A lot of people in Boulder are a natural fit for us. Fractional airplane management was debuted in 1986 by Berkshire Hathaway company, Executive Jet, and called NetJets. The market for fractional airplane ownership has continued to grow rapidly since it was started, said Pete West, senior vice president of the National Business Aviation Association. They're growing by leaps and bounds. Fractional airplane ownership is an important part of the airline industry, West said.
Many companies can benefit from having a flying office.
Most of the business people using fractionally owned planes aren't top CEOs, West said. West said he expects large commercial airlines to begin to recognize the importance of fractional airplane ownership. In May, United Airlines announced that it was breaking into the fractional ownership market by debuting BizJet, a standalone business devoted to fractional ownership of business jets. West said he expects other major airlines to follow in United's footsteps and also open fractional ownership businesses. Large national fractional airplane management companies include Bombardier Aerospace's FlexJet program and Raytheon's Travel Air business.