History
The term fractional ownership originally became popular for business jets. Richard Santulli of NetJets pioneered the concept of allowing businesses to purchase shares in a jet to reduce costs. With a fractional jet plan, members will typically fly in any jet available, not necessarily the one in which they own shares. The management company will reposition jets as necessary and provide flight crews. Companies with greater needs purchase larger shares to get access to more time.
The fractional-ownership concept has since been extended to smaller aircraft and has now become common for single-engine piston aircraft like the Cirrus SR22, which are beyond the financial means of many private pilots. The same concepts apply, except that the management company may not provide flight crews nor reposition the aircraft.
Many pilots get together to buy light aircraft in a privately bought and managed fractional ownership, this is often known as group flying.
Fractional ownership has played a significant role in revitalizing the general aviation manufacturing industry since the late 1990s, and most manufacturers actively support fractional ownership programs.
Read more about this topic: Fractional Ownership, Aviation
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