I would appreciate comments and suggestions on a new Web site: hanscomcharter.com. I won’t say too much about this except that it is for people who want to charter private jets out of Hanscom Field in Bedford, Massachusetts.
[p.s. Yes, I know that this is a pretty ill-time business venture. We ordered the jets a year ago when the world looked very different.]
You’ll probably want to replace the @gmail.com address with one that looks less… er…. fly-by-night (unless you actually do fly at night 🙂 ).
I’m no web-design expert, but there are far too many words on the front page, IMHO. It looks like a blog (wordy with too much detail?), but it’s not a blog. All that detail is good, but probably not so much in long paragraphs on the front page.
It also looks like you’ve abused absolute sizing in your stylesheet (e.g. things like font-size:11px;, and width:530px;). Web-page creators know neither the size of the viewer’s monitor nor the resolution of their screen, so absolute sizing can produce some really irritating-looking pages on screens of higher-than-average resolution. In my case, the font size is about three “clicks” too small and the layout looks scrunched up. I reloaded your front page locally after commenting-out every width: and font-size: tag in your stylesheet: the resulting page looked a lot better to me.
1. When I scroll down, the pattern on the sides of the layout Moire’s in an unpleasant way. MacBook Pro, all recent software. Just pick a nice medium gray instead.
2. A high-end site needs to have a photograph on the first page. Just take a picture of a Mustang and throw it up there.
3. I am not sure putting “easy to fly” as a list of qualifications for one of your planes makes sense. I want the professional pilots in my charter operation to be able to fly the planes. Period. I don’t care how easy they are.
4. It’s a little Web 1.0, but that’s probably okay for now. Ultimately you should have it be a little jazzier. AJAX for the forms, stuff like that. Flash. Swoop. Zoom. And, obviously, a mobile version of the site.
5. “You can be a active partner in safety by moving a flight a few hours toward better weather.” Remove. I don’t want any part in the safety decisions on any charter flight. If it is safe to make my requested schedule I expect the pilot to fly it. If it is not, I expect the pilot to make a suggestion about the schedule which will keep it safe.
6. “The price per occupied hour includes fuel (even if it goes up),” the fuel is going to go up? I think that’s called a misplaced modifier or something. I’m no English teacher, I just read.
7. “tax (a painful 7.5 percent)” If I can pay $25,000 to fly my family to the beach I am not pained by 7.5 percent. That almost sounds like political commentary.
8. Fully-justified paragraphs, especially in web browsers, make for some ugly single lines sometimes. Reconsider a ragged right margin.
9. You keep mentioning your mission coordinator and his Gmail address. Can you really not set up a contact form and an email address hanging off your domain? (Google can set up Google Apps for your entire domain. I think it might even be free.)
10. “In addition, we have selected a Director of Operations / Chief Pilot, and Head of Maintenance to serve as our management personnel.” Who are these people and what are their levels of experience?
– A bunch of your website copy appears to be directed more at pilots than passengers. Passengers don’t know what a 7000 foot runway with an ILS means. They do want to know things like “as large and as safe as many metropolitan airports, and you can still safely land and get home when the weather gets stormy”.
– You really don’t put much emphasis on the things which really attract folks to GA jets — the ability to fly on _your_ schedule, the ability to land close to where you need to be, and being able to pack more work into a single day.
– A mustang is somewhat small, cramped, and presumably noisy (if they are anything like an Eclipse or a Citation II). I’m assuming that with 4 seats it has a relief tube, and not a restroom. The luxury is not in the flight, it is in its value as a time machine.
– Don’t talk about how easy it is to fly to upstate New York, be specific.
Mustang Jet:
– time to drive to Hanscom from Cambridge: 20 minutes
– time to park, go through security and get on plane: 5 minutes (This is perhaps the BIGGEST obvious perk, next to “the plane leaves when you arrive, no sooner and no later.)
– time to reach airport in upstate NY: 1 hour 5 minutes
– time to drive from regional airport to customer: 20 minutes
Total time, door to door: 1hour 40 minutes
Variance: +/- 5 minutes
Airline:
– time to drive to Logan from Cambridge: 25 minutes
– time to park, go through security, and get on plane: 1 hour 30 minutes (minimum)
– time to fly to JFK: 1 hour
– time to rent car and drive from JFK to upstate NY: 2 hours
Total time, door to door: 4 hours 55 minutes
Variance: +/- 2 hours
– The low variance in schedule is also a major selling point — no need to build “airlines screwed up” fudge factor into schedules.
– Alternative: talk about how you can do a meeting in Harrisburg PA, Triangle Park NC, and Washington DC all in the same day. (Aka, be more concrete than “upstate NY”.)
