 |
| Janet Savoie Vice President, OSS |
I have to travel a lot for work and one of my regular stops is Atlanta. Since I am in Nashville, I can drive it, but because I do not read, write, text, dial, answer emails while driving (Merrill), I prefer to fly so I am not away from work too long during productive hours. The problem is that one airline controls the skies between Nashville and Atlanta and the fares are beyond ridiculous for a 45 minute flight. We are talking about as much as $600-$1000. I always check the fares and to my surprise last time another airline popped up that was just over $200 . . . Kentucky Skies.
I checked them out on the Internet and they seemed okay. I figured it was going to be a small plane and I wasn’t disappointed. It was quite an experience, not bad but definitely different. The terminal for this airline was not at the Nashville airport but just outside it in a separate building. The good news was that there was free parking right outside the front door. When I went in I was told to go into an office where I would be checked in. The person checking me in, who turned out to be one of the pilots, asked me to grab my carry on and step on the scale. I was a bit shocked but apparently on small planes they have to balance the weight. The pilot loaded all our bags onto the plane and then we were ready to board. There were no boarding passes or security and when we were ready the pilot called out our seat assignments . . . I was in row 2 on the right. There were only 8 of us on the plane and the pilots were right in front of us . . . no locked cockpit and certainly no flight attendants handing out peanuts and Cokes.
The flight itself was very uneventful. We left on time and landed on time even though it was a cloudy and rainy day. I have to admit looking out the front windows of the plane kind of freaked me out. There was no visibility and we flew in the middle of a big cloud the whole way. Upon arrival at a small terminal outside the Hartsfield airport, the pilots unloaded our bags and drove us in a shuttle to Hartsfield so we could pick up our rental cars. We followed the same procedures for the return flight. This time however it was nighttime and very clear. I hadn’t realized how low we were flying. I could see lights on the ground all the way home.
Would I do it again? Not if my kids have anything to do with it. They were horrified. I however might consider it because of the price certainly, but more so because of how much easier it was, how nice all the people were and how calm I was after the first few minutes. I really felt for once I was flying "the friendly skies".
- What do you think of my experience?
- Have you had a similar experience to mine?
- What is the smallest plane you have ever been on?
I look forward to reading your comments.
Training Wizard says:
I would certainly fly them!
I live in Northern KY and can fly out of Cincinnati, Louisville, Lexington, Dayton, or even Indianapolis in a pinch. Cincinnati (CVG) is the biggest airport but ridiculously expensive and has been that way for many years. If I had a regional/local airline that met my travel needs for a bargain price, I’d sure throw my business their way.
I too have taken those “every seat is an aisle and window seat” planes where, if you’re so inclined, watch the pilots’ every move. (Unfortunately I once witnessed the pilot or co-pilot suffer a seizure which scared the daylights out of everyone on the plane; fortunately no harm came of it as we were still on the tarmac-whew!)
Life’s an adventure, why not be adventurous in our business travel? I don’t see it as dangerous, just, as you say, different!
janet says:
Hi Training Wizard,
Here is there website. Definitely worth a look!
http://www.pacificwings.com/kysky/kys/
Jocelyn Smith says:
I would not like the scale part, and not just because I don’t want to know my weight! But also, because I wonder what KY Skies does if the passengers and cargo weigh too much. Would you be asked not to fly? That might be embarassing or keep you from getting to a meeting.
janet says:
Good point. See Lorri’s comment below!
Lorri says:
Janet — I think it is great. We have access to flying on a four- seater plane (a family member of our company president is a pilot) and it is so convenient and no hassles. Don’t have to get to the airport early, pack my liquids separately, wait on long lines, and have never had a delay, etc. I love it (although my family is not too fond of it either). But is saves SO much time and hassle. The weight can be a problem though — one time I wanted to offer a client a ride but the client was too big and exceeded the weight limit. It is all about balance.
I think it is lots of fun although I will admit there have been several occasions where I have been on edge in reaction to an air pocket or flying into a dark cloud (which looked like we were flying into a wall or something). However, seeing the trees in the fall from above or Lake Lanier going from a drought to being full again is really beautiful, and a perspective I would never get from a commercial plane. Enjoy — it is much safer than driving in a car and as you mentioned, has so many other benefits!
Happy new year! Hope to see you in Atlanta again soon.
janet says:
Thanks Lorri!
I agree. Being able to see out the front window is scary when there is no visibility.
Ed Sugar says:
Janet -
Great piece.
Just after 9/11, one of the predictions was that there would be a mass consolidation of the legacy airlines, going from seven to three. These three remaining airlines would serve long haul travel and the overseas markets, while regional and major market air travel would be taken over by the Southwests and Air Trans. The short hop service was to be assumed by “air taxis” as new smaller and lighter aircraft had been perfected by manufacturers.
Alas, it has been a slow road. We are down from 7 to 5 legacy carriers. Intra-state air travel is expensive and sparse. So I was very happy to read about Kentucky Skies. Living and working in Southern California, I would love to hop an air taxi over at Van Nuys airport every time I needed to make a business call to Orange County, Long Beach or San Diego. An hour in a 4 seater, plus cab fare, is much more cost efficient than sitting in SoCal traffic
Melanie says:
I’m so impressed! What a good corporate citizen you are. I would do it for the conveniences of parking and no security as much as for the pricing. And I don’t mind small planes. It does seem that I hear about small commuter planes going down more than any other in the news, but I’m not the greatest driver in the world (slight understatement) so I’m far safer in the air than in my car.
janet says:
Now we know you are right. See Mark’s post below.
