Fractional Ownership News
International Registry Provides Boost for Fractional Aircraft Market
Dublin, 15 June 2007 - It was announced today that fractional and partial ownership of aircraft can now be registered on the International Registry of Mobile Assets a global database, established under the Cape Town Convention, that records security interests in and determines legal priority of interests in aircraft, helicopters and engines. The change, which came into operation last week, was in response to the increasing numbers of corporations and individuals owning partial shares in aircraft.
The Registry's new service ensures that the benefits of the Cape Town Convention are extended to partial owners of aircraft and their financiers. The partial or fractional ownership of private aircraft is now a rapidly growing segment throughout the world, having commenced in the United States some twenty years ago.
The market for the fractional ownership of business jets is already well established, particularly in the US, with fractional companies currently accounting for 12-15% of new business jet deliveries according to the Teal Group, and the market is growing rapidly in Europe and Asia. Since a whole aircraft must be accounted for on the Registry there has, up to now, been no facility of registering partial ownership.
The changes to the Registry required to accommodate partial ownership of aircraft were designed in close consultation with a working group of the International Registry Advisory Board. They were introduced to users in a workshop in Oklahoma City, which was attended by representatives of the major fractional providers and their advisers. Under the new process, a drop down list provides a choice of eleven percentages ranging from 3.125% to 50% which may be chosen in respect of each interest; alternatively a percentage with up to six decimal places may be inputted.
Niall Greene, Managing Director of Aviareto Limited, managers of the Registry, said, "The additional functionality we have just introduced on the Registry is in direct response to the needs of the fractional ownership market. The changes to the Registry, made in consultation with our Advisory Board, mark the most significant structural improvement to the Registry since its launch 18 months ago. Additional planned improvements include providing users with the ability to register multiple assets in a single transaction, and increasing the speed of the approval process for administrators and entities."
For further information, please contact:
Charlie Pryor
The Wordshop
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7031 8270
Email: cp@theword-shop.com
About the International Registry of Mobile Assets
The International Registry of Mobile Assets provides a method of recording security interests and determining their priority. It is based on the Cape Town Convention and Protocol, an international treaty covering the financing and leasing of aircraft. The goal of The Registry, the only global database of its kind, is to provide creditors with increased transparency of existing security interests in aircraft, helicopters and engines, and more certainty in bankruptcy situations. It does so by creating greater confidence as to how the relevant legal regime will respect the creditors' contractual rights, and by giving creditors efficient and effective means of enforcing their rights.
For further information, please go to www.internationalregistry.aero
About Aviareto
Aviareto, a joint venture between SITA and Irish Government interests, has a contract with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the Supervisory Authority of the International Registry, to establish and operate the International Registry of Mobile Assets for the benefit of users. The company draws on the joint strengths of SITA and the Irish aviation industry.
For more information, please go to www.aviareto.aero