– Another perk of private GA – you can talk business while on your flight. No need to worry about the competition listening in. This can increase your productivity.
– Does part 135 really restrict you to two-pilot operations? If not, single-pilot operations (which I think the Mustang is certified for) can be a perk for the privacy-conscious.
– Want to play up the environment? Flying a smaller jet like a Mustang someone can convince themselves that they are saving the environment compared to a larger Gulfstream or Citation. (Yeah, hard to play this card at all when flying a private jet, but perhaps you can work it in.)
– Another reason to charter a jet — to impress a partner or client. You make no mention of this. It is worth pointing out that your jets are _brand new_ and hence much fancier looking and shinier than the older jets flown by many charter companies. Presumably you also have the latest avionics, which means your pilots may be able to land in weather conditions which would turn away other planes. (Is the Mustang certified for a zero-zero landing?)
– Personalized service. Private charters live or die on their service — you may as well hype up how friendly and professional the pilots you are hiring are, and how Kasim is happy to arrange your travel needs 24 hours a day as your business needs change.
– Moving stuff: sometimes you need to not move people, but stuff. Can you fly a prototype somewhere on short notice? Deliver a document to a government agency before they close? Transport an executive with their leg in a cast without making them break their leg again?
– What value do you give over full ownership? A 20-year-old Citation II without a pilot can be run for <$1500/hr (including fuel and repair costs). You may as well point out all the time you save on scheduling maintenance, unexpected (very high) repair costs, finding and hiring pilots, etc.
– a photo of the plane, pilots or FBO facilities would make the web site more appealing
The site is decent but it lacks any personality whatsoever. It should have a number of photos of the planes, of the pilots, of Hanscom, etc. It’s hard to trust such a business unless you have a personal connection with your customers. Photos should reinforce the professional nature of the service.
I’ll third the comments about the site looking very bloggy and desperately needing some photos. Right now, it looks it was written in 15 minutes using one of the default templates on WordPress.com, and that’s not really the impression you want to give to people looking to plunk down thousands on jet charter.
I kind of like the web 1.0 aspect of it. Simple and to the point.
The blue column on the right seems pointless though. I assume it’s some vestige of WordPress. Why not remove it and spread the content out. If you do that and increase the font size you’ll have a pretty user-friendly site.
A few pictures thrown about would add a little color and some visual interest. But overall, it’s not bad.
Phil,
The fonts don’t seem to show up properly on my MacBook Pro. Maybe it’s the Mac’s fault, but lots of people use them, so…might want to fix it.
I was somewhat surprised and disappointed you didn’t do your usual basic text-links-pictures. Works on any browser, not confusing, pleasant enough to look at. Or go for a real commercial-looking website, you seem to have made a google-sites type page or something made for a blog. Worst of both worlds.
Also, if this is directed at consumers, I would avoid techno-jargon (and yes, it is for us) about runways, as well as info about fuel prices and taxes and so forth.
I would especially avoid the annoying (to me) lines like “landing fees, and federal excise tax (a painful 7.5 percent)”. I don’t care that you think it’s “painful.”
Or “Are fractional ownership programs cheaper? Maybe. If you can figure out the actual cost, you’re smarter than we are.” Sounds pompous and sarcastic. Like the tech support guy in the SNL sketches. Best to avoid it.
Maybe I’m looking at this from the wrong angle (a non-pilot customer),but I just think you should change the tone from your usual writing style, which works great in blogs and in articles, but not when you’re trying to attract paying customers. My thought upon reading this would be “If you’re like this on the website, how obnoxious are you in real life?”
Biggest business issue for you is that you need to think about keywords for the site.
For examaple, you don’t have Boston anywhere (almost) on the site and especially on the home page.
No one is going to search for Bedford Charter Flights.
Google what I think your primary key words are: “Boston private charter flight” and see what sites come up on the first page. Learn from that. Think of other terms your customers will search on.
Ignore the comment that says there are too many words on the front page, just make them extremely search and customer-want relevant. Search engines only (mostly) see, and index on, text and alt tags.
Chris C had some good points about how the copy needs to add more about benefits to the user versus technical features. Who is your buyer? Talk to them directly about the benefits to them and how they will feel, in words they will relate to. This will help your keywords list.
Definitely need photos. Need to make it real, see the planes, interiors, etc.
Need more info about the people and pilots involved to add credibility to the operation.
Ignore any comments about the design, css, don’t waste time on that, it is adequate. Unless the site breaks on some browsers, which it shouldn’t since it is wordpress.
