What is CSI Aviation? Welcome to today’s review in which we shall be going through what this company has to offer. Most of us are used to seeing or thinking about the term CSI when it’s used in reference to “Crime Scene Investigators”, which makes today’s review even more interesting because we shall find out whether CSI aviation has anything to do with crime scene investigation. If not, we shall then find out whether what it has to offer to us is worth the salt. Read on to discover what’s in store for you.
Company: CSI Aviation
Website: https://www.csiaviation.com/
Years in business: 41
Wide variety of aircraft: Yes
Overall rating: (4.2 / 5)
P.S.
See my #1 recommended private jet company on this page
What is CSI Aviation?
CSI Aviation exists as one seasoned air transportation and air charter firm that came to birth back in 1979. It is, without a doubt, one of the oldest firms in this industry. Since its establishment, this company has been offering passenger charter, air cargo, and medical flight services. Beyond making mobility for a wide variety of customers a reality, CSI Aviation also offers its very unique aviation program management. This service caters to the needs of firms that own large aircraft operating under Part 121, air ambulance companies, as well as aviation logistics firms.
The company takes pride in supporting aviation requirements worldwide through the construction and management of rather complex aviation operations. This is made possible, largely because it’s a holder of an FAA Part 135 Air Carrier Certificate that grants its worldwide operating authority. Not forgetting that it has a well-established network of qualified and thoroughly screened partners who offer flight and support services from different corners of the world.
Much of what you’d expect from CSI Aviation is the result of its refined experience that has taken more than 4 decades to define. Later on in this review, we shall find out whether all this experience is making a difference in the mode of customer service delivery, or it is simply another hype to get you to believe that it’s a legit and reliable company.
Do they have a wide variety of aircraft?
I looked at the range of aircraft offered by this company, and I must say I was impressed, in the least. CSI Aviation’s experience in the aviation industry enables it to serve customers who need aircraft that can travel globally. It can, as such, offer on-demand air transportation services by arranging for aircraft in one of the following categories:
- Executive aircraft
- Commercial aircraft
- Cargo aircraft
- Helicopters
All the aircraft in these categories come with a wide variety of performance capabilities, as CSI Aviation claims. Let’s have a look at some examples you can find under each category:
Executive Aircraft
- Turboprop Aircraft – carries up to 30 passengers, the range is 1,000 to 1,950 miles.
- Small and Midsize Jet Aircraft –carry up to 9 passengers, the range is 1,000 to 2,500 miles.
- Large Jet Aircraft- carry up to 30 passengers, the range is 2,500 to 4,000 miles.
- Air Ambulance Aircraft – carry 1-2 patients (and 2 family members), the range is 4,000 miles.
Commercial Aircraft
- Dornier 328- carry up to 30 passengers
- Regional Jets –carry 50 to 70 passengers
- Narrow Body Jet Aircraft – carry 140 to 270 passengers
- Wide Body Jet Aircraft – carry 270 to 400 passengers
- First Class/ VIP Aircraft – number of seats differ.
Cargo aircraft
- Small cargo aircraft – carry up to 3190 lbs., the volume of up to 350 cu ft.
- Medium Cargo Aircraft – carry up to 125,000 lbs., the volume of up to 14,000 cu ft.
- Large Cargo Aircraft – carry up to 245,000 lbs., the volume of up to 22,000 cu ft.
Helicopters
The helicopters offered by this company vary in size and can be used for different purposes, including:
- Emergency evacuations
- Site inspections
- Transportation to off-shore facilities
- Cargo airlifts
- Special events and aerial photography
Do they have a wide variety of pricing options for different budgets?
Generally, not much is known of this company’s pricing model. This could largely be as a result of the fact that its services vary quite significantly. To know whether this company’s pricing is compatible with your budget, you can contact them using the phone number on the official website or simply fill in a form to request a quote. On the form, you’ll be required to provide the following details:
- Name
- Email address
- Pick up location
- Destination location
- Any additional information to help with the determination of the most accurate price.
Upon filling in the form, the support staff at CSI Aviation will get back to you with a custom-tailored quote, after which you decide whether or not to utilize its services.
Does CSI Aviation offer Flight sharing services?
Flight sharing services are meant to make private air charter services affordable for those who’d otherwise not be in a position to charter an entire aircraft. With such a service, everyone who boards the aircraft can meet the cost per seat for the entire trip. This is commonly seen in empty legs flights or return leg flights. CSI Aviation hasn’t indicated that it offers flight-sharing services on its website, but it offers air charter services that you can utilize as a group. It is hard to tell whether every customer has to pay for their seat. To get a more definitive response, you should contact their support staff to see whether they’ll allow you to pay for your seat individually as your colleagues do the same. That said, however, it doesn’t offer the very popular empty legs service, which should help you save up to 40% of your travel costs per trip.
