The Greatest Financial Mistake: Wasted Time

As window of opportunity for everything we accomplish, time is invaluable
and should be carefully guarded. Benjamin Franklin once said, "Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of."

Since the mid-1970s, the American workforce increasingly works longer hours, spending more time in the office than ever before. “Wasted time” is something businesses cannot afford in today’s competitive marketplace and making the most of the time we have is not only important, but imperative.

According to a recent survey from the Travel Industry Association, American business people logged 207 million business trips a year, with an average round-trip distance of more than 1,000 miles and spending an average of about three and a half days away from the office per trip. Time management experts believe that one or two of these days were wasted traveling.

Time management is more than just managing time; it is managing our professional and personal schedules in relation to time. It is evaluating and setting priorities and taking charge of your schedule. It may require changing routines, habits or activities that typically result in wasted time as well as be willing to experiment with different approaches to find the best way to maximize the time you’ve got. After all, as Chicago Sun Times’ Columnist Terry Savage once commented, “time can make you money, but no amount of money can buy you time.”

US Helicopter believes they have the solution to this business travel conundrum. The company saw the business traveler waste up to two hours or more on the trip to the airport alone and they launched the only certified scheduled helicopter airline service in the United States. The service provides an eight-minute scheduled airport shuttle that reduces the airport commute time by a whopping 90 percent. The reduction in commute time allows business travelers to utilize otherwise dead-time and take advantage of another hour or two at the office or with clients – ultimately increasing the time available to generate revenue and profit.

“In business, time is money and an hour can make or break a deal,” notes Jerry Murphy, president and CEO of US Helicopter. “By drastically reducing the airport commute, business travelers are now able to make the most of their time at the office. With US Helicopter, they no longer face the uncertainty of how much time to allow for travel to and from the airport based on traffic grid-lock, congestion, construction and road closure.”

Business travel is on the rise as is cost of travel. According to the National Business Travel Association's 2006 Business Travel Overview and Cost Forecast, domestic airfares are expected to jump six percent this year, and car rental prices are predicted to rise five percent. At most global organizations, travel management plays a significant role in the overall financial picture. Monitoring and analyzing travel expenses are essential for managing and controlling costs.

The US Helicopter service decreases the time required to get to the airport and its ticket fares are comparable to the cost of a town car or limo. The benefit is two-fold: 1) you now have another hour or two of productive work at the office and 2) you maintain travel expenditures, which equals overall cost savings and that will make your back-office happy.

Stress is Bad for Business
A recent survey conducted by Microsoft found that 72 percent of business travelers said business travel was even more stressful than visiting the dentist. Ouch!

With more than 100 million passengers traveling through New York airports annually from all points around the globe, the mere thought of air travel can instill panic even in the strong willed.
Airports are already overcrowded and trends show that they won’t be getting any better. In fact, the Federal Aviation Administration predicts that by 2015, counts of passengers passing through United States airports will top one billion.

With stringent rules and regulations and thousands of travelers passing through airports everyday, even the most efficient processes take time and will still inevitably incite aggravation, and frustration. US Helicopter factored these challenges into their business mission with the goal of eliminating variables including elevating some of strain on the airport security lines. All US Helicopter passengers are screened by federally regulated TSA security at the heliport. Additionally, passengers traveling onward with partnering airlines may check bags and receive boarding passes to their final destination at the heliport, saving them from the hassle of the long lines at the airport.

Indeed, the service is designed to give back time to the time-sensitive business traveler who would traditionally spend upwards of two hours or more (each-way) traveling in a taxi, town car or limo.

These days, every supplier of travel services, from hotels to airlines to limo and car rental companies, is focused on providing the most innovative and technologically advanced services to its customer.

Unlike traditional traffic patterns, US Helicopter has established dedicated, non-interfering flight paths ensure reliable on-time departures and arrivals. The company also utilizes state-of-the-art Sikorsky S-76 twin engine helicopters staffed with two pilots for all flights and are configured for eight passengers.

US Helicopter can transform not only how you feel when you arrive at the airport, but also how you feel about flying.