Fractional Jet Ownership
The term fractional jet ownership originally became popular for business jets. Richard Santulli of NetJets pioneered the concept of allowing businesses to purchase shares in a jet to reduce costs — other companies such as Flight Options and FlexJet followed with the same model.
With a fractional jet plan
members will
typically fly in any jet available, not necessarily
the one in which they own shares. The company will
reposition jets as necessary and provide flight crews.
Companies with greater needs purchase larger shares to
get access to more time.
The fractional jet ownership concept has
since been extended to smaller aircraft, and is now
become common for single-engine piston aircraft like
the Cirrus SR22, which are beyond the financial means
of most private pilots. The same concepts apply,
except that the management company does not typically
provide flight crews or reposition the aircraft. The
first prominent company in this area was OurPlane, but
many others have since started up.
Fractional Jet ownership has played a
significant role in revitalizing the general aviation
manufacturing industry since the late 1990s, and most
manufacturers actively support fractional ownership
programs.