LATER this month an American entrepreneur called David Crowe will mount a podium in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and mark a new era in aviation.
He will be there to take delivery of an Eclipse 500, the first of a new generation of planes known as “very light jets” (VLJs).
The aircraft are remarkable for their compact size and high-tech construction. But by far the lightest part is the price.
Crowe has paid $995,000 (£528,000) for his jet — less than the cost of many executive homes, less even than some supercars. Yet for his money he will get super-plane styling, two Pratt & Whitney engines, a cruising speed of 425mph, and a range of 1,300 miles with four occupants.
Faster than a propeller plane, more flexible than scheduled airliners, the Eclipse and other VLJs are intended to be the high-flyer’s personal transport of the future. Like many other buyers, Crowe may well fly the jet himself.
“Is this ushering in a new era? We think it is,” said Andrew Broom, a spokesman for the plane’s maker, Eclipse Aviation. “This is the first very light jet to go into production.”
As he put his name down for an Eclipse five years ago, Crowe got an introductory offer. The price has since risen — but is still far below the cost of a typical executive jet.
The smallest Cessna Citation costs about $5m and a Citation XLS, capable of taking four to eight occupants, costs more than $10m. An Eclipse can be yours for $1.52m. The deposit required to secure a place in the queue is $152,000.
At that price, private jets are within the reach of small companies and rich individuals — a market that could run into many thousands of planes.
Eclipse received full Federal Aviation Administration certification last month and has two planes ready to fly, 23 in production and, it says, orders for 2,500.
Several other makers are hurrying to develop their own VLJs. Cessna, one of the largest plane manufacturers in terms of numbers, is working on the Mustang, a six-seater (including pilot) that will cost about $2.6m.
Honda has announced that it will soon start taking orders for the seven-seater HondaJet. A prototype has been flying since 2003, but the company believes full certification is still three or four years away.
Embraer Aircraft Holdings, a Brazilian company, is planning to have the Phenom 100, a compact twin-engine jet costing about $2.8m, in service by 2008. It says it has more than 235 firm orders already.
One of the most striking designs comes from Adam Aircraft, a company based in Utah. Its A700 has twin tails stretching out behind the central cabin. Capable of seating five passengers along with the pilot, the A700 will cost about $2.2m. The company has orders for more than 400.
At first sight the designs and glossy brochures make VLJs look every bit as luxurious as the current breed of executive jets. Leather seats and plush trimmings are the order of the day.
The reality, however, is that these planes are small. The inside of an Eclipse is no bigger than a minivan. There is no separate luggage hold and no loo.
The Mustang has an “emergency potty” that can be screened off behind a curtain. And the Adam A700, which can take four sets of golf clubs in a special compartment, has only a “honey bucket” in the back, plus a facility called a “relief tube” built into the side wall into which gentlemen may pee.
The makers, though, do not envisage buyers being inconvenienced. Flying times will be short, they say, restricted by the planes’ limited fuel capacities and ranges.
So how will they be used? Some companies have bold plans for exclusive, scheduled flights aimed at business executives, while others are aiming for more of a “taxi service”, going anywhere, any time for whoever wants to pay.
David Bond, a London lawyer and entrepreneur, has options for 50 VLJs and is planning to start JetSet Air next summer.
“We’ll be operating a business-jet airline between city centres during the mornings and evenings, and to European resort destinations during the day and at weekends for leisure travellers,” he said.
In Bond’s view the benefits for customers will be in time more than cost. “We’ll be broadly the same cost as scheduled airline business class,” he said. “However, our customers will arrive at their destination before anybody else has actually taken off. It will be a 10-minute check-in. You’ll drive right up to the plane.”
If Bond is right, VLJs will pose a challenge to operators of larger executive jets. The likes of Netjets, owned by Warren Buffett, have tried to bring down the cost of executive jet travel by selling fractional ownership — in effect timeshares in jets. But David Savile, chief executive of
Air Partner, the world’s largest air charter company, welcomes the VLJ phenomenon.
“It’s very exciting,” he said. “It’s introducing a new entry level, and once people have tried private jets they don’t like to go back to scheduled services.” The private-jet business is seeing a boom in leisure travel, he said, but VLJs come with serious drawbacks.
“It’s like a BMW Mini — a lot of people will be attracted,” said Savile. “But after a while they will be thinking that if they paid a little more, they could have something bigger and more comfortable, a real jet like a Lear 45.”
Far from being a threat to private-jet businesses, he believes VLJs may introduce new customers. Others see the real market for VLJs in private ownership, with individuals seeking the aviation equivalent of a Porsche — a status symbol with practical application.
Daniel Fox-Davies, a London banker who travels round Europe on business, has placed a $2.5m order for an ATG Javelin, a two-seater that looks like a fighter jet and is capable of more than 600mph. “There are weeks when I make multiple stops in multiple countries,” said Fox-Davies, 32. “Most of the time it’s just me or one other person. How often do you need to fly six executives anywhere? It’s like when you drive a car; most of the time it’s just you.”
For speed and convenience, piloting his own light plane is unbeatable, he says; and at 600mph the south of France for the weekend will be a doddle. Moreover, the Javelin, he points out, has no worse fuel consumption than a Range Rover.
The limit on the market, he believes, will be set not by affordability, but ability to fly. “There are about 20,000 pilots in Britain and most are with commercial airlines,” he said. “For owner-flyers the problem is that moving from general aviation to flying a jet is a big step.”
Though the makers claim that VLJs are simple to master, Fox-Davies is under no illusions about the Javelin. “It’s very fast,” he said. “It’s like leaping from an ordinary car to driving a top-end Ferrari on a racetrack. I grew up watching Top Gun. This is the closest I’m ever going to get to that.”
