Jet Management Europe of Rotterdam has begun to operate a Falcon 2000, on behalf of a Dutch internet company. Here's what managing director Willem de Kruif thinks of the widebody globetrotter from Dassault: "It is a perfect aeroplane, we are very fond of it. From a pilot point of view, it is a great aeroplane to fly, reliable for maintenance, and has good product support from the manufacturer, which is an important consideration for us."

While the owners preferred not to be named, a separate corporate entity by the name of Internet Jet BV has been set up to operate the aircraft. The Falcon 2000 has been flying far and wide, de Kruif reports, most of the time operating in the south of Europe. It is flying around 30 hours a month.

"Our company came from a corporate flight department. We changed over to being a management company for high-end business jets. Our customers, in order to manage their jets legally, put them in the name of a registered BV company here in Holland - 'BV' is the same as 'Limited' in the UK or 'Inc' in the US: It means that there is no public stock. Legally speaking, our company is the director of the BV company. It is just a management construction," he told EBAN.

Jet Management Europe is undertaking a similar 'management construction' named 'Lost Boys Aviation,' with a Falcon 900, this time for a software company. There will be another such venture being set up next year, de Kruif reports. The owners consulted Jet Management Europe before choosing the Falcon 2000. "I don't want to exaggerate our role in all this," said de Kruif modestly. "We talk to people who might be interested in buying a high-end business jet. We do some study about their travel patterns: 'yes' or 'no' to intercontinental, 'yes' or 'no' to wide body. After that, we present the different products available in the market today.

"In this case, there was an evaluation finally between the Challenger 604 and the 2000." What was the decisive factor, we asked? "Emotional."

The interior of the Falcon 2000 is vip configured. Jet Management don't fly a stewardess with the owner, although this service is standard for charter flights. Features include in-flight entertainment and SATCOM on board.

"We calculate you can operate an aeroplane in this category about 600 hours a year, effectively. The amount of charter the aircraft undertakes all depends on the owner's needs, both the number of hours flown and the number of days when the aircraft is utilised."

So, do the needs of the aircraft's owners pose a logistical problem to chartering that aircraft out? Do the owners place last minute demands which necessitate the substitution of a separate aircraft for the charter client? Or do people specifically request the 2000?

"All of the above is true," de Kruif laughed. "The key word in all this is communication. I don't sell my aeroplane for a charter unless we have the approval of the owner. The bottom line in operations like this one is that it becomes not an issue of economics. Quality is number one and finance is number two.

"If the owner wants to fly to Barcelona, and does not know when to come back, it might take four days and we will not organise charter until we know. De Kruif continued: "Things are busy in Amsterdam and the Netherlands at the moment, but personally I feel that you must not look at things nationally, but Europe-wide.

"I have the strong feeling that we are only at the beginning. I think we in Europe will follow the United States. It is becoming common to own a jet; not a luxury for the happy few, but more a regular way of travelling as people are getting more and more annoyed at the delays in the airline industry.

"Fractional ownership is not a threat to us. I don't think I have ever lost a customer to a fractional ownership scheme. "I think the way they (fractional providers) market it, at least it is getting people thinking about business aviation. We personalise our service, and I don't think we are much more expensive.

When asked to provide some examples of the kind of personalised service Jet Management Europe provides, de Kruif said: "It hasn't happened, but if an owner wants a 6'2" pilot with brown shoes and blue eyes, we make sure that he gets it. This is a real example: I've had a pilot shop around at two in the morning in a 24-hour shop because his client wanted Evian mineral water and not any other make. So we go as far as it takes. "It has to be royal style," de Kruif said.