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Aviation History
2004
2004-03 - 0022.PDF
BUSINESS AVIATION CHARTER KATE SARSFIELD / LONDON PrivatAir ponders its card options Geneva-based company wants to bring "something different" to market as it studies customer demand for block charter Swiss business aircraft services com pany PrivatAir is evaluating the introduction of a card-based block charter programme and says a deci sion on whether to proceed will be made within three months. "We have been studying the block charter market for some time to establish if it is right for Privat Air," says chief executive Greg Thomas. "To make it work we have to bring something different to the market or we will simply become another 'wannabe'." Thomas says the ad hoc charter market is going through a high- supply and low-demand cycle and questions whether enough cus tomers will commit to pre-buying allocated time in a business jet with a single operator when they can "often save money on a single trip by shopping around". Geneva-based PrivatAir operates a growing fleet of 54 aircraft in the USA and Europe and this month added six large-cabin aircraft to its US-managed charter fleet and one in Europe. Thomas admits the size of the company fleet is a key advan tage as well as a motivator for enter ing the block charter market. He says: "We have a mix of airaaft from the Raytheon Beechjet King Air to the Boeing Business Jet, and around half the fleet are in the large- cabin class and above." These types would be suited to large groups of travellers, including corporations and high net-worth individuals. PrivatAir says the programme could be launched in Europe, where the block charter card concept is in its infancy, and then the USA. Meanwhile, it is expected to launch at least one more airline shuttle ser vice this year and is in negotiations with several airlines, Thomas says. TRAINING Flight Options pilots head for CAE schooling Flight Options is to train all its pilots at CAE SimuFlite from February under a three-year agreement val ued at $28 million, rising to $48 million if the US fractional-owner ship company exercises its option to extend the deal to five years. Cleveland, Ohio-based Flight Options, wholly owned by Raytheon, will train its pilots at CAE SimuFlite's Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas centre. The fractional oper ates a fleet of more than 200 air craft, including the Beechcraft Beechjet 400A and King Air, Bombardier Challenger 601, Cessna Citationjet, Citation V, Citation 650 and Citation X, Dassault Falcon 50, Embraer Legacy, Gulfstream IV and V, and Hawker 400XP and 800XP. CAE SimuFlite has simulators for all of Flight Options' fleet except the Hawker 400XP, which is an upgrade of the Beechjet 400A, and the Legacy, a derivative of the ERJ-135 regional jet. Flight Options is likely to use the similar ERJ-145 simulator at CAE's Phoenix, Arizona centre. Rival US fractional Netjets has training provided by sister company FlightSafety International. Bombar dier's Flexjet operation has a train ing centre next to CAE SimuFlite's in Dallas/Forth Worth and the com panies have an operating agreement covering their simulators. BASE ShareJet to expand Guam-based fractional owner ship and charter start-up ShareJet plans to open a sec ond base in Singapore next month with a Gulfstream IV and says demand for business jets is picking up in the region after several years of decline. ShareJet, which began oper ations last year with a Boeing Business Jet, is moving its GIV from Guam to Singapore's Seletar airport to serve the growing South-East Asian mar ket and is negotiating to add a Dassault Falcon 50 that would also be available for charter. The company selected Seletar after studying several air ports in Asia, including Batam in Indonesia and Senai in Malaysia, and says it will rent space at the site from resident fixed-based operator Jet Aviation. DELIVERIES GRAHAM WARWICK / WASHINGTON DC Gulfstream detects recovery signs Gulfstream is seeing signs of a busi ness-aviation recovery, taking 34 new orders in the fourth quarter of last year - 26 for large business jets. Parent company General Dynamics (GD) says Gulfstream delivered 74 aircraft last year, down from 94 in 2002, and is to deliver 75 this year. Excluding fractional activity, orders last year totalled 78 aircraft - 57 large and 21 mid-size business jets, the same as in 2002 - but there were 12 cancellations, up from six a year earlier, for a net total of 66 firm orders. In addition, fractional customer Netjets cancelled seven orders last year, after placing 55 orders in 2002. Two-thirds of new orders - but only one-third of cancellations - came in the second half of last year, says GD, ending a year-long dip in sales. Gulfstream ended 2003 with seven unsold aircraft, all mid-size Gulfstream is in negotiations for the sale of its first five G4S0s G100/G200s, compared with 23 a year earlier. GD chairman and chief execu tive Nick Chabraja says Gulf- stream's planned 2004 production of 55 large and 20 mid-sized aircraft is 70% sold out, with no completed G400/G450 or G500/G550 large business jets available until 2005. The company was concerned the launch of the G450 would kill sales of the G400, but Gulfstream now holds deposits or letters of intent for the final four G400s. The first five G450s are set to be delivered in the fourth quarter. Gulfstream has yet to book any firm orders for the G450, but is in negotiations on all five aircraft, says Chabraja. Gulf steam sold 31 pre-owned air craft for a $61 million loss last year, compared with an $81 million loss selling 36 used aircraft in 2002. The company has $229 million in trade- in commitments, $120 million due this year and the balance in 2005. 20 27 JANUARY - 2 FEBRUARY 2004 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL www.flightinternational.com
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