Providers make significant purchases TAG withdraws Citation CJ1 from programme
Fractional ownership providers are back in a buying mood after a turbulent period, placing significant orders across a range of aircraft at NBAA as they move to retain and stimulate the interest of an increasingly demanding customer base.
Fractional provider Avantair has ordered 20 Phenom 100 very light jets for its regional programme. Deliveries will be spaced over two years, starting in June 2009. Clearwater, Florida-based Avantair, which operates 25 Piaggio Avantis with a further 58 on order, is to be acquired by investment company Ardent Acquisition in a move designed to provide the necessary capital to expand (Flight International, 10-16 October).
In its second major deal in less than a month, NetJets Europe has ordered 30 Hawker 750s. The mid-size jets will be delivered over four years beginning in 2008. Last month the Lisbon, Portugal-based operator ordered 24 Dassault Falcon 7X long-range jets for delivery beginning early next year.
TAG Aviation, meanwhile, is gearing up to launch its Eclipse 500-based VLJ Flying Club programme. This will be offered in partnership with US entrepreneur Rolf Illsley, who has ordered 10 Eclipse 500s to be sold to private owners in fractions of no less than a quarter - equivalent to 50 days a year.
TAG will manage the aircraft for a monthly fee of $7,500, including two pilots for each flight, plus an hourly rate of around $500. The first aircraft is scheduled for delivery in November and the second in June. "This is an ideal opportunity for TAG to expand its market," says chief executive Roger McMullin.
If the venture is successful, TAG says it could widen the programme to other aircraft types and offer it internationally. TAG, meanwhile, has decided to withdraw the Cessna Citation CJ1 from the CitationShares fractional ownership programme, which it operates in partnership with Cessna. "It is hard to make money in fractional ownership with small-cabin aircraft," McMullin says. "The Eclipse programme is completely different because we are not offering a guaranteed response time."
In contrast, US management and fractional company XOJet, which announced an order at the show for 12 Citation Xs, offers only whole or half shares in the high-performance mid-size jet in order to guarantee response time while reducing operating costs. Deliveries will be made over the next 15 months.
Source: Flight International
