Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com October 10, 2016 • Hartford Business Journal 3 Fractional ownership jet provider targets CT businesses, wealthy By John Stearns jstearns@HartfordBusiness.com A er Lingus has received most of the attention lately at Bradley Internation- al Airport, but it hasn't been the only airliner trying to gain the attention — and business — of Hartford-area travelers. Cleveland-based Flexjet LLC recently showed off the newest, top of the line midsize business jet in its fleet at Bradley Airport in Windsor Locks, hoping to whet the appetite of the state's high- net-worth individuals and business executives. Hartford was the second stop on Flexjet's 41-city, coast-to-coast tour hopscotching the U.S. through October. Flexjet is the first U.S.-based fractional ownership provider to offer the eight-seat Embraer Legacy 450 business jet, which is "considered to be the most technologically advanced and comfortable aircraft in its class," the company said. In fractional own- ership, companies or individuals purchase a fraction (as little as 1/16th share) of an air- craft and receive management and pilot ser- vices associated with the aircraft's operation. Convenience is a big reason businesses and individuals opt for private jets, said Kevin Bjorkdahl, the Stratford-based sales director for Flexjet, which has been flying fractional owners in and out of Bradley since 1995. The company can access about 5,000 U.S. airports directly from Harford vs. 31 on com- mercial carriers, he said. Flexjet declined to share how many trips it flies out of Hartford or how many owners it has in the region, saying it serves its owners here with regularity and that its travel in and out of Bradley has remained consistent for the past five years. "Our owner base in the Hartford area is a lower concentration than what we have in the New York area, but these owners tend to be high-utilization customers," Flexjet said. Connecticut customers typically use the company's light- to mid-sized jets for short business trips — to White Plains, N.Y.; Teter- boro, N.J.; Boston; Bedford,Mass.; Montreal; Syracuse; and Chicago to name a few destina- tions — so they can get home in the evening to be with their families, the company said. Altogether, Bradley handles more than 20,000 business jet arrivals and departures annually, according to federal statistics. The Connecticut Airport Authority said corporate traffic seems to be picking up. The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) said flight hours nationally have rebounded somewhat since nosediving after the Great Recession in 2008. "The reason for that is that business aviation … is very closely tied to the economy," said NBAA spokesman Dan Hubbard. "Although there has been some recovery, the flight hours still don't amount to the historic highs from 2007." Demand for the Legacy 450 has been Capt. Jerry Smith (top of stairs) and Kevin Bjorkdahl, sales director, show the Embraer Legacy 450 parked at Signature Flight Support at Bradley International Airport. H B J P H O T O | J O H N S T E A R N S 860.871.1111 Toll Free: 800.741.6367 nemsi.com License #'s: E1-104939 • S1-302974 • P1-203519 • F1-10498 • SM1-192 • MC-1134 MECHANICAL • ELECTRICAL • PLUMBING • SHEET METAL • BUILDING AUTOMATION • FACILITIES SERVICES SERVICE SOLUTIONS…ONE SOURCE The company that builds and installs the critical systems in virtually every type of facility is the same company you can rely on to maintain them. For 50 years, our clients have trusted us to deliver end-to-end facilities solutions, so they can focus on their core business. We are experts in: Facilities Services Preventive Maintenance Programs Onsite Operations & Maintenance 196 6-2016 196 6-2016 Some fractional economic considerations Fractional shares are depreciable assets with lower capital outlay versus whole ownership of an aircraft. With fractional ownership, fixed costs are allocated among owners by their share, effectively reducing overall fixed costs. Generally, costs to manage a fractional aircraft share (reflected in the monthly management fee and occupied hourly rate) can approximate the costs to man- age a whole aircraft for the larger share size purchases (e.g., a quarter-share size). Fractional aircraft experience increased market value depreciation due to high uti- lization (e.g., some contracts permit as much as 1,700 hours of annual utilization). S O U R C E : N A T I O N A L B U S I N E S S A V I A T I O N A S S O C I A T I O N P H O T O | C O N T R I B U T E D Continued

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