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Sentient Adds New Offering That No Fractional or Jet Card Program Can Match

Dépèche transmise le 11 mars 2009 par Business Wire

Sentient Adds New Offering That No Fractional or Jet Card Program Can Match

WEYMOUTH, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sentient Jet Membership, one of the leading private jet travel solutions in the United States, announced today that it has introduced a new benefit for its Membership Plus Program, extending guaranteed availability and fixed hourly rates to include specific jet models. This latest enhancement to Sentient’s industry-leading Jet Membership Program will include guaranteed access to three of the most popular jets in the market today: the Hawker 400XP, Citation Excel, and Citation X.

“Over the years we have seen that many private jet travelers purchase multiple products to meet their different flying needs. With the introduction of jet-specific booking, our Membership Plus Program is clearly a superior alternative to buying multiple products,” said Steven Hankin, chief executive officer of Sentient Flight Group. “This is a natural extension of our practical approach to private jet travel and provides Members an entirely new level of value and choice. Whether you want to fly on one specific jet, prefer the option of booking by category, or want to fly a combination of the two depending on your travel needs, Membership Plus offers incredible flexibility along with our renowned commitment to safety and service.”

Sentient Jet Members joining the Plus program can now book either by size category or specifically book the Hawker 400XP, Citation Excel, or Citation X for each individual trip. Membership Plus provides guaranteed availability in as little as 10 hours for these three specific jets and for all four size categories. Importantly, the certified aircraft supporting the new jet-specific offering will have an average age of 2.5 years, less than half the average age of comparable models in the fractional fleet. Consistent with Sentient’s long-standing commitment to deliver world-class value, maximum hourly rates on the three jet-specific options are on average 15% below the leading fractional card programs for one-way travel. Membership Plus also offers Sentient’s revolutionary Network Pricing feature on all jet-specific bookings as well as category bookings.

"In this market, fractional programs have become increasingly costly. As clients have moved away from these capital-intensive programs to the Sentient Membership approach, they have requested the ability to book a specific aircraft. We are thrilled to have added this new benefit to meet their needs," added Hankin. “Our Members have also responded very favorably to the innovative Network Pricing feature we introduced three months ago. This feature offers extraordinary value by reducing the cost of flying on many of our Members’ flights by up to 25%. We are confident that the new jet-specific offering will also be well received and continue to attract new fliers to our programs, supporting our strong track record of growth.”

The Sentient Jet Membership Program does not require a long-term capital commitment and protects clients from the risk of depreciating assets. Over the past 10 years, Sentient has built a strong reputation for the company’s relentless focus on service and safety. Membership offers fixed hourly rates for one-way trips, discounts for round-trip itineraries, as well as the potential for substantial savings on all travel through Sentient’s new Network Pricing feature. With Network Pricing, which is enabled through the strength and breadth of the company’s carefully certified operator network, Sentient’s published hourly rates are now the maximum a Member will pay. When lower rates can be achieved through optimizing itineraries within the network, these savings are shared directly with Members. All Member flights, whether booked by size category or specifically on a Hawker 400XP, Citation Excel, or Citation X, will continue to have the potential for exceptional savings from Network Pricing.

About Sentient Jet Membership

Since pioneering the membership approach to private jet travel in 1999, the Sentient Jet Membership Program has established itself as a private aviation leader by offering service, quality, flexibility and value to its clients. Sentient Jet Membership is the most flexible and economically sound approach to private aviation. Members enjoy access to premium executive-class aircraft with a guaranteed response time of as little as ten hours anywhere in the continental United States. The program features guaranteed availability as well as both one-way and round-trip pricing at fixed hourly rates. Sentient Jet Membership arranges flights on behalf of clients through access to a strong network of certified operators and aircraft. Flights are conducted by FAR certified air carriers that exercise full operational control at all times. Operators approved to provide service for Sentient must meet all FAA safety standards and additional safety standards established by Sentient.

Sentient Jet Membership is a program of Sentient Flight Group, LLC, which is wholly-owned by Macquarie Global Opportunities Partners, L.P. (“MGOP”). MGOP, which acquired Sentient Flight Group in 2008, is an investment fund managed by the Macquarie Group. Macquarie is a global provider of banking, financial, advisory, investment and funds management services. Macquarie is an owner and manager of significant assets around the world and its investment expertise includes deep experience in the aviation industry.