GRAHAM WARWICK / WASHINGTON DC
Low-cost operator adds first turboprops as it expands out of piston-single niche, and plans 100-aircraft fleet
Leading North American general aviation fractional ownership company OurPlane has received its first Beech King Air C90B as it expands into the executive transport market. The aircraft has been based at San Carlos, near San Francisco, with a second due to be housed at White Plains, near New York.
Formed in 1998, OurPlane has over 110 fractional owners and 14 aircraft, says chief executive Graham Casson. Most are piston singles in the company's GA fractional programme, in which share owners pilot the aircraft. The new executive fractional programme, targeted at small- and medium-sized businesses, differs in being aimed at owners using professional pilots, or owner-pilots flying up to 350h a year. OurPlane says it plans to have 18 aircraft in service by year-end, and 100 by the beginning of 2006.
Unlike other fractional programmes, title to the aircraft is not transferred to the share owners. Instead the owner buys 25h, 50h or unlimited annual access to the aircraft, which is based at a specific location. OurPlane retains title and provides insurance, but does not provide pilots or guarantee availability, avoiding the need for a core fleet, reducing the company's costs.
Annual costs for OurPlane's King Air scheme are half that for Flight Options' Cessna Citation CJ1 programme, Casson says. "We can offer new aircraft fractional ownership cheaper than NetJets or Flight Options because we do not guarantee availability, which incurs a huge cost in aircraft and pilots," he says. However, over the first four years of operation, aircraft availability has averaged 95%, Casson says.
A one-eighth share in a new piston single costs $30,000-60,000, with a monthly management fee of $200-700 and hourly costs of $115 for a Cessna 182 to $124 for a Cirrus SR22. King Airs are shared between six owners. OurPlane is the exclusive fractional outlet for Raytheon Aircraft's GA line, up through the King Air C90B, and has its first Beech Bonanza piston singles on order.
OurPlane has aircraft bases in Calgary, Toronto and Vancouver in Canada, and Houston, New York, Oxford, San Diego and San Francisco in the USA.
Source: Flight International
