Business people understand the adage that “time is money.” Given that time is such a valuable commodity, it makes sense then that when business people invest in ways to do things more efficiently, it's money well spent.
That’s definitely true when it comes to booking executive travel with Shaire Inc., Canada’s newest charter and private plane service offering premium and executive travels options for destinations in Canada and the U.S. Flying out of Sault Ste. Marie, Shaire offers business travellers and individuals in the area looking for private flights an alternative to the often high-priced and inconvenient traditional carriers.
“We’ve had a large portfolio of our business come from engineers, lawyers, accountants, and manufacturing facilities that are bringing people to different locations,” said Rick Biemann, CEO of Shaire Inc. “What we’ve seen is a big piece of our business realize how cost effective it is to fly from point to point without going through busy airports, making connections, and experiencing layovers you’d expect when trying to get to a place not easily serviced by the main carriers.”
According to Biemann, Shaire was launched in 2021 to service a gap in the local charter market. Sault Ste. Marie travellers looking to secure day trips to Toronto, Ottawa, or difficult to reach northern destinations often faced extended travel times. When logging billable hours, those long waits and inconvenient travel routes could often add thousands of dollars to a company’s travel costs or a client’s bill. With Shaire, travellers have an option for quick, direct charter flights that overall wind up being more cost effective than traditional executive air travel.
“Let’s use Ottawa as an example,” said Biemann. “You could pay $700 to $800 for flights to Ottawa. If you put four people on a plane, that’s $3,200 plus five or six hours of travel time each that could be billable hours. For us, a trip to Ottawa is an hour and a half flight. There may be a similar cost for the flights, but you show up a few minutes before you want to leave. There’s no having to arrive hours early, no busy airports. No connections in Toronto. And you reduce the billable hours of those four people. Those savings add up pretty quick.”
Another advantage of flying Shaire is the reduced risk of exposure often associated with air travel, especially during a pandemic where many commuters were concerned about the health and safety of commercial flights.
“We didn’t plan for the whole Covid thing,” said Biemann. “It kind of came out of left field, but it works to our advantage. A lot of people have a big aversion to getting on a plane packed with people wearing masks, then all the potential transmission opportunities that exist in an airport terminal with 10,000 people an hour going through it. Flying Shaire addresses those fears. You go to a private airfield. You show up five minutes before your flight. You don’t have to interact with anyone else but the pilot or crew. It’s a very Covid-friendly way to travel.”
While travellers are able to charter the plane entirely for themselves, Shaire offers a unique cost-sharing service that puts empty seats up for sale. If the seats are filled, the person chartering the flight gets that money back from Shaire to reduce the cost of the charter.
Shaire Inc. is offering a variety of destination options for executive travellers as well as enhanced safety measures for individuals requiring private flights. For more information visit www.flyshaire.com.