|
Next best to your own jet?
|
 |
September 9, 1997: 11:31 a.m. ET
Jet Solutions provides 'fractional ownership' to business people
From Correspondent Stuart Varney
|
NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Sexy, sleek and stylish, private planes are a hot item again -- and this time they are not only for the rich, famous and powerful.
Sales of these aircraft sales grew 35 percent in 1996, in part due to a new hot trend called "fractional jet ownership," a kind of time-sharing system for the airplane market.
The concept was developed about three years ago by Canadian aerospace giant Bombardier, and it's American counterpart, AMR Combs.
"We felt that there was a real niche in the market place between owning your own aircraft and chartering opportunity," said Michael Graff, president of Bombardier Business Aircraft. "And that is if you could buy a piece of an airplane, like a time share concept, it would really lower the cost dramatically of purchasing the aircraft."
Bombardier and AMR Combs founded Jet Solutions, a company providing what it calls "FlexJet" programs. Companies or individuals purchase a minimum of 100 hours a year on one or more planes, from the smaller Learjet to the transatlantic Challenger. That corresponds to a 1/8 ownership.
In return, Jet Solutions guarantees aircraft availability year-round, 24 hours a day on as little as four hours advance notice.
While the "FlexJet" owner pays about $1,500 a flight hour for a midsize Learjet and a monthly management fee, Jet Solutions oversees all aspects of aircraft operations.
"We take away all of the headaches ….We provide a turn-key service, which includes scheduling of airplanes, maintenance of the airplanes, recruiting, training and retraining the pilots," said Robert Gillespie, president of Jet Solutions.(QuickTime movie 2MB)
Flexibility is a big selling point since these smaller jets have access to more than 5,000 airports in North America. Commercial airlines serve only 500 destinations. You may visit as many cities as you like on any given day, and if your itinerary changes, Jet Solutions will adjust its schedule as well.
Charlie Eitel, the president of Interface Corporation, a billion-dollar manufacturing company, was one of Jet Solutions' first customers.
"What attracted us to Jet Solutions … was the fact that if we had enough ownership we could use more than one plane at a time," he said. "In fact, we could use as many as three airplanes.
More than 150 owners have signed up with Jet Solutions, and 80 percent are businesses. The company has grown at a rate of 50 percent a year, with projected revenues of nearly $300 million in 1997. With 150 pilots on staff, the company will have 40 jets in operation by the end of the year.
"The whole aviation industry right now is doing very well," said Dennis Keith, vice president of marketing and sales for Jet Solutions. "All the manufacturers are on backlog for orders, and fractional ownership has opened a whole new market."
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
