Transporting five to 10 passengers or more, corporate jets allow for travel not otherwise possible for many companies. Most people are familiar with Learjet's, Beechjet's and Citation's models of small, but very fast, corporate jets. Intermediate models of the aircraft such as the Gulfstream and Hawker models can seat six to nine passengers, and the heavy corporate jets like the larger Gulfstream models can carry up to 14 passengers on intercontinental flights in comfort. While a company plane may not be needed on a regular basis, when it is needed, no other form of transportation can replace it.
Acting much like the limo of the skies, the large corporate jets are used to carry large groups to meetings in distant locations without requiring the strict customs and airport security required for commercial flight. In the world of big business, a matter of minutes wasted in a security check line could mean the loss of a major deal or opportunity. Even the large corporate jets are able to land at smaller air fields, eliminating the crowds at the larger airports. This often allows the jet to land closer to the site of the meeting rather than on the edge of the city at a commercial airfield.
The medium-sized corporate jets are used mainly for domestic flights when time is of the essence. These smaller, quicker planes can take off with as little as an hour's warning, making them good for emergency trips and matters that require no hesitation. The medium-sized plane has room to carry on in-flight meetings and many even have provisions for in-flight meals for extended flights. An added benefit in traveling in corporate jets over a commercial flight is the ability to choose special food or snacks and the ability to cater more personally to a client's traveling needs.
The small corporate jets are the sports cars of the sky. They are very speedy and intended to make short business trips very fast and comfortable. Able to land at short runway air fields, the small corporate jets can land very close to the city at smaller airports that larger commercial flights cannot land. Equipped with galleys for food preparation and seating that allows for in-flight meetings, these small jets allow spur-of-the-moment trips out of town that return the same day.