Think about how to differentiate yourself:
We are the safest because all our planes are brand new,
We are the most convenient since we are MIT brainiacs and have thought of everything to do with process.
We are eco friendly since we buy carbon credits,
We have the best pilots because….etc.
Pick ONE and have that be your brand message and differentiator. Right now you are generic and will tend toward commanding commodity pricing-not good. Of course the best way to get this is to actually talk to customers and ask them direct questions like: What is your idea of a perfect charter company? What could we do that you would have to charter with us? How do you decide on who to charter with?
No one ever wants to actually ask customers and actually listen, but it is the easiest, most effective business practice.
…and put up good testimonials on the front page side column and all other pages.
… and on top of the testimonials on every side bar, there should be a book now button/ contact us now button or contact info box, whatever your sales process is.
the whole point of the site is to get the person to contact your salesperson. That is the call to action you want every page to have.
You definitely need some photos, and I agree with a number of the comments listed above (specifically photos, very specific scenario situation, changing the e-mail address away from Gmail, and too much text on the opening page). I also agree that the web 1.0 aspect is just fine. You might want to add some “geekiness” for those so inclined. A QTVR or video of the interior of the jets might also be nice. I find saying “four big business guys” to be a little insulting — not all business people are larger-than-average or male. Why not simply say that “four adults” or “larger adults” may be cramped in a long flight?
Have you involved a rating agency (ARG/US etc. http://www.aviationresearch.com/) at this point? If you are building a certificate from the ground up it is easier to obtain a platinum rating if you get input up-front. If so, you should definitely highlight this.
Buying a fleet of brand new jets for an on-demand 135 operation? Clearly start up capitol is not an issue, unless you have an in with the FSDO, you might want to consider purchasing an existing 135 certificate instead of re-inventing the wheel.
One benefit to the simple layout of this web site: it rendered just fine on my Android phone, and was quite easy to read there (unlike sites which load up on fancy menu hackery or flash and java menu systems).
Too many words. Show with pictures, don’t just tell. Have the words somewhere for the detail, but the main pages that customers will see should be less “NYT” and more “USA Today”. But avoid flash, and any javascript that is for show and doesn’t contribute to the website or the website user’s experience.
It reminds me of what one friend said when I showed her a website I’d made, “It looks like it was made by an engineer”.
The “More nights at home” section on the index page might be a map with a timeline perhaps. (And, in any case, that section’s main para should probably be broken at “With charter, you eat breakfast…”)
And, get a potential customer and walk through the site with them. See what they’re looking for and where they’re looking for it and provide that in your design.
There’s a guy who’s got good experience in business websites in your area.. Some one with the name P. Greenspun – he’s got a lot of good advice!
As you know, many charter companies nickel and dime their customers to death.
From a customer point of view I think it might help if your example trip prices on the home page explicitly stated that there were no other hidden fees, such as per diem for the pilots or overnight charges for the jet.
Users might not click over to your pricing page.
I find the pages pretty 1999-ish, but I’m a software developer so my opinions on aesthetics are pretty much worthless.
Good luck with your 135 certificate, I know that’s a very non-trivial challenge.
Things that I think are missing;
How to get to the airport
places you fly to, and approximate time to do so.
Photos of the planes, and helicopters, inside and out.
Hi Phil,
3 comments:
1) Pictures pictures pictures: of people, planes, beautiful places including airports, luxury airport lounges, martha’s vineyard etc.
2) The text is too techy, more oriented towards pilots than paying passengers. E.g. Airplanes–> Safety section would more scare a passenger out than reassure him. USe something like: private jets are flown by professional pilots with same training, equipment/engines etc. are as safe as those of airliners etc…
3)Bios of people involved in the venture (especially if they come with long aviation histories) will go a long way in reassuring folks.
4) The overall layout feels too dense and texty.
5) The content on home page detailing benefits and prices for sample trips is good.
Best of luck with the venture. You know what the say about aviation… “How does one become a millionaire in aviation? You start by being a billionaire 🙂 ”
Really, good luck. Hope you have fun with the venture if not make more money!
-Ritesh
I’ve to admit I come to liking your pages. They are usually slim and not full of nasty suprises like flash and the like. The layout is usually find. I may have to agree with a few posters before. People want to go of safely and come back safe also. Most do not look for technisal stuff like ILS, I doubt anyone not having to do with planes will not have an idea what it means.
Anyway a few more elaborated calculations on prices and schedules would probably be fine.
Regards
Friedrich
Hi Phil,
here are some examples…
http://www.europ-star.com/
http://www.europ-star.com/
http://www.amiraair.at/
Greets from AT,
Patrick