Commercial Service Fails To Reach The Oil And Gas Boom Areas Of The U.S.

If you look at a map of the major US oil and gas production areas, and then superimpose a map of commercial air service, something becomes apparent – they don’t connect.

Major new energy fields are transforming our economy, creating thousands of new jobs, and slashing our dependence on foreign fuels. But the major airlines aren’t equipped to go there. With huge fields in North Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado, Arkansas, east Texas and Oklahoma, the major commercial carriers (United, Delta, American and Southwest) offer few flights. It can take three to four connections via turbo props and hundreds of dollars to get to where you need to go. 

Not only does this disconnect cost our energy industry a great deal, it slows the growth and flow of workers to new domestic energy markets.

A few new trends have emerged due to the commercial aviation industry’s inability to follow the energy industry. Amtrak’s Empire Builder route now has more than 500,000 passengers a year, as it goes though some of the biggest new oil and gas fields, often offering faster access from Chicago than the major airlines.

The other trend is the use of private aviation. The oil and gas industry across the Great Plains and in Western Canada could never have boomed without private planes; they get people where they need to be faster, and with fewer (if any) connections, says Greg Raiff, a private aviation leader and Chief Executive Officer of Private Jet Services.

Given the cost and connection time of commercial aviation, private aircraft are the most flexible and cost-effective travel option from big cites to the new energy centers. But, according to Raiff, the tipping point is not luxury, but necessity.

“The time-related costs of traveling on commercial airlines far outweigh the efficiency benefits of moving people in and out of the energy production sites directly and on a schedule that meets their needs,” says Raiff.

This is not a new trend. Energy executives have used private jets to reach remote and underdeveloped areas in Africa and the Middle East for years to save time and money. As America’s energy companies continue to expand, it is likely that more and more of them will realize the benefits and returns of private aviation.

For more information on this topic, contact Greg Raiff. Raiff is Chief Executive Officer at Private Jet Services Group. Raiff has more than 20 years of experience in the airline industry and is an airline industry expert who has advised on such issues as TSA screening procedures and trends in private air travel. Raiff currently serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Private Jet Group of Companies, one of the three largest private jet brokerage firms in North America.

Since joining Private Jet Group in 2000, Greg Raiff has extended the breadth of the firm’s clientele to include sports and entertainment professionals and has secured contracts with National Basketball League players, among other elite clients. He has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe, Providence Journal, WMUR TV9, NH Union Leader and other media outlets.

About PJS
Private Jet Services Group (PJS) is a corporate aviation consultancy providing mission-critical flight services to a global clientele of corporations, professional and collegiate athletic teams, live entertainment tours, governments, and others who recognize the cost of their transportation is far exceeded by the cost of failure. PJS procures on behalf of those clients both VIP and standard configured airliners, regional aircraft, as well as light, midsize, and large cabin executive jets. PJS maintains a repeat-client rate in excess of 90% and this strong client loyalty is the best indicator of PJS's specialization, performance and reliability. PJS acts as agents for its clients in negotiating and facilitating transportation with licensed air carriers. PJS does not own or operate aircraft.