Jet set go...

With the demise of many luxury carriers over recent years, including Silver Jet with its relatively short-lived Dubai route, and transatlantic carriers Eos and Maxjet, you would be forgiven for thinking the luxury aviation sector was perhaps a non-viable industry. But delve a little deeper and it seems this is not the case for everyone. While the majority of airlines, large or small, struggle during this tumultuous economy, Swiss-based private aviation company VistaJet has seen its profits grow.

Thomas Flohr, Chairman and Founder of VistaJet, says, "Of course, like any company, there have been challenges in the past 12 months but if we compare year to date 2008 to 2009, we have grown 15 to 20 per cent."

So what is the secret of its success? "We keep things simple," says Flohr. "In other industries, take Apple for example, they have a simpler product and it works. Apple continues to grow despite the economy. In every sector, there will be one company that grows while another won't succeed. It is down to how you price it and what you offer." What VistaJet offers, certainly works. "We havebuilt a very strong brand," says Flohr. "There are two key elements to the business. Firstly we are not offering a fractional model where customers need to buy a quarter of an aircraft; people often cannot finance this and it can be cumbersome. We offer people a simple option, the opportunity of guaranteed availability and, for example, 200 or 300 hours flying time.

Home away from home

"Secondly, especially attractive is the fact that clients are notfixed to one type of jet. They can have a Learjet or Challengerand I have made every single jet feel exactly the same way; it isa bit like the Four Seasons hotel. Whether you check into thedeluxe room, or a suite, they all have the same feel. We also prideourselves on our service. VistaJet is a home away from home;it is a lot different from corporate American airlines," says Flohr.

It was due to Flohr's personal experiences on other airlines that his idea for VistaJet was born. Having grown tired of not having exactly what he wanted, he eventually realised there was a lucrative gap in the private aviation market.

"I personally flew on business trips and was very frustrated with what was in the market," confesses Flohr. "I would have to fly on a ten-year-old beaten-up plane, or the customer service wasn't so good and so, in 2002 I bought my first jet for my own needs," says Flohr.

"In 2003, following the aftermath of September 11, my plane was constantly out with clients wanting to use it. I wanted another plane for myself — a Challenger — but it was even more occupied with customers. With the help of a financial analyst we found there was no identical product. The only dominant airlines were with the fractional business model, which was contractually much more complicated. I saw this as an opportunity and bought three aeroplanes. When they were delivered, I looked for a name and came up with VistaJet and then wanted a nice colour, not boring white, so we chose silver! Now we have 25-plus planes."

Expanding horizon

You could say the rest is history but, not one to rest on his laurels, expansion is on the horizon for Flohr. While VistaJet already boasts an impressive fleet of Bombardiers, ranging from the Learjet 40XR, which is coveted for its speed that makes it faster than any other in its class, to the luxurious Bombardier Global Express XRS, yet more aircraft are on order.

"We are committed to taking seven new aircraft this year,"says Flohr. "With our growth we do need more aircraft — wehave more than doubled in size and we are matching our demandin the marketplace."

Expansion plans for VistaJet, who already have a sales and operational office in Dubai, include the Middle East. "We are in discussions in several geographical locations such as Saudi and Egypt, and we are planning to work with these two markets. We are very much focused on the Middle East. In the past six to nine months the traffic has grown, and by 2012 we foresee that the Middle East will represent one third of our revenue."

Not surprisingly, with the Middle East being such an important part of VistaJets business, Flohr is looking forward to this year's air show in Dubai.

Signature models at the airshow

"The Dubai Airshow is a very important show for us and the top management will be in attendance," he says. "We are going to be out there with two of our signature planes, the Challenger 605 and the Challenger 850, most likely we will also bring the Learjet. We want people to see the planes and touch and feel the aircraft and see what we offer."

No doubt visitors will be impressed with what they see and VistaJet are in the throes of signing up a number of new clients. But who exactly are their target customers?

"We very much focus on high net worth individuals," says Flohr. "Our customer is very often the entrepreneur who has his own company, who needs to travel. It is someone who needs to visithis business partners and occasionally travels on vacations withhis family."

With many entrepreneurs, and indeed companies, scaling back you would assume this is something they could no longer afford the luxury of doing. However, Flohr insists that for those who have one or two private jets, VistaJet can help cut costs. While using VistaJet reduces costs such as those expensive hangarage fees at the airport, it still offers the indulgence of a superior aircraft and the unrivalled private aviation customer service.

With VistaJet's unique product on offer, it seems that theaviation industry is most definitely not all doom and gloom, butin fact a very exciting and rewarding business if, of course, youget all the key elements right.