Duke787

Are us mere mortals allowed to put a motion on the table for TalkBoard to consider? I feel as if we've reached the point where we have a couple potential titles and a demonstrated interest that warrants TB voting on it (note I've never been vocal in or spent much time in the politics of FT so I'm not sure of the actual process here so feel free to admonish me if I'm posting out of turn).

If my posting is kosher and everything can I put forward two motions forward for TB to consider (with the hope that 1 of 2 will be adopted)?

1) Creation of a "General Aviation forum"

2) Creation of a "General Aviation, Private Jets and other Non-Airline Aviation forum"

I'll leave it to our esteemed electorate to decide but I think either one would be a great addition to the FT family and would fulfill an existing gap on FT

jackal

Only TalkBoard members can make (and second) a motion, and only TalkBoard members can then vote on the motion, but we do take into account all feedback here before making any motions.

Eastbay1K

Yes, but some feedback goes into a higher interest-earning account than other feedback

jackal

I prefer to think of feedback in terms of "high quality" feedback and, well, "other" feedback.

Though I do unashamedly accept any and all bribes...

helvetic

I would be very interested in a Private / Alternative Air Travel forum. I feel like there's enough content to warrant it. (surely there'd be more chatter than on the "Ride Services" forum)

Personally—I keep a pretty regular eye on JetSuites SuiteDeals and am interested in all things private.

SkiAdcock

We started to discuss this previously in the private forum. I've bumped up the thread there for further discussion since there is interest in this as a new forum.

Cheers.

Canarsie

As for the name of this proposed forum, how about something short and simple — such as Other Air Travel, with a more precise description of the forum to be crafted as an explanation?

wonderbret

While I think the title should be shorter rather than longer, I think the term "Private" should probably be in the title for eyeball-catching purposes. A brief conversation with some coworkers seemed to indicate that is the term they always search for when looking for information, unless it is a specific search for a single service (NetJets/Sentient/JetSuite). Something like "Private & General Aviation". I feel like with that title, non-airline is assumed and most people don't want to have a 14 CFR Part 121 discussion of terms.
I personally think I would use the forum frequently for a couple of reasons. Besides a huge interest in private travel, I'm 2 days out from my PPL check-ride (leisure purposes only, no desire to pilot commercially) and have met/spoken with other FlyerTalkers who are either pilots or student pilots. It would be nice to bring some of those discussions here if possible. I'm also happy to contribute to the FBO/flight schools discussion if that area is still on the table.

JDiver

"Eyeball" is good, because we use the "Mark I Eyeball" (as we pilots say), and search engine optimization as well. Because many use search engines and happen upon FlyerTalk when seeking information, even some thread topics call for careful topic name / title crafting.

(Moderators were briefed on that topic by Internet Brands Admin and Tech staff at our last training gathering.)

SkiAdcock

We're working on this in the private forum. Hope to have an update or motion soon.

Cheers.

SkiAdcock

I haven't made a motion yet, but am thinking of this for title/forum description. Thoughts?

Forum title: Other Air Travel including Private & Non-Airline Aviation
Forum description: General Aviation, Private Jets, and other Non-Airline Aviation

Cheers.

jackal

Better than "Alternate Air Travel," IMHO, though I'm still personally a fan of the proposal made by CMK10 upthread ("General Aviation, Private Jets and other Non-Airline Aviation").

MSPeconomist

What about charter flights of various types? Military, organized by isolated resort hotels, etc. The latter are very similar to private/general aviation, but technically I don't think they're included.

JDiver

TalkBoard will ultimately decide on scope. The spectrum itself is quite wide.

As you point out, there are even Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC) and military charter flights various FT members can take advantage of of - certain veterans, military members, etc. Group, casino and event flights. Regularly chartered to dive resorts, like Wakatobi, Indonesia, or charter flights for wildlife observation, such as to Churchill on Hudson's Bay to observe Polar Bears. Charters by National Geographic that cost upward of iirc $70,000 to travel to specific destinations on round the world trips (a friend is an expedition leader on one of these right now).

MSPeconomist

I'm aware that TB in principle decides on the scope of the new forum in the motion recommending it. However, since there was a tentative proposal here, I decided to post my reaction here rather than in the private TB thread.

There have also been some luxury RTW charters, with brief stops at luxury hotels. In the past there were Antarctica flights operated by NZ that IIRC were charter.