John Castellano says:
Janet,
Your brave, I fly only the major carriers and quite frankly with rare exceptions only Continental. If stats work out I should be in a safer category as one of my guys was on the doomed US Air flight that landed in the Hudson last January.
I did recently have a horrific flight with my 113 year old parents (okay 80/83) from Heathrow to EWR. So far I have had the credit card credit me back over $600 (they were not helpful and I closed the card), and the airline $300 I am not done with them yet. I have actually been emailing their new CEO and shockingly he is responding. We were insulted, manhandled, and pushed aside like surfs. Much longer story I will spare the details.
We should not be surprised and delighted when things go well, they are supposed to go well and problems should be rare, we all go to the airports expecting delays, mechanical problems, late equipment arriving, etc.
janet says:
Wow John. Sounds like you had a REALLY bad experience and I bet it freaked your parents out. My mother was became an exteremely nervous flyer in her 80′s.
Connie Ruben says:
Janet,
I do travel these little planes and absolutely love them. We have one here in Calgary that will even give you a morning wake up call if you request – no charge. You just show up 15 minutes before the flight and you take off. It’s great. As far as the scales, the more the flight staff get to know you, the less often you will have to go through this step. For commuter travel, this is definitely the way to go.
janet says:
Makes me feel I should give this another try. The wake-up call is definitely a nice touch.
Marc Dresner says:
Mixed feelings here.
Contrary to popular belief, small planes of the type Janet is talking about actually have higher fatality rates than automobiles. Some interesting stats and calculations: http://bit.ly/8fLkRn
On the other hand, I would be sorely tempted to risk it if it meant avoiding major carriers and the TSA.
janet says:
Wow! That is a scary statistic!
Lynn Stalone says:
The smallest plane I was ever on was a 20-seater from Columbus to Dayton. We were on a round of sales presentations and I had only been to major cities at that point in my career. It was not so bad – bounced us around pretty well and I was certain that it was a rubber-band driven engine or perhaps squirrels. Sounded like it was going to stall several times. My boss at the time said not to worry because if the engine goes out, they can glide to the ground. Right… just like a stone. And it flew pretty low, which seemed strange to a first-timer. After flying the small planes many times now, it doesn’t seem odd at all. I actually like the small planes now.
To Ed’s point, do you remember AirCal?? It was great – you could just hop around to any city in California using a booklet of 10 tickets with a ticket good for any flight, whether it be from OC to SF or LA to OC. Those were the days!!
janet says:
Whoa! Not sure how I would feel if my first experience had been like that!!!
Kelly Heatly says:
How creative of you to check out other flight options. I’m glad it worked out well. Funny story to share…
I took a small twin-prop plane one time from Chicago to Indianapolis as part of a multi-leg flight – ATA Airlines, I think. This was way back when I was in my early 20s and still fairly new to business trips. I did not know the plane was this small until we were asked to walk outside to board the plane. When I saw the size of the plane, I stopped dead in my tracks (as I was more afraid to fly back then). I asked the man greeting me at the door of the plane about how bumpy the flight might be, etc. I said, “I just wasn’t expecting the plane to be this small.” Well, unbeknownst to me, the man was the pilot, and he replied, “Ma’am, there are two things you never tell a pilot are too small — and one is his aircraft.”
Needless to say, I was horribly embarrassed!
The flight was uneventful, like yours, and it was a beautiful sunny day. We were about 12K or 17K altitude if I recall. It was odd seeing out the front window but also kind of reassuring in a way.
janet says:
Hilarious story! Thanks for posting.
Karen Dawson says:
Early in career as a travel agent, I flew from San Juan to St. Thomas on a small prop plane, where they asked everyone their weight. I thought “we’re all going to die; there isn’t a woman here who is going to tell her correct weight.” Years later I recanted this story to a pilot who flies smaller jets, and he assured me they know enough to “add on” to the numbers that passengers tell…so not to worry. I use to fly small planes to Buffalo, Syracuse and Rochester all the time from Boston without a worry. Keep flying…
janet says:
Good to know. So far I haven’t heard too many negatives for the small planes. Thanks!
Dan Prince says:
Janet–great story and interesting point/question! I have flown small planes a number of times and had both good and scary experiences. Like you, I fly quite a bit on biz. Going to Atlanta from Nashville, next week, as a matter of fact. And I taking my BMW–a far superior proposition, as a colleague is going with me. Cost is MUCH more reasonable, we leave when we want, without a strip search, and we have our ride when we get there. Door to door (to client site), the time difference is not much. As with a 2nd person, we take turns driving and I can use my BB to stay in touch with folks! I take my car over Delta for any trip within 4-5 hours!
janet says:
Amen, Dan. Driving would be much easier with a co-pilot, I agree. I don’t usually have one though and being away from the “Crackberry” for 4 hours drives me crazy!!