Private Aircraft Cabins: An Extension of Your Home

One of the biggest reasons people make the jump into private jet ownership is the difference in comfort between commercial and private flights. Once you’ve flown on a private jet, it makes it that much harder to squeeze into coach between two folks that may or not decide to fall asleep on your shoulder. So, what exactly is it that makes a private jet more comfortable than a commercial airliner?

 

Cabin Size and Layout

One of the biggest advantages of flying privately is simply personal space. There’s nothing more awkward than trying to silently decide which of you gets the armrest on commercial flights. Falcons and Challengers are known for their super wide cabins, offering right around eight feet of cabin width. Cabin height isn’t as important, unless you plan on walking up and down the aisle often throughout the flight. Obviously, large jets will have the largest cabins, but there are some smaller jets that do a great job of taking advantage of limited space.

 


Cabin Lighting

This applies to both interior electric lighting and natural lighting. Modern cabin entertainment systems and LED lighting systems allow you to control ambiance and lighting from your smartphone, which can be very convenient. However, if you’ve ever been stuck in a job with some less-than-ideal office space, you know how important natural lighting can be, regardless of how much control you have over the interior lighting. Make sure the window situation fits your needs. If you plan on spending a lot of time in the galley, you may want to check out the newest Gulfstream G500, G600, G650 and G650ER models, as they now offer natural lighting in the galley by building around Gulfstream’s signature oval windows, as opposed to the typical galley wall that covers windows.

 

Galley Amenities

The importance of an aircraft’s galley and its amenities is directly related to the range of the aircraft. The longer you’re in the air, the more food and drink you’ll need. If you’re a caffeine addict, a coffee maker is of the utmost importance. Does the aircraft have a refrigerator, an oven or a microwave? If not, make sure you and your passengers eat before your flight, or people will start to get hangry (everyone knows someone who epitomizes the combination of hungry and angry). Storage space is important, as well, and becomes more important as the number of passengers increases. The more passengers on board, the more food, drinks and tableware you’ll need. For a more in-depth description of what to look for in a galley, check out our blog post on the subject.

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Wi-Fi 

In today’s world, not having Internet access for a few hours can affect your business (or social life, if you’re a teenage passenger). In many industries, clients need information at the drop of a hat. With in-flight Wi-Fi, you can continue to work (or play) from the cabin of your plane. However, it isn’t as simple, or as cheap, as setting up a router in your home. Obviously, the cost increases relative to your Wi-Fi system’s capabilities. Gogo Biz is the biggest player in the U.S. private aviation Wi-Fi game, offering users four different options:

  • ATG 1000
    The ATG 1000 is the most basic of in-flight Wi-Fi systems, allowing passengers to send and receive emails, send text messages and make calls from a mobile phone.
  • ATG 2000
    The ATG 2000 is the next step up, offering email capabilities, calling, texting and web browsing.
  • ATG 4000
    Yet another step up that includes all of the above capabilities, but also gives passengers the ability to download files in-flight.
  • ATG 5000
    ATG 5000 is the most expensive and most robust Wi-Fi system that Gogo Biz offers for private aviators, providing the most bandwidth with the ability to surf the Internet and talk on the phone simultaneously.

Cabin Management Systems

A sophisticated cabin management system can make you feel like you’re flying in your own media room. Today’s cabin entertainment systems control almost every aspect of your cabin experience, including LED cabin lighting, cabin temperature, music, movies, live television, flight maps and more. Many of the newer systems even let you control these things from your smartphone. To read more about the latest cabin management systems, take a look at our blog.

 

In order to make your aircraft’s cabin feel like an extension of your home, all of these things should be taken into consideration. Depending on your mission, some may be more important to you than others. If you’re usually taking short trips, and you won’t need to talk business during your flights, you may want to forget the Wi-Fi and put that money into an interior refurbishment. Are your flights all work and no play? The money it takes to get the most advanced cabin entertainment system may be better spent elsewhere. When it comes down to it, just about any private aircraft cabin experience is better than squeezing in between the people requiring seatbelt extenders during your commercial flight.

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