Xanadu Dragon
01-22-2002, 12:41 PM
Allow me to offer a proactive :rip: to the first guy that goes down in one of these small planes. What a bad idea this is - - just my :2cents: - - it's only a matter of time until one of these goes down. Seems the smaller planes go down more often, no?
Wednesday, January 16
A-Rod's idea of luxury travel takes off
By Darren Rovell
ESPN.com
A year and a half ago, Alex Rodriguez and childhood friend Justin Firestone were riding around Seattle in a limo talking about their future. "The person that bridges the gap between the athletes and the aviation world is going to do really well," said Rodriguez, who a year earlier had become a client of a private jet company that shuttles wealthy individuals from city to city on short notice.
Five months later, Firestone went to work for that company, eBizJets, with the task of retaining athletes as clients. At the time, the premium-service charter company had only a dozen clients who were professional athletes, including Rodriguez and David Cone, but A-Rod predicted that Firestone could build the business quickly.
"I said he could get a couple hundred athletes," Rodriguez said. "With how it's going right now, they could have 500 athletes in five years."
Today, Firestone, the nephew of broadcaster Roy Firestone, manages a virtual monopoly of nearly 200 clients who play in Major League Baseball, the NBA, NFL and on professional tennis and golf circuits. Talk of the company is circulating quickly through the locker rooms. Clients include Shaquille O'Neal, tennis star Martina Hingis and All-Star baseball players Derek Jeter, Nomar Garciaparra and Greg Maddux. Rodriguez has received extra flying time since becoming an eBizJet endorser in December.
Clients pay $100,000 to open an account with the company, which has access to 1,400 private aircraft when the planes are not being used by their owners. Each flight costs between $1,800 to $4,350 an hour, which is deducted from the client's account.
"Aviation is a pretty expensive proposition," said Rodriguez, who looked into fractional ownership of a jet before settling on eBizJets. "This company was a no-brainer in that it was safe, provided me with a lot of flexibility and is the most economical. A lot of middle salary players can afford this."
Yankees pitcher Sterling Hitchcock and Dodgers pitcher Andy Ashby use the service despite earning less than a third of A-Rod's $21 million annual salary.
Athletes, who make up less than 25 percent of eBizJets' total business, like that the charter company guarantees a jet to the nearest airport anywhere in the world within five hours of their call. On July 19, the Texas Rangers had to stay in Baltimore all day, even though their game with the Orioles was canceled due to a derailed train fire near Camden Yards. Because the charter plane wouldn't be in until midnight, Rodriguez used eBizJets to shuttle several teammates back to Texas.
"I brought 13 guys on a Gulfstream V and we all got a great night of sleep," Rodriguez said. "Unfortunately, the rest of the team got in at 6 in the morning. It's really about buying time, because a jet can show up very quickly and it allows me to prolong my day."
Rodriguez also called eBizJets shortly after terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon forced the shutdown of air travel across the country. Five days after the events of Sept. 11, Rodriquez said he was able to get his his girlfriend out of the Dominican Republic, when the airlines told her she couldn't get back to the United States for another two weeks.
Two months ago, the company opened an office at the Santa Monica Airport in California, in part to accommodate the growth of their athlete clients. Due to increased fear of flying following Sept. 11, more athletes are signing up for the service.
"Especially now, if they use us, they don't want to worry about who is flying the plane, who is on the plane and who will mob them for autographs," Firestone said.
Wednesday, January 16
A-Rod's idea of luxury travel takes off
By Darren Rovell
ESPN.com
A year and a half ago, Alex Rodriguez and childhood friend Justin Firestone were riding around Seattle in a limo talking about their future. "The person that bridges the gap between the athletes and the aviation world is going to do really well," said Rodriguez, who a year earlier had become a client of a private jet company that shuttles wealthy individuals from city to city on short notice.
Five months later, Firestone went to work for that company, eBizJets, with the task of retaining athletes as clients. At the time, the premium-service charter company had only a dozen clients who were professional athletes, including Rodriguez and David Cone, but A-Rod predicted that Firestone could build the business quickly.
"I said he could get a couple hundred athletes," Rodriguez said. "With how it's going right now, they could have 500 athletes in five years."
Today, Firestone, the nephew of broadcaster Roy Firestone, manages a virtual monopoly of nearly 200 clients who play in Major League Baseball, the NBA, NFL and on professional tennis and golf circuits. Talk of the company is circulating quickly through the locker rooms. Clients include Shaquille O'Neal, tennis star Martina Hingis and All-Star baseball players Derek Jeter, Nomar Garciaparra and Greg Maddux. Rodriguez has received extra flying time since becoming an eBizJet endorser in December.
Clients pay $100,000 to open an account with the company, which has access to 1,400 private aircraft when the planes are not being used by their owners. Each flight costs between $1,800 to $4,350 an hour, which is deducted from the client's account.
"Aviation is a pretty expensive proposition," said Rodriguez, who looked into fractional ownership of a jet before settling on eBizJets. "This company was a no-brainer in that it was safe, provided me with a lot of flexibility and is the most economical. A lot of middle salary players can afford this."
Yankees pitcher Sterling Hitchcock and Dodgers pitcher Andy Ashby use the service despite earning less than a third of A-Rod's $21 million annual salary.
Athletes, who make up less than 25 percent of eBizJets' total business, like that the charter company guarantees a jet to the nearest airport anywhere in the world within five hours of their call. On July 19, the Texas Rangers had to stay in Baltimore all day, even though their game with the Orioles was canceled due to a derailed train fire near Camden Yards. Because the charter plane wouldn't be in until midnight, Rodriguez used eBizJets to shuttle several teammates back to Texas.
"I brought 13 guys on a Gulfstream V and we all got a great night of sleep," Rodriguez said. "Unfortunately, the rest of the team got in at 6 in the morning. It's really about buying time, because a jet can show up very quickly and it allows me to prolong my day."
Rodriguez also called eBizJets shortly after terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon forced the shutdown of air travel across the country. Five days after the events of Sept. 11, Rodriquez said he was able to get his his girlfriend out of the Dominican Republic, when the airlines told her she couldn't get back to the United States for another two weeks.
Two months ago, the company opened an office at the Santa Monica Airport in California, in part to accommodate the growth of their athlete clients. Due to increased fear of flying following Sept. 11, more athletes are signing up for the service.
"Especially now, if they use us, they don't want to worry about who is flying the plane, who is on the plane and who will mob them for autographs," Firestone said.