Paula Kent Meehan’s  P.K. Air Gulfstream IV can seat up to 15 passengers, and is well-equipped for business meetings. The jet has state-of-the-art communications systems, allowing for in-flight internet access.

For comfort, the cabin has audio and video systems that include personal screens. The plane has a dining table and all the typical luxuries and amenities found in private jets.

For more information, click here.

The past 18 months have dealt private aviation major fiscal blows and severe public scrutiny. But as the economy slowly begins to lick its wounds, the air charter industry is recovering faster than its counterparts, a result of the new surplus of jets in the market and the downsizing of ownership programs to more cost effective models.

GAMA (General Aviation Manufacturer’s Association) announced that business jet manufacturing was down 38% this year and Honeywell stated business jet sales across the industry fell 50% last year, with no signs of improvement. This coupled with the UBS Business Jet update reporting a 7% increase in business jet traffic in the fourth quarter and forecasting an 8-10 percent increase in business jet flight activity, points to a recovering private air charter industry. The credit crunch shed light on the irreparable flaws of the fractional business jet model, evidenced by Honeywell’s report of a 66% decrease in jet sales to fractional operators with demand unexpected to return until 2012. Consequently, the fierce erosion of the fractional model has carved out a larger market space for private air charter.

Forecasts anticipating positive growth in 2010 for Air Partner (AIP, the only publicly traded air charter brokerage), and other charter companies, reflect this emerging trend. Philip Mathews, President of Air Partner Inc. North America comments; “The reality is that as the economy begins to turn around, jet orders will remain down, but demand for private aviation is going up. The charter industry is in a prime position to take advantage of the surplus of jets in the market and meet customer demand.”

A logical consequence of the economic downturn has been the consolidation of the industry as fiscally undisciplined companies fold. This enables a select few to capitalize on green shoots in private charter. Air Partner is one of these companies, and is now seeing the benefit of limited competition and growing demand. Their strong balance sheet and robust credit rating (Air Partner performed better than 99% of other UK companies in their recent D&B risk profile) make them an industry leader capable of meeting the increasing demand for air charter.

The market saturation of jets has become an economic boon to the consumer who can now access any aircraft charter at highly competitive rates. While corporate budgets and reputations can no longer afford private ownership, air charter continues to be a financial option for those who see the value in the business efficiency of private jet travel.

About Air Partner
Air Partner is a world-class provider of aviation services to industry, commerce, governments and individuals worldwide. The company has earned global recognition as a leading aircraft charter broker and organises ad hoc charters of aircraft of every size for any reason. Its three main divisions, supported by a host of support teams, comprise Air Partner Commercial Jets, Air Partner Private Jets and Air Partner Freight. The Commercial Jets division charters large airliners with 20 to 500 seats for groups of every size. Private Jets offers the full range of private jet products and services including the company’s unique pre-paid JetCard scheme, on-demand charter and management of Europe’s largest fleet of modern Learjets. With its headquarters in the UK, Air Partner operates 24/7 year-round with over 20 offices spanning Europe, Asia, the Middle East and North America. The Group was formed nearly 50 years ago, is fully listed on the London Stock Exchange, is debt free and had £16.1m net cash at the end of the financial year to 31 July, 2009. Air Partner’s expertise at providing unsurpassed private flying experiences at the best price is summed up by one fact: it is the only company in the aviation industry to hold a Royal Warrant, a globally recognised mark of excellence. The honour, as Supplier of Aircraft Charter to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, was granted in 2004.

“The use of business jets has suddenly become vilified,” maintained Gary Crichlow, an analyst from aviation consultancy company Ascend. “Companies might decide from a public perception point of view that they might not want to be seen owning an aircraft, particularly in the US.”

Second hand valuations of private jets have experienced an acute drop, because the credit crunch has dried the market up. Six months ago, the renowned Gulfstream G550 model was hard to find in the market and priced at around $58 million. These days, this model has decreased over $6 million in its valuation—a 14% discount compared to its original price.

Before the credit crunch, analysts pegged 2011 as the “peak” year of private jets. However, because of the current financial crisis, Crichlow believes that last year was already the “peak” of the industry.   

Crichlow says, that this year “Jet ownership is definitely going to take a hit because of the need to conserve cash. People will be trying to sell them. That will see a lot more aircraft coming on to the market and the increase in supply will depress used jet values further.”

With one of the industry’s best safety records, low insurance rates, low long-term interest rates, affordable maintenance and a low fuel burn, the DA40 is not only fun to fly, but also appealing to the fiscally-responsible traveler. Now, a great deal is even better.

