Business & GA

Start-up believes VLJ-based scheme will succeed in country where fractional ownership has so far failed to take off

New Australian business jet company GoJet plans to launch a fractional ownership scheme, aircraft management and charter services at this month's Australian air show, with ambitious plans to order four to six Cessna Citation Mustangs or Eclipse 500s in the next six months.

GoJet is also in discussions with Chinese business charter operator DeerJet on providing fractional ownership and aircraft management services in that country, says Luke King, marketing manager.

The company was formed by a group of unidentified investors from different industries, including aviation and construction. It is based at Illawarra, New South Wales, 15min flight time south of Sydney, and is launching operations with a Beech King Air and a Cessna CitationJet following approval from Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Authority.

GoJet is already in talks to provide services from Brisbane within 12 months of launch, says King.

Services will include business jet charter, business jet management, fractional share ownership and empty leg sales, whereby subscribers will have first option on low-cost business jet flights when the flight is empty.

For the fractional scheme, the company will focus on the very light jet (VLJ) market and is researching the Eclipse 500 and the Mustang, says King. GoJet has a number of customers interested in the fractional scheme, which would start with a quarter share at A$600,000 ($465,000).

Fractional ownership has failed to take off in Australia, but GoJet believes the scheme will succeed following extensive research in Europe and the USA. The company is also in talks to offer larger aircraft in response to customer interest, but the focus will be on VLJs, says King. "We are talking to a dozen clients at the moment," he adds.