Frac Attack: The Shift to Fractional Ownership

The largest aircraft operators in fractional ownership, Netjets and Flexjet, have had incredible year-over-year growth. 

Just look at the data that comes out of Wing-X Advantage weekly bulletin to see their rapid growth since the pandemic. But why are more UHNWI and corporates choosing to go the fractional route as opposed to traditional aircraft ownership or charter?

Two key factors: simplicity and consistency.

I write a weekly newsletter on business aviation trends, where I explore the economics behind the various ways of flying private including charter, fractional and whole aircraft ownership. 

The feedback I get from many newsletter readers is that the attraction of fractional is the simplicity. They don’t want to go through the process of vetting a management company, hiring pilots or finding hard-to-find hangar space. It’s a hassle to get aircraft insurance and oversee maintenance. 

So why are these clients fractional ownership over charter–especially when charter ends up being relatively the same annual spend? 

It’s the consistency.

Fractional owners at NetJets, Flexjet, PlaneSense, and similar providers, know what to expect. The client knows the experience that they’re going to have in regards to safety, cleanliness and reliable scheduling. Ad-hoc charter lacks the same consistency because the operator can change with each trip, making the experience less predictable.

Fractional ownership offers simplicity, consistency and tax benefits not found in charter. But I’ll stay in my lane and let Angel explain the tax advantages.