UP in the Air

Worth
Wealth in Perspective
By Roger Mola

Private aviation saves time and avoids the nightmare of public airports. but
with dozens of options, where do you turn? from medical aircraft to helicoptors
to cross-country jets, a worth guide to the best in private air travel.

It's a crowded (air)space: More than 3,000 companies market private flight.
(Eighty percent of them fly fixed-wing aircraft, the rest helicopters.) With so
many choices, finding the right firm requires method and insight. The list below
is a small sample, but each company we've chosen reflects the market segments
they chase and has an excellent reputation among its clients and within the
field.

ANGEL AIR

Most air medical or air ambulance services for executives operate a helicopter
fleet, including the largest such provider, Air Med. In contrast, Angel Air
targets the long-distance medical charter market, with a fleet of 10 corporate
jets capable of carrying up to nine passengers, including full medical staff,
and flying nonstop for 3,000 miles, equipped with full satellite communications
and even entertainment suites, all with a price guarantee.

CONTACT: Dr. Stephen R. Ellison,

AVANTAIR

While national fractional-ownership companies such as NetJets may provide sheer
quantity and variety of aircraft, boutique providers such as Avantair simplify
their cost and operations structure by flying a single type of aircraft, in this
case the Piaggio Avanti. The Avanti is a turboprop that cruises at jet-like
speeds of 450 mph, with a typical range or city pairing connecting New York to
West Palm Beach. Fractional-ownership programs often make sense if flight needs
surpass 50 hours per year, and can offer tax advantages, such as depreciation.

CONTACT: John Colucci,
AVJET

Avjet focuses on the largest-cabin and longest-range aircraft market. Its star
product is the Boeing Business Jet (BBJ), a model based on the B-737 airliner
but reconfigured to serve more than a dozen executives with meeting space,
high-end catering and private sleeping quarters.

CONTACT: John Rodriguez,

CITATIONAIR

One point of difference for CitationAir is that the firm is owned by the Cessna
Aircraft Company. Not surprisingly, that means the company exclusively flies the
highly regarded Cessna Citations. More important, CitationAir suggests that its
relationship with the parent company helps CitationAir lower costs and allows
for a broad range of client programming. CitationAir has a variety of programs
and offers easy links to overseas private air travel though a relationship with
European firm Air Partner.

CONTACT: Jenna Podberesky,

DELTA PRIVATE JETS

With an Air Elite Jet Card, Delta Private Jets customers decide on a
trip-by-trip basis whether a private business jet or a scheduled Delta Air Lines
flight at discount—or both—suits their mission. An initial deposit of $100,000
locks-in rates for two years with access to all sizes of aircraft and "all-in"
pricing that includes fuel, starting at $5,000 an hour for a light jet on
off-peak days up to $9,500 an hour for a 14-passenger jet with a range of 5,000
miles.

CONTACT: Payman Vakil-Zadeh,

EVOJETS

EvoJets specializes in reducing travel expenses with various forms of flight
sharing. They also broker smaller, turboprop aircraft appropriate for airfields
that are remote, shorter-length, high-altitude or even unpaved. Besides their
increased reach, turboprop planes burn less fuel and fly more economically than
jets, for lower-cost hire. Typical aircraft models fit six to eight passengers
but also include the Pilatus PC-12 for nine, and the Cessna Caravan for up to
14. Amenities are generally more like an SUV than a jet cabin.

CONTACT: Christopher Kelly,

EXECUTIVE JET MANAGEMENT

Executive Jet Management sells blocks of hours at a discount for a specific type
of aircraft, a good option for executives flying more than 50 hours per year and
mainly on round-trips between big cities. But the company also serves passengers
who occasionally need more than one aircraft per day or trips to and from
several cities. EJM, part of NetJets, taps a fleet of 160 aircraft spanning 45
types in all sizes and capabilities.

CONTACT: Jordan Vogel,

FLIGHT OPTIONS

Flight Options offers fractional shares of ownership in its 100 aircraft
spanning five types, with a unique expertise in the super-light Phenom 300 jet,
but also has experience in the leasing market. A lease option often fits a
client who wants to get aloft with only a first month's payment and a refundable
security deposit, a time commitment of as little as 24 months, and no risk of
declining residual value of the aircraft.

