Travel$ense User's Guide (PDF, 139 MB) - NBAA

TRAVEL$ENSEOPTIMIZATION OF PLANT LOCATIONS149While certain of the benefits derived from the use of business aircraft arerelatively straightforward and capable of easy quantification, there are otherbenefits that are not always obvious. One involves strategic considerationsinvolved in locating one or more plants.The availability and capability of business aircraft (particularly business jets andhigh-speed turboprops) enables astute corporations to position one or moreof their plants at an optimal location, a powerful option. This geographicpositioning can be used to take maximum advantage of a variety of businessconsiderations. These considerations include such strategic elements as:• better labor cost markets,• availability of inexpensive expansion property,• sites which will attract (or continue to retain) key executives andprofessionals because of a higher quality of life,• availability of more attractive tax benefits,• proximity to key suppliers,• better year-round weather for a particular type of operation,• easier, more timely and less costly centralized access to primary clients andcustomers,• availability of affordable employee housing.While the availability of airline scheduled service to and from such optimizedlocations may or may not be good, the availability of business aircraft allows thecorporation to take maximum strategic advantage of the above listed elements.Thus the subject corporation, large or small, is provided with a very powerfuland flexible option, precisely because of the availability of the company’s airfleet.Many owners of business aircraft are aware of this benefit at seniormanagement levels, but cost/benefit analyses may not give full consideration andweight to this strategic option when decisions are undertaken concerningbusiness fleet additions and/or upgrades.Unquantified BenefitsBusiness aircraft usage generates a number of unquantified benefits that mustbe assessed in any comparative travel valuation. While these often are difficultto explain to critics, users of business aircraft testify to the worth of thesebenefits. Even so, devoted users of business aircraft often are reluctant todiscuss openly the competitive advantages they receive because of anCopyright © 1999, National Business Aviation Association, Inc.