O
PHOTOGRAPHS: A PEAFORD (UNLESS STATED OTHERWISE
PHOTOGRAPH: AERION
CIVIL BUSINESS AVIATION ne of the world’s richest men knows something about business jets. When he was merely a multi-millionaire, Warren Buffet bought his first jet and immediately christened it ‘The Indefensible’, aware that the whole idea of a corporate airplane with its associate costs would have shareholders turning in the aisles at the annual general meeting. The latest Buffet purchase, a Gulfstream, has a new name. It is called ‘The Indispensable’—and the now multi-billionaire believes the use of the business jet played a key role in consolidating his business and fortune. Earlier, Buffet had admitted it was one of his few indulgences. Subsequently, what elevated the business jet from a luxury toy to what is increasingly seen as a vital corporate tool? In the US, hundreds of Fortune 500 companies now flaunt their own aircraft, with companies arguing that this vital conveyance saves time and boosts productivity. A recent CNN report quoted David Savile, CEO of charter company Air Partner, as saying: “Private jets have this appearance of being affluent and full of fat cats and celebrities. But our experience is actually the opposite. These are practical business tools and are used by lots of people. Some of the bigger private jets now in operation even have boardrooms where meetings can be conducted in-flight.” With a price tag ranging from around $2 million (Rs 8 crore) for a light jet to more than $70 million (Rs 284 crore) for a larger business jet, the cost cannot always be justified. But business manufacturers and charter companies are developing more and more solutions as SPREADING AWARENESS: the rest of the world folBOMBARDIER’S CHALLENGER IS lows the American lead FREQUENTLY SEEN ON THE RAMPS on business aviation. OF AIRPORTS IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND ASIA AS ONE OF THE MOST India, with its greater POPULAR LARGE CABIN AIRCRAFT number of millionaires TO OPERATE IN THE REGION than anywhere else in
TIME IS MONEY: AERION CORPORATION
IS WORKING ON THE SSBJ CONCEPT Asia and record numbers CLAIMING EVEN FASTER TRAVEL of aspiring graduates and BETWEEN DESTINATIONS. NEW YORK entrepreneurs, is a poTO PARIS, FOR INSTANCE, IN JUST ABOUT FOUR HOURS. tentially huge market for business aircraft makers. Options such as fractional ownership (where a buyer invests in a proportion of a plane and pays for a share of its maintenance and management) are taking hold. No surprise that the company taking the lead around the world with this idea is Netjets, owned in part by Warren Buffet, who loved the concept so much he bought the company. “It is an expensive proposition, no question about it, but there are rewards in terms of control of one’s time,” says former Netjets CEO Bill Boyster. “Who you travel with and when you travel (is important). The privacy and security in which you travel does make (business jets) a reasonable value equation.” As global travel becomes increasingly tedious with all the extra security and difficulties posed by airport transfers, the business jet option becomes far more attractive. It makes even more sense when travelling across Asia as point-to-point commercial flights are still not robust enough to suit a busy businessman’s schedule. Gary Anzalone of Aero Toy Store, a private jet sales firm based in Florida, says the trouble at airports has boosted the jet market and businessmen are finding the benefits straight away. “With the scrutiny of travelling through the airlines right now, where a businessman might take seven days to hit seven cities, with access to a private aircraft he can hit seven cities in two days,” Anzalone says. According to latest estimates, more than 10,000 companies operate business aircraft in the US and nearly 3,000 in Europe. All have had to go through the same justification process.
Issue 2 • 2008
SP’S AVIATION
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