Tens of thousands of fans are heading to the Greatest Show on Grass this week.
Of course, we’re talking about the Waste Management Phoenix Open in Scottsdale. Along with that huge party come plenty of celebs and big wigs who fly in luxury.
Forget commercial flights! Deep pocket clients are heading to the Valley in multimillion-dollar jets.
“People want to come here,” said Ken Casey of Pinnacle Aviation. “We see our traffic increase in the winter time. This is obviously the prime-time place to be.”
Casey gave us an exclusive tour through a 2017 Challenger 350, made by Bombardier. It’s considered a super midsize jet.
“Full restroom, full kitchen, they can heat meals in flight,” he said. “Store things in cold storage.”
Casey showed us the fully adjustable passenger seats and the fancy foldout tables.
“It’s not all movie stars flying in private jets, it’s not all the fat cats, does that happen, yes… it’s a very small percent of it,” Casey said.
Casey said a lot of their clients primarily use their jets as business tools.
For people who have the money to travel like this, one of the major benefits is showing up and leaving when you want to.
“It doesn’t take very long to fire everything up…a new generation cockpit of this makes everything easier, makes their job easier for better situational weather avoidance, better terrain avoidance,” he said.
The technology in the cockpit equates to a smoother flight for people sitting in the back.
“When these airplanes are ready to go, you don’t have to clear security, they go when you want to, and they also go to the locations quicker,” Casey said. “You get spoiled on these and then you go to fly the airlines, you realize what a great perk it is… it’s just the way to go.”
Casey says it is a luxury and it is a perk, but it’s also a necessity for a lot of companies and individuals to do business.
“A lot of these companies, they couldn’t operate without these airplanes,” he said. “I mean some of them think of it almost truly as their pickup truck.”
Peak season for private jets at Scottsdale Airport is right now through the beginning of April.
By the way, if you're looking to purchase a jet like this, the price tag is a cool $24 million.