Does CSI Aviation accept Bitcoin Payments?
Unfortunately, this company is yet to catch up with the trend that has become quite popular in the private air charter (and air transportation) industry- the acceptance of Bitcoin payments. This is a major downside since a significant number of customers have reaped the benefits of privacy that comes from paying for their trips in Bitcoin. I hope the senior level management staff at CSI Aviation are seriously considering adding Bitcoin payments into their list of acceptable payments, for the sake of those who want to travel without having to risk their financial details falling in the wrong hands.
P.S: Hackers do not spare private air travel companies. You can read about this EasyJet data breach in which credit card details of more than 9 million customers were affected in a successful highly sophisticated cyber-attack. This is why I highly recommend switching to Bitcoin payments whenever possible, moreso when using other conventional payment methods would expose you to huge losses in the event of the theft of your confidential details (such as PINS, passwords, etc.)
Membership options?
There are currently no membership options to choose from with CSI aviation. Again, this may be a deal-breaker for some customers who are big on membership programs and jet card programs, more so those who are frequent travelers. With such programs, customers can lock in price rates for up to 1 year. This can come in as such a perfect money-saving option, more so when there are huge price fluctuations. On the other hand, if you travel less frequently, then having a jet card or participating in a membership program may have zero benefits.
Depending on what you’re looking for, therefore, CSI’s lack of a membership program may have no impact on your decision-making process, or maybe the ultimate deal-breaker.
The quality of the support?
CSI Aviation’s support is actually very excellent. Being a company that’s heavily invested in offering emergency evacuation and medical flight services, it would be quite unfortunate if its support staff were not quick to respond to your requests. Good, this is that beyond having an active telephone number, CSI Aviation also has very active social media profiles (one of the most active ones in this industry, in my opinion), which you can also turn to if you want to enquire about something (perhaps not a medical request, since that would mostly be an emergency that would warrant a phone call). You can have a look at how frequently they’re posting content on platforms such as Facebook, and responding to the comments made by the audience.
In what countries are their service available?
Currently, this company’s head offices are at Rio Grande BLVD, New Mexico, in the U.S. It, however, enables its customers to access different global destinations with its long-range aircraft.
CSI Aviation Reviews (What their customers say)
A brief look at customer reviews can give you the general feel of what other customers have and are experiencing with a particular company. What, therefore, are customers saying about CSI Aviation’s services? I went through several consumer trust sites, combing for customer feedback, and found some convincing evidence that CSI Aviation is indeed one that can be trusted. Let’s have a look at what the reviews on Facebook look like.
Rating: (4.2 / 5) (out of 5 customer reviews) click here for details (opens in new window)
The reviews on Facebook paint the picture of a very consumer-centric and reliable firm. There’s one review that caught my eyes and appealed to me, which I will present to you right away:
“Thank you so much for transporting my nephew yesterday to PolyTrauma in Minneapolis. My family cannot thank you enough. We have been dealing with so much and you made it possible for him to get to the care he needs. The Hoffer Family.”
Such is genuine feedback that builds our faith in this company, for having the ability to deliver reliable medical services. Overall, I’d say that CSI Aviation is performing well so far, and is one that you can turn to if you find that it offers services that would interest you.
**You might also want to look at the company I have given the highest rating on this page instead
PROs & CONs
As we get closer to the end of this review, we can now summarize the strengths and drawbacks of CSI Aviation. Here are some that you shouldn’t forget:
Pros
- Genuine
- Excellent customer support
- Offers reliable medical flight services
- Wide range of aircraft
Cons
- They don’t accept Bitcoin
- Does not offer flight-sharing services
- No membership options/jet card program offered
Do You Own or Represent CSI Aviation?
If you are a representative, or associate of CSI Aviation and have found something that isn’t accurate in today’s review please, feel free to reach out to me and I will update the information on this post. You can do this by leaving your feedback in the comments section below or simply by sending me an e-mail to contact@goldretired.com.
Final words and verdict
Verdict: Legit!
Overall rating: (4.2 / 5)
CSI Aviation is definitely one of the most reliable firms in the air transportation industry. From the look of things, this company’s good reputation has much to do with the excellent performance in the delivery of medical flight services. Not to say that it’s not performing well with the delivery of the other services, but it has definitely received a great deal of attention from the world for shinning for collaborating with the medics to transport patients safely. If you’re currently simply looking for a company to help you and your family members or colleagues travel to a given destination, you might want to have a look at what this recommended alternative has to offer.
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That’s all for this review on what CSI Aviation is all about. I hope it was helpful, and that the information presented in here will help you decide on whether to turn to it for its services. Don’t forget to check out the recommended alternative to see if you’ll get a better deal for the service you want to be delivered.
I wish you well,
Eric, Investor and Team Member at Gold Retired!