By buying and taking delivery of a new DA40 between now and December 31, 2008, customers receive free maintenance, free insurance, free fuel and free flight training, for the first year of operation – a $13,250 value.
•    Free maintenance includes all scheduled maintenance – parts and labor – for one year or 125 hours, whichever comes first: a $2,750 value.
•    Free insurance credit worth up to $3,500 – which will cover most private, instrument-rated pilots in a DA40 XLS.
•    Free fuel card worth $5,000, which should cover the first 100 hours of flying at $5 per gallon and the DA40′s low 10 gph fuel burn.
•    Free flight training via a $2,000 training credit, which customers can use for transition training or toward any rating – private or more advanced, in their new airplane.

Combine this with the United States government’s special bonus depreciation tax incentive program that allows new owners to write off up to $300,000 of the purchase price, and it is likely the best deal you will make this year.

This offer expires December 31, 2008 and is limited to new U.S. or Canadian-registered DA40 aircraft in current inventory at Diamond distributors.
 

With the extra revenue, Airbus will help airlines with financing and purchases, as credit becomes scarce. This was mentioned by the aircraft manufacturer’s chief executive—Tom Enders—in a related press release.

The financial crisis follows up a spike in oil prices—something Airbus barely recovered from. That’s why the company anticipated a decrease in orders for 2009.

In October 2008, Airbus canned a plan to increase production by as much as 10 percent, which is designed to trim down pending order backlogs. However, an unpredictable credit crisis and decreased air travel threatened the company with deferrals and cancellations.

“We are not in a bad position as we go into this (financial crisis) situation but we do not exclude further action if the situation deteriorates further,” Enders mentioned in a recent press meeting.

“Much depends on how long credit squeeze lasts,” Enders continued. “In principle financing will remain lucrative as aircraft are mobile assets, especially modern, fuel efficient ones.”
 

MacNeil comments on his jet dependence, "All the faxes and telegraphs and text messages and e-mails are fine and well, but when you want to put a significant deal together it has to be done in person." 

Owning is no longer the only option for business executives, fractional ownerships and charter memberships are popular choices for persons interested in less commitment. 

This rising popularity has made private jets the go-to investment at the moment. In fact jets bought brand new last year are selling for more as a used jet this year. Of course whenever anything, including the jet industry, experiences growth constantly for a long length of time, people can’t help but wonder when the downswing will begin. Experts advise watching the stock market for an indicator that jet values are about to fall. "The aircraft market is joined at the hip with the stock market." Says Fletcher Aldridge, founder and publisher of the most popular price guide used in the private jet industry, Vref.

Not only did Airbus and Boeing report a record number of orders, business jet makers also received a slew of new orders. 

Cessna received an order from NetJets and NetJets Europe that is worth more than $1 million and includes the production and delivery of 96 Citations.

Bombardier was the recipient of an order from Skytime for six LearJets and Dassault Falcon announced that it has agreed to supply Saudi Arabia’s National Air Service with a full twenty 2000LXs.

Niall Oliver, CEO of ExecuJet Aviation Group said that this deal
represented an emerging market in the Middle East with an increased demand for executive jets in the region.  Caused in part, by a high level of economic growth in the Middle East.

Prestige Jet managing director Faris Deeb said, "More and more people in the Middle East are recognizing the advantages afforded by executive charter flights, and that this mode of transport is not
just the exclusive domain of high net worth individuals.”

"In today’s increasingly global environment, businessmen and often
government leaders are demanding faster and more reliable modes of transport and many are using private charter jets to fulfill these
needs [even] large corporations are increasingly recognizing the
commercial advantages private jet travel brings – not the least of
which is being free to fly when you want, where you want, without
delays or connection hassles."

Luiz Carlos Aguiar, Embraer’s Executive Vice President said,
“We are proud to deliver this first aircraft, marking the introduction of the ERJ 145 in Nigeria. Our ultimate goal is to satisfy their government with our product.”

Embraer is the world’s largest manufacture of commercial jets that can hold up to 120 passengers. They are also one of Brazils leading exporters. They were founded in 1969. The company builds the jet from the ground up and they are sold all over the world.

Embraer has 21,005 employees  and  US$ 15.0 billion worth of orders waiting to be filled.

A delighted Roger Whyte, Cessna senior vice president of Sales and Marketing said, "The tremendous inflow of business we saw at EBACE is indicative of the strength of the market in Europe, particularly in Eastern Europe". 

In just the last few years, Cessna’s international sales have grown from 25 to 30 percent to almost half of all sales.   To prove their dedication to the international market, Cessna has decided to enlarge its exhibit scheduled for the Paris Air Show next month.  Cessna is considered the world’s largest maker of general aviation aircrafts based on their sales data.   Since the company opened its doors in 1927, nearly 190,000 Cessna airplanes have been sold to almost every country worldwide.