General aviation

In air travel, "general aviation" is a broad category that includes all civil aviation except scheduled airline service and paid cargo flights.

General aviation flying can be more flexible than commercial airlines, provide an astounding view, and are often the most practical way to reach next-to-impossible destinations.

Recreational flying, mapmaking, sightseeing, flight training, parachute jumping, agricultural crop dusting, policing, medical evacuation, firefighting, civilian search and rescue, wildlife research, news and traffic reporting all employ some form of general aviation. Mining, resource and offshore oil exploration firms rely on helicopters and light aircraft to reach remote points entirely inaccessible by road or rail travel. Hunting and fishing outfitters use small aircraft to go far off the beaten path; a few remote national parks are unreachable overland. A few niche applications (such as airlifting stray Manitoba polar bears out of Churchill village) might not be practical by any other method.

Even where alternatives exist, it can be the quickest way between two points that don't have a direct commercial airline service, or fast rail connection.

A light aircraft can use the same or less fuel as a normal passenger car over a similar distance. And it doesn't require asphalting or causing erosion for the entire distance from point A to point B. You don't have to think of a light aircraft as a poor environmental choice. An off-the-grid location may incur far less environmental impact from the occasional bush plane than from construction of a permanent road or rail connection through hundreds of miles of virgin wilderness. Of course, that is foremost about true light aircraft. If you're a CEO or a rock band looking at hiring your own Learjet or flying your own 747 then you have to do the calculation yourself – all bets are off.

Light aircraft and helicopters don't have a safety record that's up there with jet aircraft, but you can expect safety more or less on par with road travel over the same distance. It still pays to check the record and practices of who you're flying with. Statistically – as with traffic accidents – safety incidents are usually caused by the pilot rather than the aircraft. If you're flying with a private (non-commercial) pilot, you want to be sure that they have the experience and attitude that you're comfortable with.

Most large commercial airports have separate general aviation terminals from the main terminals, but due to airspace and runway congestion, it is more common for general aviation to use smaller airports that are separate from the main airport of a major city.

Common applications for general aviation in travel include:

• Sightseeing flights. Commercial organisations operating flights to give visitors a great view from above. These can be operated by either be fixed wing or Helicopters. Normally priced per person, but may need minimum volumes.
• Charter flights. Commercial point to point operations. You decide the route and time, and these operators will fly you there (usually for a fixed price per aircraft). At the low end, you can charter a two seater light aircraft and sit next to the pilot, or at the high end you can charter a jet that's out of the reach of most everyday travellers. Charter aircraft are also used by travel agencies for resort flights.
• Private aircraft are small planes owned and operated by individuals. You can rent aircraft from most mid-size regional airports, or you can own your own for touring. Or you can tag-along with a private pilot.

In addition to these, you may find yourself on a general aviation aircraft if your trip involves skydiving or other aerial sports, like aerobatics. Or, if you're flying to a remote location not serviced by regular passenger transit. Like a bush plane to the sparsely populated areas of Africa, Australia, northern Canada, the Alaskan bush and much of Central and South America. Or a resort shuttle to a coastal island. Or a transfer to an Antarctic base.

Air charter companies fly where you want them and the time you want them to. Usually there is no need to wait in line to board or go through security queues, unless seats on the chartered flight are being offered for public resale.

If you're paying the bills, you get to choose the aircraft that meets your requirements. As a general rule, the smaller and cheaper the aircraft you are chartering, the more likely it will be subject to delays due to weather.

Charter flights appeal to various groups:

• A single-entity charter is a private charter where one individual or company charters a plane and bears the entire cost of the flight. Most often, these will be booked by corporations looking to transport a group of their own workers or directors for business purposes.
• An affinity charter is a private charter where all passengers are affiliated with a specific business, group or organization, but each pays their own air fare. These flights may appeal to seniors' organisations or groups of sport or music fans looking to travel to a specific event. As with other private charters, none of the seats can be sold to members of the public.
• In a public charter, a tour operator rents an aircraft and sells seats to the public, directly or through travel agencies. These often operate seasonally (often to resorts), in competition with other discount airlines, or as part of package tours. Often these are no-frills transport to keep costs low; they are strictly regulated (in the USA, by the federal Department of Transportation) and subject to many of the same requirements as regular scheduled airline flights - including airport security measures on boarding the flight and legal responsibilities for the protection of the clients' money if the charter operator goes broke.

As with other general aviation flights, departures are often from secondary "reliever airports" or "executive airports" as the main airport for a large city is often filled to capacity with scheduled airline flights. The firms which supply the pilots and aircraft vary in size from small general aviation firms with one or two small planes to the same major lines which provide the mainline scheduled commercial airline service. Prices vary widely and travel arrangements may need to be made well in advance.

Occasionally, a group can get a better price if they are fortunate enough to spot an available empty leg charter flight where someone else has chartered an aircraft one-way from another city well in advance; space on the (otherwise unused) return, deadhead or repositioning flight (which returns the plane to its home base) may be had at a discount as the aircraft would otherwise fly empty. Finding empty legs usually takes a bit of planning and leaves less flexibility in choice of departure times, but a web search for "empty leg charter" will usually find multiple operators which list available city pairs and departure times online.

National aviation regulators enforce high standards for maintenance for charter flights. Pilot qualifications can vary dramatically between countries and areas, and your charter pilot may be a freshly minted pilot looking for a career in flying, or an experienced pilot happy to fly the local area.

If you hold a private pilots licence, then travelling at the controls of a small plane as a private pilot can be one of the most fulfilling travel experiences possible. You get to see the world from a perspective entirely different from the ground or from commercial aviation. Most parts of the world have some form of general aviation; in Western countries such as those in North America and Europe, small airports are everywhere. Costs are somewhat higher than commercial airline seats; travel time is less than by car but usually somewhat more than by airline. On the other hand, when the costs of operating a light plane are shared between the pilot and passengers, it can be a surprisingly economical way of getting around. Becoming a pilot can take a significant amount of time and money, but most will agree the rewards are outstanding; for most travel pilots the journey is the reward.

Over 80% of the world's registered private aircraft are in the U.S. Its network of airports, air traffic control, and freedom to fly (unrestricted airspace) mean that around 1% of the population are qualified pilots. There are active networks of pilots and aero-clubs in Canada, Australia and South Africa where private light aircraft are still an established method of travel for many to access destinations and routes not serviced by the airlines.

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