offered to take 'em there in your parents' Citabria for $25K. The speed difference would have been barely noticeable.  |
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i want to see what it comes out to also. try airtrans out of st louis (old TWA express) they do it with CRJ's Airtran has not used CRJ's (Air Wisconsin) in a few years. Do you mean ATA? They are also, unfortunately, no longer in business. ETA Are you thinking of Chataqua? |
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SouthWest came back with a quote of about $85K, or somewhere just over $600 a head for 135 people. Apparently the problem was that they had to send the airplane empty from LAS to IND, and then do another empty run from IND back to LAS. Had we been going the other way, it would have been a lot cheaper.
Still awaiting replies from American, NWA and United. NTM |
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Quoted: SouthWest came back with a quote of about $85K, or somewhere just over $600 a head for 135 people. Apparently the problem was that they had to send the airplane empty from LAS to IND, and then do another empty run from IND back to LAS. Had we been going the other way, it would have been a lot cheaper. Still awaiting replies from American, NWA and United. NTM Ouch... and they wouldn't help out, knowing what it was for? I don't know much about Indianapolis, but there isn't some rich guy that you guys could solicit a little help from to help offset the cost, since the publicity would be really good? |
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I agree, if a King Air is $1400 per hour what is a 737 going to run Sir James... The company I work for flies pt135 charter and brokers flights too big/long for us to do. I remember we did one a while ago from central Illinois to Seattle in a Citation (II?) was $40,000. And that was just a drop off, no wait time included. Are you sure it was a citation II? That sounds more like Challenger prices, we could do that trip starting in Atlanta to Chicago then to Seattle then back to Atlanta for about 20 grand in a Lear 35.......of course when you are paying by the hour speed is the key
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I agree, if a King Air is $1400 per hour what is a 737 going to run Sir James... The company I work for flies pt135 charter and brokers flights too big/long for us to do. I remember we did one a while ago from central Illinois to Seattle in a Citation (II?) was $40,000. And that was just a drop off, no wait time included. Are you sure it was a citation II? That sounds more like Challenger prices, we could do that trip starting in Atlanta to Chicago then to Seattle then back to Atlanta for about 20 grand in a Lear 35.......of course when you are paying by the hour speed is the key It was either a Citation II, SII, or Lear 35. I dont remember. |
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you could also contact flexjets or any other fractional jet company The cost of chartering with them would make the SWA price look like a bargain. I dont know if those companies would even have an aircraft big enough to do it. They don't, thus using a bunch of 8 seat jets would be uber expensive. |
| I think he was referring to their knowledge about charter work. They should know someone that does. They would get a kickback for the referral. WJ ETA I have been out too long so I don't know who is still in business. Is Suncountry around? Any other Indie based carriers? WJ |
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MOB site is fucking you guys like they fucked us. We had a CO with some balls, and they shuttled us up to the airport hours before the official pass started, and the 1SG had the leave forms on the bus, signing us out as we got off the bus, timed and dates for the official pass start. On the way home, we conviently all had "delays" and came back a few hours late.
FUCK MOB |
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JetBlue runs some charters with their Airbus aircraft.
Also, consider contacting large universities. Most of the big college sports teams charter airliners frequently. They can probably provide some leads to no-frills charters. I have done some maintenance on large charter aircraft that fly groups to casinos. I wouldn't fly on one even with a gun to my head. |
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Ryan International Airlines Ryan International Airlines (Ryan) is a 14CFR Part 121 Domestic, Flag and Supplemental Air Carrier based in Rockford, Illinois. For over 27 years, Ryan has provided scheduled and charter services for both passengers and cargo to customers around the world. Ryan International Airlines 4949 Harrison Avenue, Suite 204 Rockford, IL 61108 Phone: 815-316-5420 or 877-265-7400 (Toll Free in the United States) http://www.flyryan.com/ |
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Call Perris Valley Skydiving. They have a 727 jumpship. I have no idea if they can do it for a good deal but it's worth a call. You'd all have to sit on the floor. That would make deplaning more interesting! Not for Airborne guys. I'd kind of love to jump a 727. That rear air stair would be great. I knew an SF guy that got to jump one back in the late '70's. Right out into the slipstream. Good luck on you guys getting home. If the command structure had any balls, they'd give you all a little extra travel time. You know they structure about 8 hours or more into the timeline. You guys may have to divide up between airlines. Good luck and Godspeed. |
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Call Perris Valley Skydiving. They have a 727 jumpship. I have no idea if they can do it for a good deal but it's worth a call. You'd all have to sit on the floor. That would make deplaning more interesting! Not for Airborne guys. I'd kind of love to jump a 727. That rear air stair would be great. I knew an SF guy that got to jump one back in the late '70's. Right out into the slipstream. Good luck on you guys getting home. If the command structure had any balls, they'd give you all a little extra travel time. You know they structure about 8 hours or more into the timeline. You guys may have to divide up between airlines. Good luck and Godspeed. SSG D. B. Cooper? 
Any updates, MM? |