Australian Jet Management is in discussions with Boeing and Gulfstream about acquiring Boeing Business Jets and Gulfstream G500s and G550s for a new corporate aircraft syndication programme for the Australian market.
Traditional fractional ownership schemes have failed to take off in Australia due to negative perceptions of corporate excess coupled with financial and taxation issues.
The Astra Jetshare syndication scheme is the Australian version of fractional ownership, says Glen Conrad, chief executive of the Sydney-based operation. Corporate aircraft are syndicated or time- shared among a number of users, allowing them to pre-purchase hours of flying time. Conrad says the scheme is cost-effective and is designed to facilitate Australian Taxation Office benefits, allowing aircraft payments to be reported as off balance sheet, for example.
The scheme was launched this month with a fleet of nine light jets, including Hawker 800s and Cessna Citation Bravos, owned by Hawker Pacific and Executive Airlines. Plans call for a Boeing BBJ, a Gulfstream G500 and a G550 to be based in Australia, talks for which are under way.
Astra Jetshare has been established by Australian and Japanese corporate and private investors in the transport industry, Conrad says. The Japanese investors will back an operation in Japan this year, which could involve a second BBJ.
Source: Flight International
