Latest news with #FlexJet
USA Today
11-04-2025
- Business
- USA Today
Augusta-area airports turn into private jet parking lots for the Masters each year
Augusta-area airports turn into private jet parking lots for the Masters each year AUGUSTA, Ga. — The Masters has been called a corporate Woodstock, a place to cement relations, entertain clients and make in-roads with future business partners. The skies around Augusta Regional Airport tell a story of private jet demand for the Masters and indicates the strength of the luxury travel market. The tournament has become so popular that Daniel Field, Augusta's general aviation airport, built a tower used once a year to accommodate all the private planes flying in and out during Masters week. Many of them transport players. Will Zalatoris was among the pros traveling in style to the 89th Masters. He also is the latest player to be signed as a Magellan Jets Brand Ambassador, joining Masters champion Dustin Johnson and swing coach Claude Harmon III. The deal for Zalatoris includes hosting unique golf experiences for the company's private clients, displaying the Magellan Jets logo on his golf gear and participating in marketing campaigns. This week, the company estimates it is charter flying 10 percent of the field to and from Augusta. FlexJet, a global leader in private aviation, which operates out of Augusta's Regional Airport as well as Thompson Field, Aiken Field and Daniel Field, reported demand during the Masters rising 30 percent year over year with an increase in early bookings. The company rents Hangar One and staffs it with over 30 people to make sure it is a seamless and enjoyable experience. With each passing year, flying private to the Masters has become more of a status symbol. 'It's a VIP experience and a timesaver,' said D.J. Hanlon, executive vice president of sales. And so once again, private planes are dropping off clients heading to Augusta National, leaving planes parked on runways as if it is a lot for the rich and famous. For the rest of us, the easiest way to make it into Augusta is to fly into the major international airport in Atlanta, then drive 1.5-hours into Augusta. Other options include Columbia, S.C. But even commercial flights have become easier. Delta, an Atlanta-based company that serves as one of the Masters' 'official partners,' beefed up seating capacity to Augusta during the week of the tournament by 15 percent, raising the number of daily seats flying into the event to 1,900. Private has become a popular choice to Daniel Field except for one of those sign of the times: the planes used to transport patrons and players there have outgrown the length of the runway. Sounds like a nice problem to have.
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Southwest jet came within 200 feet of business jet in Chicago near-miss
By David Shepardson (Reuters) - A Southwest Airlines flight was less than 200 feet behind a business jet when the Southwest pilot aborted the landing and made an emergency maneuver to narrowly avoid a collision at Chicago Midway Airport on February 25, U.S. safety officials said on Tuesday. A FlexJet Challenger business jet entered the runway without authorization, prompting the Southwest Boeing 737-800 to circle and re-approach the landing, a maneuver called a go-around. The Southwest first officer saw the business jet and realized it was not stopping, called for a go-around and the captain executed it, the National Transportation Safety Board said in a preliminary report. The FlexJet crew said the instructions from controllers did not make sense and said after they sought clarification they were given a new taxi route. The flight crew initially read back the instructions incorrectly but the ground controller immediately reissued the instructions and received a correct readback. The FlexJet flight crew said the sun was impeding visibility from the right side of the aircraft and crew members did not recall seeing any hold short line or pavement markings. The crew said it did not observe the Southwest jet on final approach. A controller instructed the FlexJet to hold short as it approached, but the transmission was not acknowledged, the NTSB said. This month, the Federal Aviation Administration said it was taking steps to address safety issues involving general aviation and business jets. After the Chicago incident, the FAA said it was initiating a safety-risk analysis of close encounters between pilots flying visually and pilots flying under air traffic control. The FAA said it had met with general and business aviation groups. Over the last two years, a series of near-miss incidents has raised concerns about U.S. aviation safety and the strain on understaffed air traffic control operations. Several incidents have involved close calls with small planes. The FAA said it would take a series of steps to remind pilots to check notices for situations they can encounter during flight, be familiar with their destination airport, avoid complacency by paying attention to pre-flight checklists and pay close attention to onboard collision warnings.
