The pre-performance tune up of a symphony Orchestra provides no indication as to the quality of the ensuing concert.
In fact it's the most excruciating noise known to man, in my humble opinion, yet a few taps of the conductor’s baton and all is quiet and the weight of expectation is very apparent.

The first bar of music is enough to encapsulate the listener and so begins the start of a musical journey that hints not of the pre performance melee nor the many hours of practice and behind the scenes organisation that has gone in to preparing the journey for which the listener has just embarked.

And so it is with chartering a private jet, the journey itself gives no clue as to the preparation and organisation that invisibly occurs behind the scenes thus making the whole journey possible because the whole point of private jet charter is to make the transition from car to plane and back to car again as seamless as possible. It's your private living room in the sky and the atmosphere is very relaxed, lunch is served and business can be discussed in complete privacy.

At an altitude of 47,000 feet and travelling at a speed of almost 9 miles a minute the Pilots perspective is relaxed but business like. Systems are monitored, the en route weather is obtained and the progress of the flight is updated with regular handovers between the airspace controlling agencies.

Modern day technology has improved the mean time between failure rates of working components to the extent that the problem now becomes preventing flight deck crew boredom. At this altitude the clouds are a far beneath us as they are above you on the ground and because aircraft spend the vast majority of their time in the cruise, It's often said that flying aeroplanes is hours of boredom punctuated by moments of stark terror.

Statistically, the vast majority of aviation accidents happen close to or when in contact with the earth...... The severity of the outcome being inversely proportional to the amount of control and judgment being exercised by the patrons of the flightdeck at the time.

I'm sometimes puzzled by the look of disbelief on the faces of our passengers when I explain to them that today we will be cruising at an altitude of 47,000 feet. That's 10,000 feet higher than the bucket and spade brigade below and nearly 8 miles away from statistical Armageddon below us.

It's easy to be flippant when 47,000 feet is a daily occurrence for us, but the customer experience is not wasted on us either. Like a conductor of the London Philharmonic, the Captain of this jet oversees the Private Jet Experience also. We have to ensure that the pre flight organisation has been carried out to perfection, because once we're underway, it's too late to be discovering that a task has been overlooked. The crew are a small part and probably the only visible sign of a much larger team that have worked together to manage your experience. Embrace it and know that we are your own private personal conductor.

Peter Rozee - Captain Global Express