You probably read the first half of the title and said “Really?! Of course you would! Most people prefer private jets to commercial jets! Who would’ve thought that?!”
However, I mean this from a pilot’s point of view, rather than a passenger’s point of view. So, why exactly do I prefer private jets to commercial jets?
Whilst private jets are far comfier than commercial jets, that is not the main reason pilots tend to prefer private jets to commercial jets. The real reason is their speed, uniqueness and elegance in the sky.
I mean, when you hear someone yell “Oh look! It’s a plane!” and it’s just some old 737 or A350, yeah, that’s old news.
But, when someone yells “Oh look! It’s a plane!” and it is an elegant G650, or a Lineage 1000, you probably stand there and go “Wow!” and then precede to imagine yourself in that aircraft and who is in there?
Is it the latest Manchester City player? Is it some billionaire businessman who is jetsetting to attend a business meeting on the other side of the world? Is it some A-list celebrity attending an insiders-only meeting or set?
I was recently on a commercial flight (on a commercial jet) from London to Tokyo, this flight took me almost nine hours! I did the exact same journey (from a different arrival and destination airport, but there was an 11 mile difference that the private jet had to make up) on a private jet, which took five and a half hours!
When you look at a private jet, they are all built incredibly differently. No two aircraft, no matter if they are the same make, model and one followed the other off the assembly line. Each aircraft has its own paint scheme, interior, and design. Whilst the same can be said for commercial jets, a private jet takes this to the extreme.
Take this example from a few months ago. I was at Biggin Hill private airport, I was in a hangar, and I saw three Cessna Citation Mustangs.
All three were owned by completely unrelated people, in different professions, but they all had one thing in common: they were all a white base color. But other than that, they were completely different.
One had a red stripe through the center, another had a company logo on the tail, and the other had, what I can only describe as ‘tail art’ on the tail of the aircraft.
Why do I really prefer private jets to commercial jets?
Would it surprise you to know that I am actually a commercial jet pilot, having spent over 20 years flying a 747? I am also a former Dreamliner pilot, having been able to fly an aircraft longer than I have been able to drive a car.
I am a commercial aviator through and through, and up until now, commercial pilot has been my only job!
But, around nine months ago, I was introduced to pilot who flew solely private jets, by an old co-pilot of mine. He and I hit it off quite quickly and became good friends.
He knew that I was having a large amount of time off from work due to an ankle injury (that I got playing soccer with my son).
One day, his co-pilot was absent, and there was nobody sent to replace him, and thus, the aircraft was not legally allowed to take off.
He knew that I had passed my physical, but I was waiting to be assigned to my old routes again, but I was still at home and not in the air.
So, he decided to ring me and ask me if I was available, right now, to come to the airport and be his co-pilot and just wear my usual pilots uniform.
I arrived, made up something about the company sending me to the wrong airport, we got in the aircraft and I immediately fell in love with it.
There is so much room in the cockpit. When you look at a picture of a 747’s cockpit and a G650’s cockpit, the 747’s looks absolutely humongous! Yet, I noticed that this wasn’t necessarily the case, a G650’s cockpit is like the Tardis, it’s tiny on the outside, but massive on the inside!
It’s almost like the engineers at Gulfstream have sat down, realized that they are dealing with a smaller cockpit than traditional commercial jets, and have designed everything to a smaller scale. Yet, they have done it in such as way that it appears to be the same size.
It handles so much better! This is by far the most subjective phrase in all of aviation, just as I talked about in my why do pilots prefer big/small aircraft? article.
I am so used to the fact that when I push the control column left, it takes a small interval before the aircraft actually begins to turn. However, in a private jet, this is completely different.
It almost feels that when I push the control column left, the aircraft is already heading left, even before I do so!
(Yes, I understand that it is not possible for an aircraft to do it, without having a MASSIVE problem! It was just to show how easy I find handling the aircraft!)
In fact, when I fly private jets, it reminds me of when I was training to become a pilot, flying around in a dinky little Cessna 152.
When I fly private jets, it makes me feel as though I’m going to just randomly start doing aerobatics, for no apparent reason!
They are built to the highest standard (and it shows!)
Most private jets are made for celebrities, businessmen and other VIPs, this means that even when they are 5 years old, their navigation systems, radios and basically everything else are still on the bleeding edge of technology!
When I fly on my 747, I have a navigation system that is 15 years old (it’s so old, that it uses little lights to indicate everything, rather than the high-resolution imaging screens used in newer 747s.
But, when I fly private jets, everything is built to the highest quality, and even if it is 15 years old, it is still better resolution than some commercial jets that are ten or even five years old!
If you are a pilot, do you prefer private jets to commercial jets? What is the best part about them? Did I miss anything vital? Tell me in the comments!