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Pilots earn praise for averting near collision disaster at Midway Airport
CHICAGO (WGN) — The pilots of a Southwest Airlines plane who aborted a landing to avoid a potential collision with another aircraft have earned the praise of other commercial airline pilots and the president of the United States. Southwest flight 2504 from Omaha was nearly wheels down at Midway International Airport shortly before 9 a.m. Tuesday when a private business jet crossed its path. The Southwest pilots quickly aborted the landing and circled around. 'The Southwest flight did a phenomenal job of not only in seeing that ahead of time but then doing just a great, flawless go around,' commercial pilot Capt. Kevin Sprague told WGN. 'I have not had one this close where I'm touching down and then an airplane is crossing in front of me. That's close. That was a great save.' Video captures near-miss between Southwest Airlines plane, jet on runway at Chicago's Midway Airport NTSB chairwoman points finger at private jet crew for near collision at Midway Airport 'Great job by the Southwest pilots in Chicago,' President Donald Trump wrote on social media. 'A nearly tragic close call. Perhaps suspend the pilots license of the other plane, who must have been sleeping!' Industry experts point to confusion heard on radio traffic from the pilots of the smaller FlexJet. Air traffic control told the pilots of the business jet to hold short of the runway, not to cross it. 'If I'm an airplane that's told to hold short of a runway, that's a mandatory read back for me. The tower has to hear that exact verbiage. They have to hear, 'FlextJet 560 hold short of 3-1-Center,'' Sprague said. The encounter became a topic of academic discussion at Lewis University during instruction for 850 undergraduate and graduate students who are studying for careers in the airline industry. Ryan Phillips, the chair of the university's Aviation and Transportation Technology Department, the incident is a teachable moment. 'This is why it's so important that you read those instructions back correctly, and if there's any doubt in your mind on what you're supposed to do, you need to ask for clarification,' he said. 'The margin of error in aviation is tight. … You have to make sure that you're bringing your best game every day.' The union for the Southwest pilots released a statement, saying: 'The pilots of @SouthwestAir are humble professionals who train for moments like these but never seek the spotlight. We are truly thankful for the support from our government partners, peers, and passengers.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Yahoo
Video captures dramatic near-miss on runway at Chicago Midway airport
A Southwest Airlines flight narrowly avoided a collision with a private plane on a runway in Chicago Tuesday morning, thanks to a last second 'go-around' maneuver. The near-miss was captured on video, which shows the commercial plane about to touch down at Chicago Midway, then quickly lifting off the tarmac as the smaller jet crosses its path to landing. 'The crew of Southwest Airlines Flight 2504 initiated a go-around when a business jet entered the runway without authorization at Chicago Midway Airport,' the Federal Aviation Administration said Tuesday. 'The FAA is investigating the incident, which occurred around 8:50 a.m. local time in a near-miss incident Tuesday.' Audio posted to Airport Webcams indicates the Southwest flight was cleared for landing before the FlexJet plane is seen crossing onto the runway. Someone seemingly in the larger aircraft asks, 'How did that happen?' as the two planes pass. According to ABC News in Chicago, the FlexJet was at fault for the close call. 'Air Traffic controllers can be heard telling the business jet to hold short and not cross the runway, but the business jet did not follow instructions,' a spokesperson for the FAA reportedly said. Air Traffic Control recordings seem to show the commercial plane's landing was being managed by local controllers, while the business jet was being guided through its departure with ground control communicating on a different frequency. The FAA said the planes came within 863 yards of one another. Recent weeks have been filled with harrowing and sometimes deadly airline encounters. On Jan. 29, an American Eagle passenger plane collided with a Black Hawk helicopter near Washington, D.C., leaving 67 people dead. Two days later, a medical transport plane crashed in Philadelphia, killing all six people aboard and another person on the ground. On Feb. 6, 10 people were killed when a small commuter plane crashed in western Alaska. Surprisingly no one was killed when a Delta flight carrying 76 passengers and four crew members flipped upside down and caught fire following a Feb. 18 crash landing in Toronto. _____
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Yahoo
Southwest jet narrowly avoids colliding with business jet at Chicago airport
By David Shepardson (Reuters) - A Southwest Airlines jet was forced to abort a landing at Chicago Midway airport on Tuesday in a serious near miss incident after a business jet entered the runway without authorization, the Federal Aviation Administration said. Southwest Flight 2504, a Boeing 737-800 arriving from Omaha, flew overtop a FlexJet Challenger on the runway and performed a go-around narrowly avoiding the aircraft on the ground. The FAA is investigating the incident, which occurred around 8:50 a.m. CT. A dramatic video posted on social media showed the Southwest jet nearing touch down and then pulling up and above the FlexJet that had crossed Runway 31C. Southwest said the crew "followed safety procedures and the flight landed without incident." Over the last two years, a series of troubling near-miss incidents has raised concerns about U.S. aviation safety and the strain on understaffed air traffic control operations. In October, the FAA said it was opening an audit into runway incursion risks at the 45 busiest U.S. airports. Democrats in Congress seized on the fact that the Trump administration recently fired 352 FAA workers, including some involved in safety operations. "Maybe not the best time to fire hundreds of FAA workers, tell the remaining workers you want to 'put them in trauma'," Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut said. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has said the people fired did not include any "safety-critical positions" or any air traffic controllers. Duffy did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The FAA, which has aging technology and facilities and needs billions of dollars to modernize, is about 3,500 air traffic controllers short of targeted staffing levels, prompting the aviation industry and lawmakers to call for action. On Monday, the FAA said it was investigating another incident involving a possible close call in Houston on Sunday, when the crew of Air Shuttle Flight 6034 performed a go-around due to an unstable approach and conflicted with a departing SkyWest Airlines flight. Air traffic control issued corrective instructions to both flight crews, but the Air Shuttle crew climbed above their assigned altitude. Sign in to access your portfolio
