24 September 2008

Private jet club launches

A private jet club will start flying next summer after putting in an aircraft order of $1.5 billion.

Jet Republic, a new private aviation company, has ordered 110 Bombardier Learjet 60 XR aircraft and will fly to over 1,000 airports in Europe.

The deal will see 25 aircraft delivered over the first 22 months and the remaining aircraft delivered one every three weeks thereafter.

The first flights in the Learjet 60 XR fleet will be available from summer 2009.

Jet Republic has secured substantial financial backing from Euram Bank, an Austrian private bank, and a consortium of its clients.

Headquartered in Lisbon, its management team includes senior personnel who previously worked for companies such as GlaxoSmithKline, NetJets, WhiteConcierge, the Royal Air Force, Air Partner plc, Financial Times Group, TAG Aviation, Execujet, Groundforce ONE, Marriott International, Bombardier, and McKinsey & Co.

CEO Jonathan Breeze said: "Despite the current economic climate, the private jet market is enjoying strong growth. This, coupled with the fact that we believe there is significant room for improvement in the level of service provided by the private jet aviation sector, means there is a very strong and real opportunity for us to take a significant share of this market."

The companyÃ¢â¬â¢s Private Jet Club offers members two programmes to choose from - Share Ownership or the Private Jet Card.

Share Ownership is for jet owners to purchase or lease a fractional share of a Learjet 60 XR by only paying for an aircraft share equal to the hours they need, starting at 50 hours a year.

In addition it offers a buy-back option at the end of the contract.

The Private Jet Card allows card members access to flight time by purchasing 25 hours or more without any further commitment.

Partnering with ClimateCare, Jet Republic will be 100% carbon neutral from launch.

By Bev Fearis