Fare wars hit the fractional planeshare market
New, cheaper options are emerging for those travelers tired of commercial flights according to this Wall Street Journal story (subscription required):
It's a major shift in the way private planes are marketed to people who want the use of one -- but don't want to buy the whole thing. The new membership programs allow executives to buy a set amount of flying time with few strings attached. Previously, the only way to do it was to purchase a "fraction" of an actual plane. Several companies sell them in slivers as skinny as 1/16th, but that gets expensive: No matter how you slice it, after all, you're still buying a piece of a jet.
...Delta's AirElite unit tentatively plans to price its memberships between $88,000 (which gets you 25 hours in a small jet) to $783,000 (100 hours in a large jet). The contracts will also come with membership in Delta's frequent-flier program.
...Still, the fractional business has held up relatively well recently. The number of fractional owners rose nearly 14% in the year ended June 30. NetJets, the industry leader and a unit of Berkshire Hathaway, says its sales spiked last fall after the terrorist attacks, but since have flattened. Nevertheless, NetJets recently ordered more than 200 new Gulfstream and Cessna business jets, for fleet replacements and growth.