Jet Republic: New private jet company

A new “fractional ownership and block charter company” has been launched (at a launch event at Farnborough Airport) in Europe that seeks to challenge NetJets Europe. The airline is called Jet Republic will be based in Lisbon, Portugal and will fly to more than 1000 airports in Europe (including UK). The company has already placed orders for 110 Bombardier Learjet 60XRs (25 orders and 85 options) worth 1.5 billion dollars. The airline plans to start operations on September 29th 2008.

About the CEO -

• Name -Jonathan Breeze
• 36 year old former RAF pilot

Investors -

• Austrian Private Bank
• European American Investment
• Consortium of the airline’s clients

Target Clients -

• 3 million ultra-rich population across Europe

Though I do like the idea of a new fractional ownership based airline but I do have my doubts -

• Financial downturn around the world (translation – rich are not getting richer this year)
• Record high price for Jet fuel
• Volatile jet fuel prices (check the crude oil price for the last year)
• Unforcastable demand (due to the above)

A year back, I would loved the idea of this kind of startup, but with all the bankrupt airlines in the past 1 year, I have grown a little skeptical .

Anyways, Best of Luck to the new Airline!

From UK Press -

Chief executive Jonathan Breeze said: “Despite the current economic climate, the private jet market is enjoying strong growth.

“This,
coupled with the fact that we believe there is significant room for
improvement in the level of service provided by the private jet
aviation sector, means there is a very strong and real opportunity for
us to take a significant share of this market.

“We have the right
proposition, an extremely talented management team to deliver on our
strategy and the financial support to bring it to life.”

Features From Flight Global -

“We are offering a number of features and services on our aircraft that
other competitors don’t offer, including the latest communications – wireless connectivity in-flight, such as Blackberry - and security systems, improved seating. It will also have in-flight attendants as standard and offer customers a 24hr global concierge service,” says Breeze.