Fractional Ownership News

Fractional jets and charters are the "new normal" for executive business travel

Fractional jet and charter use by executive travelers is on the up as economic conditions show signs of improving. And even through the depths of the recession, although use of commercial airlines and corporate jets fell drastically, fractional and charter use stood up well, according to Traveldividends.com.

It says anecdotal evidence in the corporate travel industry suggests things have changed, not in terms of banks and corporations shelling-out tens of millions of dollars to acquire corporate jets again or rushing to buy first class tickets on commercial airlines for their executives, but rather, in their approach to how they purchase premium air travel. Many bankers and top corporate executives are no longer flying on their company’s own jets. Instead, they are chartering private aircraft by the day, it says.

The site talked to several commercial airline and corporate jet industry insiders, who all agreed that the new ‘normal’ for many bankers and jet-setting dealmakers is now the discreet use of private jets chartered from charter or fractional jet operators.
And in a recent study by executive pay consultancy Equilar, companies actually increased the amount they spent on the use of private jets even at the height of the financial crisis last year. That trend, Equilar suggests, seems to be increasing this year as well.

TravelDividends thinks that the air charter market will continue to grow as, given Wall Street’s aversion to bad publicity, any public sign of conspicuous corporate extravagance is unlikely to return any time soon. As such, bankers, CEOs, consultants and other top-level business executives will use private air charter providers to keep their travel expenses as opaque to outside prying eyes as possible.

www.traveldividends.com

24/09/09