Dépêches

Flight Options Sees Total Fractional and Private Jet Card Sales Rise 33 Percent in the First Nine Months of 2011

Dépèche transmise le 11 octobre 2011 par Business Wire

CLEVELAND--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Flight Options, LLC, the second-largest company in the private jet travel industry, today announced strong year-over-year growth in sales and operations during the first nine months of 2011, reflecting strong demand for the company’s fractional ownership, membership and jet card programs.

“Our Citation X, Phenom 300 and JetPASS programs continue to resonate with current and prospective Owners or Members seeking competitively priced, flexible access to aircraft that meets their business and personal travel needs or preferences.”

“Flight Options delivers a compelling value proposition in any economic cycle, and our strong sales performance through the first part of 2011 underscores that appeal,” said Michael J. Silvestro, Flight Options Chief Executive Officer. “Our Citation X, Phenom 300 and JetPASS programs continue to resonate with current and prospective Owners or Members seeking competitively priced, flexible access to aircraft that meets their business and personal travel needs or preferences.”

In the first nine months of 2011, Flight Options announced a 33 percent total sales increase compared to the first nine months of 2010. The increase was driven by a 14 percent rise in fractional jet sales and a 57 percent increase in JetPASS® card sales. Fractional utilization, which measures how actively the company’s Owners/Members are using their shares, was up five percent compared to the first nine months of 2010. JetPASS jet flight revenue hours rose 25 percent during the same period.

“We are sourcing interest from all corners of the market – from seasoned fractional owners not currently with Flight Options who are looking for better pricing to jet card users looking to make a longer-term commitment to entirely new, first-time owners,” added Silvestro. “Importantly, a growing number of current Owners, Members and Cardholders are renewing their fractional and jet card agreements, an encouraging trend for our company and the industry.”

Flight Options operates a fleet of more than 100 jets for over 1,300 Owners and Members, and has taken delivery of more new business jets in 2011 than any fractional operator worldwide. The company also operates five of its own full-service maintenance centers nationwide to ensure the highest levels of maintenance, service and safety. Flight Options offers its clients a range of programs at a cost of up to 30 percent less than its competitors, combining the low hourly rates of charter services with the safety and consistency of private jet ownership.

This past summer, Flight Options launched a new membership program for the Embraer Phenom 300 that combines the flexibility of a jet card with the advantages of fractional ownership. The new program, which does not require an asset purchase or involve monthly management fees, allows members to access blocks of flight time in 25 or 50 hour increments in the Phenom 300 to be used anytime within a 36-month membership period. Flight Options recently entered into a three-year, USD$167 million financing agreement with Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social (BNDES) to help underwrite the acquisition of new Phenom 300 jet aircraft for this program.

Silvestro added, “Financial strength and operating stability are key considerations for private jet owners in any market, but especially so in uncertain economic times. Our sales performance in 2011 quantifies what we have always known to be true – that Flight Options is an industry leader in providing service, safety and value. We have taken delivery of seven brand new aircraft since the start of 2011 and expect to add several more before the end of year, underscoring our financial flexibility at a time when few, if any, fractional operators are aggressively adding new aircraft to their fleets.”

About Flight Options
Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Flight Options, LLC is the second-largest private aviation company in the United States, providing more than 1,300 Owners and clients with a full suite of fractional ownership, membership and 25-hour card programs. The company’s fleet consists of more than 100 aircraft including the Hawker 400XP, Nextant 400XT, Embraer Phenom 300, Hawker 800XP, Citation X and Embraer Legacy 600, flying clients to most of North America, the Caribbean or Europe with as little as eight hours notice. With five FAA Diamond Award-winning maintenance centers in Las Vegas, Teterboro, West Palm Beach, Sacramento and Cleveland, Flight Options was the first fractional jet operator to receive the ARG/US Platinum Safety Rating and is the only provider to have received the rating five consecutive times. More information is available at www.flightoptions.com or by calling 877.703.2348. Like us on Facebook http://facebook.com/flightoptions, follow us on Twitter http://twitter.com/flightoptions or download the Flight Options iPhone Application.