Bombardier Flexjet recently held a press conference announcing a redirection in its fractional ownership programme under the name Jet Membership. James Hoblyn, managing director of Flexjet Europe, said: “Until now the North American model of fractional ownership has been simply transferred to the European market. We are now launching a new category for business aviation – Jet Membership.”

Hoblyn is keen to encourage growth in European business jet travel which, he believes, has not yet been fully exploited: “Europe is responsible for 39 per cent of the world’s economic activity and only 13 per cent of the business aircraft fleet.” Nevertheless, Bombardier feels that the imbalance between the US and European markets will fuel growth in the Europe. “This market has been growing comparatively faster and may even overtake the US growth rate,” he added.

Jet Membership is divided into two programmes: Premiere and same day business. Premiere is tailored towards frequent travellers and offers greater flexibility from 4,700 euros per flight hour. Same day business refers to those wishing to have same day and/or overnight return to the departure airport, costing 3,750 euros per flight hour. Hoblyn explained: “Bombardier wants to offer flexibility to accommodate regional differences across Europe and a large fleet of new aircraft. There is schedule flexibility, whereby a customer is permitted to be up to 90 minutes late or change a flight at short notice. Minimal commitment is required, an initial 12 month dedication is asked for followed by just three months notice.”

Customers will also have access to Flexjet North America, Asia-Pacific and beyond, with a full range of Bombardier product available (including helicopters and turboprops). A group of ‘partners’ Europe-wide will be called upon to provide the aircraft, including: Execujet Scandinavia, TAG Aviation, Gold Air International and Aero-Dienst. “We also have a second network of partners that we are developing, in order to back us up on busy days,” added Hoblyn. The company plans to improve upon last year’s total flight hours, rising from 5,000 nautical miles to 8-9,000 this year: “We expect to double our business over the next two years,” predicted Hoblyn.