Usually when this time of year comes around, it’s easy to look back on the year and conjure up a list of wonderful things that have happened in our lives that fill us with gratitude. This year, it’s not that easy.
For many of us, our list of what went wrong in 2020 is much longer than the list of what went well. Some of us have lost family members, our jobs, and even our business. The losses were real and our hearts go out to all who have suffered because of this relentless pandemic. Like so many fellow business owners and aviation operators, we at RAI Jets suffered with the economic effects of a country in lockdown, accepted what help the government provided, and kept faith that the services we were providing would remain valuable in the wake of uncertain events.
But all in all, we were among the lucky ones. We can look back at 2020 not with self-pity and anger, but with gratitude. After all, we are still here, in business, with a full staff and our main assets intact. This year, as we mourn the losses of 2020, we are also staying consciously grateful not only for our good friends, loving family, and our health, but also the circumstances of our industry and our dedicated customers that leave us genuinely thankful on a daily basis.
So this Thanksgiving we are counting our blessings….
We had a business that was still able to operate during COVID-19. We had restrictions to follow landing at certain airports and had to be ever vigilant of changing CDC regulations (still do!) but we were never denied the ability to operate. So thankful for that.
We were able to quickly mitigate any COVID-19 concerns with a decontamination protocol. We had always kept our aircraft clean, but we were relieved and grateful to be able to further safeguard our customers with MicroShield 360™, the first EPA and FDA-approved antimicrobial coating for all the surfaces in our jets.
We were able to transport immunocompromised and/or older folks more safely to their loved ones. Last spring, we received many calls from concerned family members, wanting to get their snowbird parents safely home. We were grateful to spare them the pitfalls of flying commercial.
We welcomed aboard new flyers who decided to give jet charter a try. COVID-19 provided an opportune time to change routine, so people considered alternative forms of travel…like jet charter. We are grateful for these new customers.
FET tax savings. We are grateful that the federal CARES act has suspended the federal excise tax for Part 135 operators like RAI Jets for flights through January 1, 2021. It means our customers can purchase flights now and reap considerable savings per flight, even if they schedule travel past January 1, 2021. It’s a small beam of light in an economically dim time.
And our gratitude abounds among our staff too. Press play to find out what they have to say about their gratitude in the time of COVID…
Finally, THANK YOU to all of our supporters, followers, and those who have flown with us. You have helped us get through this hard time and I hope somehow we have helped you too.
We wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving 2020 from RAI Jets!