March 2009
Jet Advisors Hires VP of Sales
(March 31, 2009)AG Aviation’s Regional Vice President of Aircraft Acquisition and Sales Joins Jet Advisors as VP of Sales. Eugene Clow, expert in private jet sales and acquisitions, will bring over 35 years of industry experience to the staff of Jet Advisors. The private jet brokerage company, Jet Advisors, announced the addition of aviation professional, Mr. Gene Clow, to its growing staff. Mr. Clow has been named VP of Sales and will be an asset to the company. With over 35 years of experience in the industry to date, Mr. Clow has held highly-regarded positions at Raytheon Aircraft, Flight Safety, and most recently, TAG Aviation. A few of Mr. Clows accomplishments to date include being awarded the "Blue Chip" in 1995 and 1998, being named the 1995 "Rookie of the Year" and the 1989 "Salesman of the Year," devloping revenue of corporate jet transactions in a 17 state region and establishing the worldwide marketing program for aircraft simulators. Mr. Clow has Advanced Flight training on the King Air 350, King Air B200, King Air C90B, BeechJet 400A, Boeing 737 and Boeing 757. In addition, he holds a BS in Business Management from Portland State University in Portland, OR.
Safari Air launches African Adventure
(March 31, 2009)Safari Air, the first luxury private jet charter service offering on a per-seat, said that it will launch the world’s first 21-day “Around the World Grand East Africa Safari” on October 15. Passengers will board a luxurious Gulfstream IV private jet from John Wayne Airport at Orange County. The aircraft will circle around the globe with stopovers at renowned hotels in Quebec City, Edinburgh, Cairo, Agra-India, Hong Kong, Guam, and Honolulu. The finale of the trip is a two-week African safari that starts at Kilimanjaro. Passengers will visit the finest African safari camps and lodges in Tanzania and Kenya. “Safari Air is proud to purchase carbon offsets for each passenger mile and do our part to help reduce global warming,” said Ken Jillson, CEO and founder of the company. “And by flying relatively short daytime flights, jet lag is minimized, thus creating a leisurely eco-friendly around the world experience for our passengers. The added bonus of restful stopovers in five-star hotels is that our guests get to see amazing sights along the way such as the Great Pyramids of Giza, the Taj Mahal and magnificent Hong Kong Harbor. Priced at $144,500 per person, it’s an unparalleled value for our unique clients.” The company’s inflight service features top class amenities, including wines, gourmet cuisine, MacBook Laptops, Bose headsets, etc.
The Queen cancels Private Jet purchase
(March 30, 2009)The Queen has cancelled plans to purchase a £7million luxury jet as the recession continues to unfold. The Royal Family had been due last month to welcome their first private jet. However, the plans have been cancelled. The Family will continue to travel on RAF planes to prevent the taxpayers from paying for the 12-seat aircraft. Armed Forces Minister Bob Ainsworth announced the cancellation a couple of days ago. He said: “Work has been carried out to explore solutions for non-scheduled and dedicated flights to support the Queen and members of the Royal Family in their official duties. Pending the finalisation of this work the MoD has agreed that 32 (The Royal) Squadron will provide continued support to the Royal Family until April 1, 2010.” Government sources claim that the move was made partly because of the credit crunch. It is the second time the Queen has missed out on buying her own private jet.
Safari Air Introduces First Green Around-the-World Adventure by Luxury Private Jet
(March 30, 2009)Safari Air, the first green, luxury private jet charter service offering flights on a per-seat basis, announced today that it is set to take flight on October 15th with the world’s first 21-day "Around the World Grand East Africa Safari." Designed exclusively for eight passengers aboard a luxurious Gulfstream IV private jet, this 25,450 mile once-in-a-lifetime adventure will depart from Orange County, California’s John Wayne Airport and will circle the globe, making leisurely stopovers at world-class hotels in Quebec City, Edinburgh, Cairo, Agra-India, Hong Kong, Guam and Honolulu. The centerpiece of this amazing journey will be a two-week African safari by award-winning Micato Safaris beginning in Kilimanjaro and featuring one week in both Tanzania and Kenya at the finest tented safari camps and lodges. "Safari Air is proud to purchase carbon offsets for each passenger mile and do our part to help reduce global warming," said Ken Jillson, CEO and founder. "And by flying relatively short daytime flights, jet lag is minimized, thus creating a leisurely eco-friendly around the world experience for our passengers. The added bonus of restful stopovers in five-star hotels is that our guests get to see amazing sights along the way such as the Great Pyramids of Giza, the Taj Mahal and magnificent Hong Kong Harbor. Priced at $144,500 per person, it’s an unparalleled value for our unique clients." Safari Air’s luxurious inflight service will feature amenity kits, fine wines, gourmet food, afternoon tea, and MacBook(R) laptops with Bose(R) headsets for each passenger to watch pre-selected movies from Netflix(R).
Vistajet forecasts growth in 2009
(March 30, 2009)Vistajet, a private jet company, is targeting a 25 percent growth rate for 2009 globally as revealed by the company’s co-founder last weekend. In an interview with Arabian Business, Thomas Flohr mentioned that executives that flew via private jet are still spending big on travel despite the financial crisis. He said that Vistajet’s global operations have increased by 40 percent since 2008. “We are growing at 25 percent when the overall market is shrinking, so the only conclusion I can make it we’re taking market share from other people,” asserted Flohr. “People don’t go back to commercial [flights].” The company is expecting growth this year. However, it has decreased its initial forecast of 50 percent down to 25 percent. “If you ask about the effects of the financial crisis, we had planned to grow the company by 50 percent,” posited Flohr. “We had doubled from 2007-08 and thought we could grow between 40-50% in 2009, but we have scaled this back.” The co-founder cited that around seven percent of the company’s total revenue is generated from the Middle East. With operations facilities in Dubai and Beirut, the company is positioned to strengthen its hold on the region. “We’re focusing on Europe, Asia and the Middle East, which is the centre point for those regions,” Flohr mentioned. “The goal is to grow the Middle East to a third of our business in three years. The major part of our expansion strategy is going to come from that region,” Flohr added.
