Business Jet Traveler » April 2009

Aero car takes to the air
June 1, 2009
This car can turn into an airplane as quickly as Clark Kent changes clothes.
The Transition "roadable" aircraft-which can be converted from a car to an airplane or vice versa in less than 30 seconds-made its debut flight on March 5. The trip aloft was the first of several exercises in which the vehicle will be flown only over a runway, according to manufacturer Terrafugia, a Woburn, Mass. startup firm.
Aircraft Interchanges
June 1, 2009
A citation bravo costs far less to operate than a global 5000, a potential pr
One seemingly enticing opportunity for business jet owners presented by the Federal Aviation Regulations (FARs) is the interchange agreement. The rule lets you "interchange" your jet with someone else's, allowing you, in the FAA's words, "to augment or more fully utilize" your aircraft.
Fractional Provider Offers Residual-value Guarantee
June 1, 2009
CitationShares, Cessna's fractional ownership, membership card and aircraft management services division, has announced a three-year, 100-percent residual-value guarantee on new purchases of preowned shares. The guarantee applies to one-sixteenth shares (50 hours a year of flying time) or larger and may be exercised in months 13 through 36 of the contract.
GAMA: Bizjet Deliveries Down, Turboprops Up
June 1, 2009
Manufacturers delivered 191 business jets in the first quarter of this year, according to the General Aviation Manufacturers Association. The figure represents a large decline from the record-setting 297 deliveries in the same period last year. In the turboprop segment, first-quarter deliveries rose slightly from 85 last year to 87 in 2009.
Heliport Shuttle To Serve UK Business Aviation Airports
June 1, 2009
PremiAir helicopter service has announced the London Heliport Shuttle to provide transportation between London Heliport in Battersea and the UK's business aviation airports. According to the company, the launch recognizes that "some 40 percent of PremiAir's helicopter traffic now connects with private jet arrivals into UK airports."
Suze Orman Interview
April 7, 2009
Listen to Suze Orman'sentire interview with Business Jet Traveler's executive editor Jeff Burger, as recorded at the CNBC studio in New Jersey. The audio file includes considerable material that we didn't have room for in the published article.
Editor's Desk: Irrational exuberance? No, thank you
April 1, 2009
Business aviation has been taking it on the chin ever since Congress began pummeling the Big Three auto CEOs in December. Now any company that has taken bailout money is fair game for similar direct hits, if there is even a hint that it might be using business aviation to make itself more efficient. Citigroup unintentionally grabbed the spotlight with its order for a Dassault Falcon 7X.
With Eclipse in Bankruptcy, Owners Await Auction
April 1, 2009
Although Eclipse Aviation, maker of the Eclipse 500 very light jet, is undergoing Chapter 7 liquidation bankruptcy proceedings, the judge in the case has yet to set
Lotus Exige S 240
April 1, 2009
The S 240 is exactly what a Lotus has always been: a four-cylinder bare-bones
Returning a seriously good car to its lender at the conclusion of an evaluation brings a mixture of relief that it has survived a week on New York metro-area roads unscathed and regret that the loan is up. The Lotus Exige S 240 is the first loaner I've returned with more relief than regret, and that's a reflection on its preferred habitat rather than a verdict on the machine.
The Zeppelins Are Back
April 1, 2009
The Zepplin NT is flying on four continents and has carried more than 85,000
I hear a faint hum as the Zeppelin NT, flying low over Friedrichshafen, Germany, slips ghostlike in and out of my view through the tree line. Now it's in the clear, looking majestic and stately, a true throwback to the 1930s.

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Quote/Unquote

“Let me be straight with you. What I'd rather have is an airplane. We just had a third kid. I don't like flying commercial. I like to take my family to Hawaii. When I go east, I'd like to have pilots I know. ”

-Steve Jobs