Finding ways to woo the shared-jet set

Transcription

1 AVIATION INGENUITY KEEPS JET SHARING FIRMS ALOFT IN LEAN TIMES PlaneSmart! Aviation president and CEO Michael Brosler (left) greets Jim Nixon, owner of a fractional share of an aircraft, upon his return to the Addison Airport from a business trip. Finding ways to woo the shared-jet set By AUDREY WHITE Staff Writer awhite@dallasnews.com Published: Tuesday, July 3, 2012

2 The market for shared jet ownership has had a hard time recovering from a steep contraction in 2008, but companies have found ways to survive by reaching niche customers and expanding the types of services they offer. Most of the largest fractional aviation companies, including Dallas-based Flexjet, have continued to lose customers after an economic downturn put their services decidedly in the luxury category. Some smaller companies have flourished, attracting owners from larger and often more expensive companies and bringing new customers into the market. The whole fractional-share market is declining, said Mike Chase, who directs special projects for Jetnet LLC. Jetnet collects data on companies that provide fractional ownership of jet aircraft. Things have been very difficult in business aviation and for fractional as well, Chase said. Fractional providers are looking for new answers. They re selling off a lot of their fleet and looking for new opportunities. Fractional aircraft providers allow owners, including individuals and businesses, to purchase a share of an aircraft that grants them access to a certain number of hours on the plane in a given year. The market peaked in 2007 but fell back after the economic collapse in The demand for fractional ownership has been shaky ever since, with most providers declining in revenue and number of owners. From April 2011 to April 2012, the top 10 fractional providers lost about 5 percent of their customers, 263 owners. Of the 10, half lost many customers, and the other half gained a few, according to Jetnet s data. We see an upturn Share purchases of aircraft at Flexjet, owned by the Canadian aircraft maker Bombardier, were down about 5 percent in April from April 2011, according to Jetnet.. Although the company has not regained the footing it held in 2007, president Fred Reid said he was happy with Flexjet s performance in the last four years. It holds 25 percent of the market for

3 fractional aircraft in the U.S. and had 1,030 owners in January, compared with 1,070 in January Some owners in recent years have reduced the number of shares they own. The industry has shrunk slightly, but trends are showing higher retention and growth, Reid said. We are profitable. We see an upturn that we think is going to go on for a few years. Flexjet wouldn t release exact costs for competitive reasons but said a 1/16 share of a plane on a five-year contract would cost about $400,000, plus monthly management fees and hourly flight fees. Many fractional companies have turned to lower-cost programs or models to help increase revenue. For example, the Flexjet 25 Jet Card program, operated by Jet Solutions, allows customers to buy 25, 30 or 35 hours of plane time upfront without the commitment of a multiyear contract. Flexjet is one of several companies operating such debit card-style programs. Flexjet is the largest provider of fractional jet ownership in Texas, and Reid said Dallas-Fort Worth is an important market for the company. The area is small-business- and employerfriendly, with an emphasis on industries including high-tech, energy and banking, which means a lot of people are looking for a service like Flexjet s, Reid said. We were born here 17 years ago, he said. Dallas is important to us. It s a very affluent city in a very affluent state. And generally speaking, the weather is pretty nice. Texas owners account for about 8.9 percent of the fractional jet shares purchased in the U.S. and Canada, according to Jetnet. Global reach NetJets, the world s largest provider of fractional ownership, flew about 9,000 flights in and out of Dallas in 2011, putting it among the top 10 domestic destinations for the company. Recently, NetJets put in a $9.6 billion order for aircraft from Bombardier and Cessna, the largest purchase of general aviation aircraft in history. The company hopes to expand its international reach and use its newer fleet of jets to attract and keep customers, Adam Johnson, president of sales, marketing and service for NetJets North America, said in an . NetJets operations center is in Columbus, Ohio.

4 Dallas is an important market for Kansas City-based Executive Airshare. President Keith Plumb said the company gets a lot of business at Love Field. A focus on specific regions (Executive Airshare sells shares to customers in only a few states) and a system that gives customers access by the day rather than by the hour has helped the business increase its customers in the last year, Plumb said. The company grew from 112 shareholders in May 2011 to 136 in May of this year. We ve had share owners come to us from large national programs, Plumb said. We vary between 35 and 45 percent lower cost because we base our airplanes where our share owners are. Michael Brosler, president and CEO of Dallas-based PlaneSmart Aviation, said 2008 was a positive turning point for the company. PlaneSmart operates mostly Cirrus small-piston aircraft, although it has one jet and one turboprop in its fleet. Because PlaneSmart is not primarily a fractional jet company, Jetnet does not include it in data analysis. Brosler took the reins in 2008 after noticing that many customers and potential customers were looking for an option that carried lower costs and less commitment. PlaneSmart began leasing unused shares of its aircraft on one- to two-year contracts. Since then, its fleet has grown from seven to 24 planes and the number of customers from 25 to 124. As a lessee, your cost per hour is higher, but your buy-in is much less, Brosler said. Suddenly we reached a market of people who wanted to fly the late-model airplanes but couldn t justify the upfront expense. The company is based in Dallas, with facilities in Austin, Georgetown and Houston and some clients in other states. Clients can fly to any part of the country and internationally. As the company grows, Brosler hopes to station planes in other states.

5 Jim Nixon, president of Varel International, signed a contract with PlaneSmart! 4½ years ago and remains happy with the partnership. He uses PlaneSmart! for both business and personal travel. Airplanes are personal to Brosler, who learned to fly when he was 16. That passion helped attract owner Jim Nixon, president of Varel International, a leading maker of drilling equipment for the oil and gas industries. He signed a fractional contract with PlaneSmart 4½ years ago and remains happy with the partnership. Nixon uses PlaneSmart for both business and personal travel. He owns a quartershare in a Cirrus four-seat aircraft and owns a block of hours in the Pilatus turboprop plane. Nixon earned his pilot s license through training at PlaneSmart and says the company allows him to enjoy the benefits of ownership without the hassles, such as insurance and maintenance. It s been incredibly convenient, and I feel it s dramatically improved my efficiency from a time and travel point of view, Nixon said. I can spend less time away from home and get around a lot more people and have a lot more activity because of the flexibility that the planes bring.