We all might want one but when it comes to justifying the acquisition of a private jet, there are two fundamental questions you need ask yourself: can you afford one and are you racking up over 350 hours of flight time per year?
If the answer to the first is ‘no’, then forget about private aviation. For now. If the answer to the second question is ‘no’, then perhaps you should look at fractional ownership as a more viable alternative.
If you have said ‘yes’ to both let’s move on to your set of choices. Private jets basically come in three sizes: small, medium and large. Light jets cost around 10 million USD and typically carry six passengers up to 3,000 kilometres. Midsize jets cost around 20 million USD and can carry ten passengers about 5,000 kilometres. Large executive jets cost upwards of 50 million USD and can fly 12 passengers more than 6,500 kilometres.
That really is jet ownership in a nutshell. Except a new company called Aerion has dangled a very attractive carrot before the prospect of large jet ownership. You see, this small company based in Nevada has spent the last nine years working on what will become the first supersonic private jet.
The 80 million USD twelve-seat jet will have a maximum cruising speed of Mach 1.6. This means you can fly from New York to Paris in only four hours and fifteen minutes, which is a three and a quarter hour saving over traditional subsonic flight.
Of course, it will be some time until Aerion’s jet passes the rigorous international customer and regulatory certification processes but the plan is to make first deliveries by 2020.
“The continued demand for big expensive aeroplanes during these lean years reinforces the market research we have previously done,” Brian Barents, Aerion vice chairman and former head of Bombardier Learjet said earlier this year. “Obviously, the success that Gulfstream is having with the G650, which sells for between 60 and 70 million USD, reinforces the fact that there remains a market for that size of airplane, as far as price goes. But it’s clear that speed is the next frontier, and we’re the only one offering an alternative there. So we believe that the market research we did a few years ago is still sound, and we’re bullish on the financial underpinnings of this project.”
The company has secured 50 deposit-backed Letters of Intent from interested customers, amounting to a sizeable 40 billion USD backlog of orders. And with on-going tests being conducted in conjunction with NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Centre it seems they have everything in place to deliver the dream. Supersonic flights coming soon to an airport near you? As Aerion’s catchphrase says “it’s a matter of time”.
