| |
Leisure Travel ENJOYING LIFE WITH YOUR PLANE
Crusing General Aviation Style
We all fly cross-country, so we know the hassles that come with each landing. Do we have a car? What hotel are we staying at? Are there any nice restaurants nearby? What am I going to do here?
If you’re traveling to a specific destination to stay for a few days, then you can make arrangements ahead of time. But if you’re planning a cross-country trip to see the sites and enjoy travel, you know the difficulties that come from trying to juggle plans for six or seven destinations spread across the span of a couple of weeks.
That’s why Theirry Pouille’s Air Journey has become such a popular way to explore the world by airplane. Air Journey takes care of every single detail of your trip, and all you have to do is fly your airplane.
The concept is similar to the job of any travel agent or concierge service, except that in the case of Air Journey, your excursions are guided, which means an experienced pilot is with you during the entire trip.
The relaxed pace and high-end lifestyle embraced by Air Journey’s excursions have created repeat business with more and more travelers taking one or two trips per year exclusively with Theirry’s team.
Airborne convoys of six or seven private aircraft, flown by the owners and led by an Air Journey pilot, regularly tour the Bahamas or the Caribbean, dip down into Mexico, and even head to South America for the company’s longest journey—32 days in all. There is a European excursion that includes stays in Paris, a private chateau in Normandy, and London.
Boston businessman Patrick Alias, who has taken four trips with Air Journey, describes it as a luxury cruise, except instead of riding on a boat, you’re flying your own airplane.
“For me, it’s the only way to go on a tour,” he says. “As soon as you land, your luggage is taken care of, there is a local guy there who speaks English who is going to take you to the nice places in the city … there’s no line at the airport, no line at the taxi stand, no line anywhere. No check-in at the hotel; It’s all organized for you.”
Theirry, who is originally from France, came up with the idea for Air Journey in the 1990s while traveling with his wife to the Bahamas. Thierry was working in the travel industry, and he realized there was an opportunity to mix his skills as a travel coordinator with his love for aviation. In 1998, he opened Air Journey, which provides full-service, self-flown adventures for pilots in ever-expanding parts of the world.
There are three things that set Air Journey trips apart from planning and flying an adventure yourself. First, all the smallest details are taken care of in advance. Even rescheduling accommodations because of weather problems is handled by the Air Journey staff; you don’t have to do anything but show up. Second, accommodations and restaurants chosen by Thierry’s team are top-notch, exclusive venues designed to provide memories for years to come. Third, and perhaps most importantly, Air Journey trips are designed for the woman in the cockpit.
“In a couple, usually the husband is the one flying. By basically making it a journey for the wife, the husband can enjoy the flying and the wife can enjoy the destination,” Theirry said.
To make the trip more palatable for the non-pilots in the cockpit, trips include at least two days at every destination, travel doesn’t begin before 9 a.m., and flight conditions are generally VFR. Restaurants tend to be romantic, and the hotels tend to be luxurious.
“Thierry really takes care of the wife. The food, the location…we always go someplace where the wife can have a spa, or some nice shopping. We have a good time flying for two or three hours, but when we land, the wives … they have a lot of things to do. He’s really good at that. Wives like traveling in his tour,” Alias said.
Air Journey conducts 20 different trips throughout the year, ranging from seven to 32 days in length. Pricing for the trips depends on the particular route being flown but ranges from $200 per person per day to as high as $450 to $500 per person per day, and include transportation, airport fees, accommodations, most meals—pretty much everything except drinks.
Air Journey’s staff takes care of all of the paperwork required to enter and exit different countries, conducts the weather briefings, files your flight plan, makes sure fuel is available at the airport when you land, and in general, works with each group to ensure an absolutely painless travel experience.
Typically there is a bus or shuttle service to take the group to the airport, where Air Journey’s team has prepped the paperwork. There is a briefing in which the Air Journey pilots go over the route and explain what to expect upon landing at the destination, where to taxi and tie down, et cetera. Then everyone preflights their own airplanes, takes off, and meets up at the next destination.
Patrick said a big plus is that Air Journey’s staff travels with you, so it’s like having your own travel agent on the trip with you. “It’s not like you have to call somebody in the U.S. while you are in Mexico and tell them something is wrong,” he said. “He is with you. If you have a problem with the airplane, he helps you find the part and someone to fix it. It’s a relaxing way of traveling, there’s no pressure.”
He adds that the trips produce a great opportunity for other general aviation couples to meet and share experiences, but there’s always time to go off and be alone for a romantic interlude on the beach or in a restaurant.
On the shorter trips, such as the Bahamas excursions, just about any airplane can fly. Theirry said he led one trip with both a Citation and a helicopter in the party. On longer journeys—for example, flying from the U.S. to Europe—pilots need an airplane with a range of at least 1,000 miles and at cruising speed of at least 180 kts.
For trips traveling over water, Air Journey has a retired coast guard officer who provides emergency training in the event the airplane is forced down over water. That, plus the comfort of knowing that you are flying as part of an organized group, should help alleviate any pilot’s fear of long, over-water legs.
Theirry says there are a handful of local operators who will conduct guided pilot journeys, but pilots should be careful when hiring someone who is not well known.
If you’re thinking of taking a journey with a self-flying organization, be sure to check references before handing over any cash. Air Journey is a registered Florida travel agent and is bonded in the state of Florida. The company maintains liability insurance and has a proven track record of providing great travel experiences.
If you’re hankering for adventure but don’t want to have to hassle the details of every destination, check out Air Journey (airjourney.com). “We always arrive as strangers and leave as friends,” Thierry said.
—Sean Fulton
|
|
|
