The Ideal Fractional Program

James Butler Reveals His “Wish List” of Changes for the Fractional Industry

Bethesda, Maryland • December 2007

In his latest contribution to Business Jet Traveler, Shaircraft CEO, James Butler, challenges the traditional fractional model and suggests the top three improvements he would make in the way the fractionals do business.

“Considering that the fractional-aircraft field was borne of a new business model and has been around for more than 20 years, it is perhaps surprising that the basic structure remains fundamentally unchanged…” Butler writes. “t’s worth pondering how one might design a better fractional model.”

Butler highlights three industry-wide changes he would make:

Transparency – More disclosure to owners and no more hidden profit centers.

Flexibility – Fewer restrictions on owners swapping hours, buying more hours, selling their shares and purchasing concessions.

Cooperation – Owners should be treated as just that—owners—with more say so in how their program is operated.

Butler counsels that, “Without these changes, fractional programs may find it difficult to survive the onslaught of jet-card and other non-ownership programs that many are turning to, in large part because they don’t believe they’re getting a fair shake from the fractionals.”

Inside Fractionals: “The Ideal Fractional Program”

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