CONTACT: Matt Doyle,

HELINET AVIATION

Helinet specializes in flying senior corporate executives, with six types of
rotorcraft for charter, but also targets specific industries such as filmmaking
and government contracting. Services include catering and ground transportation
by limousine, flying unique equipment and extending its geographic reach with
international partners.

CONTACT: John Burton,

FLEXJET BY BOMBARDIER

Flexjet offers a variety of formats, from on-demand charter to full ownership,
so you can find the best fit based on the number of hours you expect to be in
the sky. But the firm's focus is a charter card to prepay usage with a flat
entry fee and fixed hourly rates with no fees or co mmitments. Flexjet flies
only Bombardier products, from the Learjet 40XR for up to six passengers at
51,000 feet—well above turbulence and congested airline routes—to the
12-passenger (plus cabin attendant) Challenger 604 and 605, with nonstop
coast-to-coast or international range and sleeping accommodations for up to five
passengers. Most models are equipped with Iridium satellite phones, DirecTV and
Internet.

CONTACT: Erin Portman,

JETSUITE


JetSuite flies the four-passenger, 450-mph Phenom 100, a light, fuel-efficient
jet built by Embraer of Brazil with an interior designed by BMW. JetSuite
travels anywhere in North America but specializes west of the Mississippi, with
the best rates available in its primary service areas of California, Arizona,
Nevada and Texas. Clients who place an initial deposit of $25,000 earn rates of
$3,000 an hour; you can also pay as you go at a retail cost of $3,500 an hour.
Under either option the Phenom 100 can be reserved for full days.


CONTACT: Sara Delowe,

NETJETS


As the first and now the world's largest program offering a fractional share of
ownership in a specific executive jet, NetJets can leverage its 800-strong fleet
and extensive client base in the U.S. and Europe to offer a guaranteed
repurchase of shares at market value, less a remarketing fee. The smallest share
available is one-sixteenth of an aircraft, or 50 flight hours per year, and the
minimum time commitment for holding a share is two years for light jets and
three for large-cabin aircraft. Fractional ownership can provide the tax
benefits of depreciation and the convenience of guaranteed availability. NetJets
also offers the Marquis Jet card, which gives cardholders 25 hours of flight
time, prepaid.


CONTACT: Dee O'Donnell,

THE PRIVATE JET COMPANY


The Private Jet Company helps clients on either the acquisition or sales side of
full ownership, providing knowledge of niche markets and an inventory of used
aircraft from at least eight major brands of business jet. (Its three most
popular are the Gulfstream, Hawker and Learjet.) The Private Jet Company
assesses clients' needs for cabin capacity and amenities, typical trip profile
and tax or balance sheet to achieve maximum depreciation or lower operating
expense, and provides legal, financial or regulatory consultation from initial
interest through the first flight.


CONTACT: Daniel Jennings,
561.247.5381,
www.ThePrivateJetCompany.com

SENTIENT JET


Sentient Jet features a membership program with several tiers of investment;
each guarantees access to its fleet with as little as 10 hours notice and fixed
hourly rates. Its flagship plan requires a deposit of $150,000, which is
refundable at any time and never expires. Clients can gain discounts by choosing
a membership program that limits their choice to the Hawker 400XP, Citation
Excel or Citation X, or that limits their flight hours to a certain category of
jet, though both discounted options place an expiration date on the funds and
restrict refunds.


CONTACT: Kevin Vaughan,


STRATOS JET CHARTERS


A broker for some 5,000 U.S.-based aircraft of all types, Stratos occupies a
segment known as empty-leg charter. One-way "empty legs" are filled at a
discount to similar charter rates because an aircraft would otherwise return to
its base or position itself for another client's trip with no paying customers.
Stratos Jet Charters also offers a membership program beginning at the $100,000
usage level.


CONTACT: Joel Thomas,


XOJET


While XOJET can arrange on-demand charter for more than 15,000 routes with no
up-front cost, or sell blocks of 50 annual flight hours, it promises to cost 25
percent less than comparable programs at NetJets. The signature XOJET offer is
tailored to executives flying the U.S. coast-to-coast: Fly between select West
or East Coast points at least three times per year, and "Coast2Coast" removes
blocked-out days, ferry charges and program exit fees. Clients can choose a
Bombardier Challenger 300 for up to 10 passengers, or the 600-mph Cessna
Citation X, which can deliver up to eight passengers from Los Angeles to New
York in four hours. All XOJET cabins are equipped with high-speed wireless
Internet.

CONTACT: Chuck Stumpf,