{:en} Light to midsize business jet segments are seeing stronger recovery amid flight restrictions
While the COVID-19 pandemic has affected every industry in aviation, it has opened up new opportunities for some. Among them is the private company Jet It, which operates the HondaJet Elite and specializes in fractional ownership. The light and mid-sized business jet segments are seeing a stronger recovery amid flight restrictions.
“We think this is a very exciting time,” comments CEO and co-founder Glenn Gonzalez. “Our business model provides the market with more autonomy and more control. Especially in today's pandemic environment, our business model, combined with this market, is a great opportunity. ” Currently, the largest share the company will offer is half of the aircraft for $ 3 million. “We will not sell the entire aircraft, we will leave it to the manufacturer. Other available offerings range from the smallest tenth to the sixth, fifth, fourth and third beats. In the past four weeks, we have closed three contracts, ”continues Gonzalez, a US Air Force Reserves Lieutenant Colonel who previously served as regional sales manager for Honda Aircraft in the US Northeast.
Unlike most equity operators, Jet It uses days rather than hours in its accounting, with half the share equating to 130 days of aircraft use and decreasing based on the size of the share. “Basically, this is your plane for the day. You can fly for as many hours as we can fit into a normal crew day. ”
The company's research shows that its typical mission includes 2.7 passengers and an average flight time of 90 minutes. Since HondaJet aircraft are currently based in North Carolina, Virginia, Delaware and Florida, the Jet It operating model is based on the fact that the aircraft returns to its base every night, offering customers the option to “sleep in their own beds at the end of the day.” This does not mean that owners cannot use the plane for one-way travel. “If you choose to do this, then you don't have to pay for the plane to return and pick you up in three to four days.”
In addition to monthly maintenance fees and to cover essential costs such as insurance and Wi-Fi, which is $ 13,000 per month and is prorated for smaller shares, owners only pay direct operating costs, which are currently estimated at $ 1,600 per hour. , which is significantly lower than for aircraft of the same size. The package also includes a concierge service who can arrange ground transportation through the company's preferred and trusted supplier, as well as food delivery to the owner from trusted suppliers. “It's basically like having your own executive assistant in the house, and there is no extra charge for that.”
The Jet It fleet currently consists of five HondaJet Elites, four of which are co-owned and the fifth is leased. The annual flight time is approximately 800 flight hours per aircraft. According to the company, by mid-June, traffic was already 70% of the pre-crisis indicators. The company is headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, adjacent to the HondaJet plant. Jet It has firm orders for 10 HondaJet Elites, the first of which will arrive at the company's disposal in August. By the end of the year, the operator will receive four more aircraft and will begin flights in neighboring Canada. But plans to enter Southeast Asia through a subsidiary company JetClub had to be postponed due to the pandemic.
