KATE SARSFIELD / LONDON
Cessna, Embraer and TAM form "operational partnership" in Brazil to top region's burgeoning business jet market
South America's first business jet fractional ownership programme has been launched by S‹o Paulo-based JetSolutions to take advantage of the burgeoning demand for business aircraft transportation in the region. The move comes less than two years after sister company HeliSolutions launched the continent's first helicopter fractional ownership programme.
JetSolutions is described by its owners, Phoenix Strategic Financial Advisers, Audi Helicopteros, and Rio Bravo Investment Company, as an "operational partnership" between Cessna, Embraer and TAM, the business aviation subsidiary of the major Brazilian airline.
Under the terms of the agreement, Cessna and Embraer will provide the business aircraft, a mixture of Citation Jets (CJ2), Encores, Excels and Embraer Legacys, TAM will provide maintenance charter backup and handling services and JetSolutions will bring potential owners and operational support.
"Through our HeliSolutions programme, we have been able to build up an acceptance of fractional ownership in Brazil," says Allan Paiotti, managing director of both Brazilian fractional ventures. He adds that although it seemed a natural progression to move from helicopter to business jet ownership, "it has taken around three years to reach this point as we have had to study [and unravel] the complicated legal structure in our country which is not conducive to the shared ownership of business aircraft".
For example, if a shareowner become bankrupt the courts can reclaim the entire business aircraft asset. Paiotti says that "through our efforts we have had a tremendous response to the programme from large multinationals and wealthy private individuals, taking advantage of the economic stability in Brazil". By the end of next year JetSolutions plans to have three Legacys and three Citations in service.
Shares in JetSolutions aircraft are divided into fifths for the entry- level CJ2 and quarters for the remainder of the fleet. A fifth share in a CJ2 is priced at 4.24 million real ($1.2 million), which entitles each owner to 200h a year. On top of this a $9,615 monthly management fee and 2,500 real occupied hourly fee is levied. As with the HeliSolutions programme, Paiotti expects most customers to start at the entry-level type CJ2 and progress through the fleet.
In the long term, JetSolutions plans to widen the programme throughout South America, starting with Argentina, Chile and Venezuela, where interest in business aviation is growing.
Source: Flight International
