The better way to get there

Jay Rosenberg used to drive two to three hours from his home in Boyds, Md., to reach Nemacolin Woodlands Resort in Farmington, Pa. Now he gets there in 43 minutes.

Sitting behind the wheel of an SUV for hours is no longer necessary, as Nemacolin has teamed up with an airline that can get Rosenberg from Montgomery County Airpark to an airstrip directly behind the chateau on Nemacolin property in under an hour.

Since this summer, when the resort teamed up with Open Air, a time-efficient, luxury alternative to jet service, Nemacolin customers like Rosenberg have been able board what he described as “a Ferrari in the sky” — a Cirrus SR22-GTS plane — and avoid the hassles and duration of a commercial flight or a drive.

Nemacolin and Open Air now offer a two-day package that includes a round-trip flight between the Airpark to Nemacolin, a two-night stay in a luxurious room or townhouse, and spending money for amenities the resort offers.

Rosenberg said he has been using Open Air, a time-efficient, luxury alternative to jet service, for business trips that fall within a 500-mile radius of Montgomery County for some time, and said he was excited when Nemacolin teamed up with the airline.

 “Nemacolin is worth the drive, but if I don’t have to drive and can save four hours, I will gladly fly,” he said. “With Open Air, you can call a few hours before you want to fly, and there will be a plane waiting for you. If you are not ready when they are, the pilot will wait for you.”

Weekends are short, and because Nemacolin has so much to offer — 36 holes of golf for the guys, a recently renovated spa for the ladies and dozens of family-friendly activities and attractions, time is of utmost importance during a stay at the resort.

Rosenberg, an advertising executive, emphasized how precious time is during the work week, even mentioning that he works from home to save the 60 hours per month that he would use commuting for productivity.

Since his profession requires him to travel frequently within a 500-mile radius, Rosenberg said he uses Open Air frequently, stressing the convenience and practicality of an airline that caters to your personal time frame.

“If I have a meeting in North Carolina and it runs late, I cannot say, ‘Hey, I have to go — I am going to miss my plane.’ With a commercial airline, I would have to stay overnight and wait for the next available plane. That is time wasted.”

Not only is Open Air time-conscious, the state-of-the-art Cirrus planes are much more environmentally friendly than a much more expensive jet. “A jet burns as much fuel to start up and taxi down the runway as an Open Air plane takes to get from Montgomery County to New York.”

Rosenberg, whose wife “recycles every little piece of plastic,” said that he appreciated the “green” aspect of flying with Open Air, whose planes use only a reported 14 gallons per hour of flight time.

Being able to fly with such fuel-efficiency decreases costs. While an hour on an average private jet service will come with a fee of $3,000, Open Air offers one-hour flights for about 600 dollars.

Since the fee is for the whole plane, which seats four passengers, the price could come out to be less than $200 per person if a group of four booked the flight. A discount ticket booked on Orbitz for a commercial flight from Baltimore to New York this weekend would range from $278 to $421.

Not only has Open Air created the opportunity for advertisers like Rosenberg, attorneys with scattered regional offices, and politicians to get to and from appointments with ease and comfort, it has offered families the opportunity to get away and relax for a weekend.

Who wants to arrive at the airport two hours early, wade through security, and sit in front of a screaming baby when you can sit in a plane whose cabin that feels like a BMW? The biggest danger is that passengers will not want to leave the plane when it hits the tarmac.