JPMorgan cancels Private Jet purchase
(March 26, 2009)JPMorgan Chase, the global financial services firm, will be canceling its plans of purchasing new private jets and renovating its aircraft hangar. Those plans will have to wait until the company has paid the billions it borrowed from the US government. Initially, the New York-based company planned on spending over $130 million to purchase tow corporate jets and to renovate a new hangar. JPMorgan already has four jets, but intended to spend $120 million on two more jets and $18 million on the renovation of a new jet hangar in the outskirts of New York. The company came under fire upon revelation that it was the recipient of $25 billion from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) last fall. CEO Jamie Dimon has emphasized that JPMorgan did not need the TARP rescue package. However, if the financial crisis lingers, said Dimon, the company will need to preserve capital and this is why it accepted the package. Despite cutting its dividends last month by 86 percent, JPMorgan is still regarded as one of the better-performing banks amid the economic crisis. The company edged out troubled competitors like Bear Stearns and Washington Mutual. A JPMorgan spokesperson has confirmed that the company will no longer spend money to purchase the aircrafts and renovate the hangar until they have paid the TARP funds in full.
Jet Republic receives increased inquiries for Jet Card programme
(March 26, 2009)Jet Republic, the private jet company, is seeing an increase in inquiries regarding its new Private Jet Card programme as the year approaches Easter Sunday. The European private aviation company attributes the sudden rise to the consumer’s desire to minimize travel time and maximize leisure during the upcoming holiday. This is being fuelled by UK reports that say there will be chaos in the country’s major airports come Easter. The media also claims that UK airports will be experiencing substantial delays on Easter, when the Home Office introduces a new security system. Needless to say, Travelers want to get all their accommodations and tickets in order before the Easter weekend. The Air Transport Users Council (AUC) also reported increased incidents of “mishandled” luggage—yet another factor that could contribute to increased Jet Republic inquiries. Consequently, Jet Republic has seen a 65 percent increase in the level of inquiries regarding its Jet Card programme. “We have seen a marked increase in the number of incoming calls regarding our Private Jet Card programme since reports started to appear in the media of potential airport delays over the Easter period,” said Jonathan Breeze, CEO of Jet Republic. Breeze concluded, “Despite the economic doom and gloom, when faced with spending potentially half of their four-day break waiting in airport queues and worrying about lost luggage; it seems that, for many Brits, the flexibility and time-saving advantages of flying private are winning out.”
Air Partner exec sees tough times ahead
(March 25, 2009)Air Partner chief executive David Savile forecasts that the economy will not make it easy for the company for the year, and maybe even the next. He mentioned that the cut backs on luxury travel have been dreadful for Air Partner, the world’s largest supplier of charter aircrafts. In the last six months to the end of January, pre-tax profits dropped 17pc to £3.2m on sales down 2pc to £107m. The latest industry figures suggest that demand for private jet hire is down to 50pc in the US and down 20pc in Europe. Air Partner’s private jet division has collapsed with a £153,000 loss. Savile claims that the drop should be attributed to a decline in corporate hire, particularly among banks; auto companies for what he says are “obvious” reasons.
Lufthansa receives Cessna Citation XLS
(March 25, 2009)Lufthansa has taken delivery of two Cessna Citation XLS jets, which will be commercially operated. Last March, the aircraft received European certification. The model will helm Lufthansa’s Private Jet Business, which will be operated by the company’s subsidiary—Swiss Private Aviation. Lufthansa and Swiss Private Aviation will become the first airlines to offer private jets as first-class ticketed to their long haul flights. The innovative service will also be available for single point-to-point routes. “Our passengers will be able to have a seamless service flying first class into Frankfurt, Zurich, Munich and Düsseldorf…” commented Michael Fuchs, Lufthansa Private Jet product manager. Passengers will have a fixed-price first-class ticket for the plane which includes limousine service, positioning fees, flexibility, and frequent flier miles. The new service is already attracting customers from the US, where private jet ownership has been suffering from public opinion. “These flights are charged as first-class tickets. The customer has the whole aircraft and so can choose to take other passengers with them at no extra cost,” boasted Fuchs.
CitationShares launches Supplemental Lift
(March 25, 2009)As the recession continues to tighten the corporate budgets, a Greenwich company that provides fractional jet ownership is launching Supplemental Lift—a new program that reduces corporate travel costs and overhead expenses. Supplemental Lift offers corporations access to CitationShares’ fleet of Cessna Citation aircrafts at a much affordable rate, said CitationShares senior vice president Woody Harford. The program does not require participating companies to purchase jet shares nor pay minimum investment jet hours. Customers just pay an upfront annual program fee of $25,000 and they gain access to over 80 Cessna Citations stationed across North America and the Caribbean. The fee also gives customers discounted hourly flying rates and other perks. “We will be taking a consultative approach with our corporate customers with the objective of helping them custom design programs that meet their needs in an evolving business environment,” commented Harford. “The reality is that despite some of the current perceptions of corporate jet travel, many companies depend on their flight departments for efficiency and productivity,” explained Steve O’Neill, CEO of CitationShares. “What we provide is the flexibility to help them maximize productivity and minimize cost.” Harford claims that many companies have expressed interest in their new business model. He ended on an optimistic note saying, “Like any business, we’re down in terms of overall activity. People are very cautious about the way they spend their money. This is our attempt at putting people’s minds at ease.”
