Aviation enthusiast and former City of London financial consultant Sam ElShafey is refining a business model for the launch of a private aircraft club designed to give members cut-price bespoke jet travel.

There are plans to purchase aircraft following current discussions with the CAA, FAA and Isle of Man authorities. "The charter business will be exclusively for members and it will ensure an aircraft is always available to them," says ElShafey. An initial order of five Eclipse 500s is planned following consultations with investors and aircraft owners who would form the core membership. This would be followed by the acquisition of an EC120 and the incorporation of other aircraft including a Challenger.

"I will be investing in a helicopter for my own personal and business use," says ElShafey, 35, who for five years worked in London for manage-ment and technology consulting firm Accenture which provides business and technology consulting and outsourcing services.

He gained his helicopter pilot's license in 2005 after six weeks of intense instruction at London Helicopters in Redhill. "Ever since I was a child I wanted to join the RAF but was not able to meet the strict eyesight qualifications," says ElShafey. "I kept very much in touch with aviation during the whole 14 years that I worked in financial services, telecommunications, retail and e-commerce. The advent of VLJs provides an opportunity to offer a club-style setup. The members of this new concern already travel by private aircraft, know the going rates and will appreciate the keen prices the club will make possible."

ElShafey, who completed the "Gumball Rally" in 2006, travelling 3,000 miles over three continents in eight days, says that membership details and the company structure will be finalised by September.