Ramon Lopez/Teterboro
Financial turmoil and failure to gain flight clearances in a major market have forced Executive Jet Aviation (EJA) to shelve plans to extend its successful fractional-ownership programme to the Asia-Pacific region.
The Montvale, New Jersey-based firm was expected to extend its NetJets programme to the Far East by the middle of 1998 after launching a similar operation in the Middle East in late 1997. Richard Santulli, EJA's chairman, says that plans to extend NetJets to the Far East are "on the back-burner" because of Asia's financial crisis and his failure to gain authority to fly inside China.
In November, Gulfstream Aerospace and a group of regional investors signed a letter of intent for the $400 million purchase of up to 12 Gulfstream IV-SPs over the next six years for a Middle East fractional-ownership programme. EJA agreed to manage the project, and Santulli hopes to sign a final contract with the investors soon.
Gulfstream says that a smaller aircraft is also envisioned for the Middle East operation. At that point, EJA may get more involved, says Santulli.
"You can't have a one-aircraft programme. You miss too much of the market with only the Gulfstream IV. You need at least two sizes of aircraft," he says.
EJA and Boeing Business Jets soon expect to finalise their joint venture in which Boeing's $34 million corporate aircraft becomes part of the NetJets programme. A "core" fleet of around four or five BBJs owned by the joint venture is still envisioned, but no orders will be placed and no shares in the aircraft will be sold until the interior configuration of BBJ has been determined. "Decisions on the interior have been more complicated than we ever dreamed," says Santulli.
Source: Flight International
