Fractional ownership, conceived by Richard Santulli when he launched NetJets some 22 years ago, has proven to be an amazingly practical way to gain business and private aircraft benefits. Santulli reasoned that if you don't need an aircraft but do need the benefits it provides, why buy a whole plane when you can purchase just the time you need?rnAt a fraction of the cost, the financial leverage is considerable, and you gain all the advantages plus guaranteed availability. So although that $13 million midsize jet might strain the budget, if you're only planning to fly 100 hours per year, it will cost you merely $1.6 million - that's an 88% discount. In addition, unlike buying outright, fractional ownership presents some other unique benefits such as the simultaneous use of multiple airplanes. "You may need a larger aircraft some of the time, and at other times a smaller plane may be more suitable," says Netjets' Colucci. In fact, you can exchange hours for a larger or smaller aircraft at any time based on individual trip needs. "That means the Gulfstream owner can use a Citation Excel to fly to Washington on Monday and the fast Citation X to go to Los Angeles on Wednesday, and then fly to Moscow in his Gulfstream next week," Colucci says.
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