Small jets seating four people run for about $2,500 an hour; while mid-size models with roomy seating for eight can be $4,500 and up. But, oh, what your money buys. Small-plane charter companies operate away from the main public terminal at Will Rogers, and Wiley Post has no terminal. There’s no baggage scanning, taking shoes off or checking in. On board, your fare includes premium catering of any delights, including spirits, you’ve asked for ahead of time. The charter service will also arrange your limo or rental car at the other end, plus lodging and most any other requests. For how that works in the real world, consider last year when Paul and Marilynn and more than a dozen other friends struck on the idea of a group Bahamas cruise. Most were not taking private jets. Their
ERIC WELLS
Eric Wells, president and chief pilot of Private Jets Inc.
Jet-set perks include encounters with people you imagine you might see. Outgoing Marilynn met Harrison Ford when he was at Wiley Post inspecting the refurbishing of his float plane. She and Paul have crossed flight paths, too, with Matthew McConaughey, Ashley Judd and Princess Fergie.
travel plans were made the average way: one-, two- or three-stop commercial airline trips, poring through travel sites for the best rates and booking in advance. That led to the familiar routine of getting up pre-dawn to catch an early morning flight, layover(s) to switch planes, traveling all day from OKC to arrive at the Florida cruise port in the late afternoon. Unfortunately, their companions ended up missing a connection due to aircraft maintenance problems. Ultimately, the cruise ship had to wait for them. “So here’s the difference,” Paul said. “They get up at four in the morning. They go through all the mess – two hours early, through security, baggage check. We’re sitting at home having breakfast, running our regular routine and errands, and we don’t leave until a comfortable 10 o’clock in the morning. “We don’t touch our bags. You go through the gate and drive your car right up next to the plane, they take your bags, put ’em on the plane,” Paul said. “On the plane, you’ve got catering – wine, cocktails, whatever you like. We are in Florida in 2½ hours. We landed at an airport that was 15 minutes from the dock. We’re sitting on the cruise ship waiting for everybody to show up and they’ve been traveling since 4 o’clock in the morning.” Paul and Marilynn admit they’re spoiled by the luxury and convenience of the jet set life. Instead of air travel being part of the hassle before going on holiday, flying on a luxury jet becomes part of the vacation experience. “I can promise you – that for a new person who’s never chartered – if they do, regardless of the experience of their first time, I guarantee they’ll find a reason to do it again. In life, down the road, I guarantee they’re going to want to do it again.”
GROWING UP IN OKLAHOMA, ERIC WELLS’ PLAYGROUND WAS THE STILLWATER AIRPORT. The son of a career charter pilot who ran a flight school for OSU students, he learned quickly that flight instructors would jump at any flimsy excuse to get off the ground, so he’d ask them to let him fly. Before he was 10, Wells started logging hours sitting atop phone books in light prop planes, learning to fly by instruments that told him his altitude and other vital readings because he couldn’t really see that well over the dash. He was still in high school and 18 years old when he flew for the first time as a fully rated co-pilot in a Learjet. He earned his airline transport pilot certificate at the earliest age you can get one – 23. But he couldn’t rent a car without paying extra fees for the liability risk. At 36, he is now president and chief pilot of his own jetcharter company, Private Jets Inc. The operation is based at the Atlantic Aviation private hangar east of the Will Rogers World Airport terminal. The company also has bases of operation in San Antonio, Naples, FL, and Wiley Post. As a working pilot, Wells can’t live on a set schedule. Any minute, a client may book a flight on one of his company’s six jets and he will either have to fly the route or book one of his other pilots to do it. His work takes him to upscale locales such as Aspen and Palm Springs, CA. On one particular day, he flew to Colorado Springs in one jet, then to Dallas on another. Flying clients is far better than the other part of his job: making sure the company is complying with federal regulations, aircraft maintenance scheduling, writing company flight manuals and other desk work. “Sometimes I can’t f ly, I just have to be in the office,” he said. Wells lives in northwest OKC with his wife of 12 years, Jamie, and their 6-year-old daughter, Sophie. Although being a professional pilot can be hard on family life, a home in Naples, FL, and a condo in San Antonio help. The family spent spring break in Florida and his wife often flies with him for stays in Texas. “You can do a lot worse than San Antonio and Naples, especially when it’s cold in Oklahoma City,” Wells said. It’s a hectic life, but it has its perks. One of his recent flights involved a client who paid him to stick around, lodging expenses paid, for five days in the Bahamas. They wanted him to hang around until they needed him to fly back. MAY 2013 // SLICE 41