Charter Air Cos. Try New, Business-Friendlier Channels

<B>Charter Air Cos. Try New, Business-Friendlier Channels</B>

By David Jonas

As more and more corporations begin to realize the added value of using private jets as substitutes for scheduled commercial air transport, new charter companies and fractional ownership providers are appearing on the scene and offering new ways to do business.

Skyjet.com, a Web-based provider of real-time business aircraft reservations, last month brought the Priceline concept to air chartering. Its new online auction feature, dubbed MySkyjet, enables travelers and travel arrangers to bid on pre-existing flight schedules by various aircraft operators or to create their own itineraries, name a price and see if there are any takers.

Skyjet cited a few trends that support the new functionality, including an increase in online booking, growth in online auctions and such inadequacies of scheduled commercial service as overcrowding and delays.

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Bidding For Jet Seats</B>

To bid on a flight, travelers or travel arrangers simply visit www.Skyjet.com, complete the registration process, scroll through available auctions and submit a bid. They also can submit a proposed itinerary to be bid on by multiple operators. For repeated trips to the same destination, the traveler can request "temporary shuttle" service. The company said the auction also will help charter operators to more efficiently use their jets by filling empty return legs.

Skyjet first came on the scene in 1997 when it pioneered real-time online charter reservations (BTN, Nov. 15, 1999). Its network now includes 235 North American charter operators totaling a fleet of more than 1,300 planes.

Skyjet.com isn't the only company to bring online auctioning to the charter air industry. BidJetCharter.com, a service of Quincy, Mass.-based Aviation One Management, launched its site late last month. Its name tells the story, which may have a happy ending for many corporate travelers. "Customers will have unprecedented opportunities to fly on private aircraft at lower rates than traditionally offered," said William McKelvey, president and CEO of Aviation One Management. "It is a more realistic option for many companies."

Of similar design, Ejets launched last week. The Aliso Viejo, Calif.-based charter company is giving corporate travelers access to a fleet in excess of 1,000 aircraft via its Web site (www.ejets.com). Though customers cannot name their own price, a simple procedure matches them with the most appropriate plane. Visitors to the site input their itinerary information and "within minutes" receive back a list of available jet providers and pricing information. The actual transaction then can be completed directly online or via Ejets' telephone concierge service.

Meanwhile, fractional ownership continues to emerge as a viable option for many corporations, depending on travel patterns. JetOne, based in Waterford, Mich., is planning to grow its fleet of eight-passenger Citation II and III aircraft to nine by year-end. The company offers fractional ownership deals ranging from one-sixteenth to one-half ownership stakes in the jets, or between 50 and 400 flight hours per year. A quarter share, or 200 flight hours, costs $695,000 for a Citation II.

"We have several clients signed up already, ranging from law firms to automotive supply corporations," said John Scicluna, JetOne's executive vice president. "We sit down with them, get an idea of their travel needs and determine which level of ownership will work best."

Scicluna added that JetOne currently is in negotiations with several software firms, confirming the trend of technology startups turning to private jets as an incentive for their new and existing high-talent employees.

JetOne has a sales office in Orlando, but is expanding its marketing efforts in Chicago. Though its focus is the Midwest, JetOne dispatches aircraft coast to coast, and recently signed on with DaimlerChrysler Aviation, a well-known operating and maintenance provider in the private jet industry.

"If the weather is good, you're good," Scicluna said, citing the numerous benefits of private jets over commercial air travel. "You can visit two cities in a day and still be home for dinner."

Xjets is another new player in the fractional ownership game. The Newport Beach, Calif.-based company expects by early summer to have available for interested corporations its fractional ownership program--initially 20 quarter shares in eight Cessna Citations. Xjets said all owners would have access to a jet within six hours of requesting one. The program also will include concierge service and a database of requirements and accommodations for every client.

Meanwhile, Air Partner, a charter company claiming to be the world's largest private aircraft provider by flying customers--including Fortune 500 companies--more than six million miles annually, recently has launched new sales operations in the United States. The company, which also has offices in Cologne, London, Paris and Zurich, opened locations in New York and Ft. Lauderdale to more efficiently serve U.S.-based corporations.

Air Partner, which doesn't actually own any planes, instead uses a vast database of suppliers around the world to match corporate clients with aircraft to fulfill specific needs.