Bombardier announced at NBAA that Flexjets Europe is now fully up and running. With a current fleet of six aircraft - three Learjet 31s, two Learjet 60s and one Challenger 604 - Bombardier says it expects to expand the European wing of its fractional ownership programme to ten aircraft by the end of this year, with a target of around 40 aircraft in service in five years time.\rSpeaking at the presentation, Flexjet Europe managing director Mark Self claimed that Bombardier had spent a lot of time adapting its US fractional ownership scheme to a European model, and that it felt that there were "a number of factors coming together to make this decision right."\r"We believe there is a tremendous pent-up demand for business aircraft in Europe," Self continued. He suggests this has been created by the general trend towards a more global trading environment, helped also by the lowering of trade barriers between EC member countries and increasingly strong links between European companies and their American counterparts, where business aviation is a more widely accepted part of business travel. Bombardier believes that it has a different approach to other companies offering fractional ownership, as it will be able to allow its customers to enter with a low share, trade up when necessary and ultimately own their own aircraft - a Bombardier one, of course!\rThe initial entry cost into the programme is also claimed to cost substantially less than other fractional operations. The outlay is made by way of a fully refundable deposit, equating to a 20 per cent cost of the share. The capital costs are then reflected in the monthly management fees. As the initial cost is deposit-based, Bombardier suggests that a 100 per cent residual value is guaranteed, with no brokerage fees at the end of the contract.\rThe European Flexjets operation is a joint venture between Bombardier and Execujet Aviation, and the aircraft will be operationally based in Denmark. However, in common with most fractional set-ups, the aircraft will only return to their base when needed to. The fleet will eventually be placed on the Danish register, although they are operating currently on the existing Execujet AOC. \rDenmark was chosen for the European base because of the multi-lingual abilities of the population, and attractive incentives for new businesses to be based in the country. Mark Self also suggested that there are a lot of cultural similarities between the two partners in this venture. A one sixteenth share of an aircraft allows the owner 50 occupied hours per annum, which is around one to two return trips per month (dependent on the journey). However, this share can be used whenever it is needed, and if an upgrade to a larger aircraft is needed for a particular flight, then this can be calculated in relation to the existing share. For example, if a Lear 31A fractional owner needs to use a Lear 60, then one of the 31A flying hours is calculated at 1.70 hours in a Lear 60, or 3.1 hours in a Challenger.\rThere will be two service zones for the Flexjet aircraft operating in Europe, the prime area being all of the EU, except Greece, plus Switzerland and any area south of the 61st parallel. The secondary area will be east Europe except Russia and the Ukraine. These areas may change as countries enter the EU, or the demand for flights makes more economic operation feasible. If however, the flight originates or terminates in a prime service area, there is no additional cost.\rIn a separate announcement during NBAA, designed to appease many of the corporate flight departments currently seeing fractional ownership as a threat to their livelihoods, Flexjet president Dennis Keith revealed that the company is happy to advise corporate flight departments as to whether fractional ownership would be appropriate for their particular operation, adding that "fractional ownership is just not right for many flight departments. We're not afraid to admit it, nor are we afraid to help [flight departments] prove it." This confidence is also borne about by the company's figures, which show that 80 per cent of fractional owners in the USA have not had access to business aviation before. Bombardier suggests that fractional ownership is akin to "sticking your toe in the water."