| The weary bands of commercial jet travellers | | | | Phenom. Now with considerable experience in the |
| become even wearier at the prospect of even bigger | | | | manufacture of short-haul regional jets, the Brazilian |
| airports, even bigger jets, longer check-in times and | | | | manufacturer is designing a wider aircraft with more |
| longer delays. The joy of turning up at the local airfield | | | | headroom and elbow room than the competition. |
| with your little band of passengers, your destination | | | | Designed to carry seven passengers plus a pilot, the |
| another small airfield up to 1,200 miles away, is now | | | | price tag is expected to be around USD2.75m |
| spreading. Whether the purpose of the trip is business | | | | GBP1.6m when it becomes available in mid-2008. |
| or pleasure - just popping down to the yacht for a | | | | Honda are also rumoured to have a plan on the |
| couple of days - or just catching an air taxi, it's the | | | | drawing board as well as numerous start-up |
| price of the VLJ which is going to bring the experience | | | | companies around the globe, some of whom will |
| to people a little further down the food chain. Currently, | | | | doubtless become casualties along the way. Whilst the |
| the least expensive private jet checks out at around | | | | US FAA is predicting only 100 of the new breed of |
| USD4m/GBP2.3m. The VLJ revolution will bring aircraft | | | | VLJs flying by the end of this year, it is suggesting an |
| to market from USD1.3m/GBP750,000 starting in | | | | annual growth of 1,000 a year by the end of the |
| August this year. | | | | decade. The prospect of thousands of small jets |
| The cheapest, the USA manufactured five-seat | | | | networking the world's tens of thousands of small |
| Eclipse will be the first to roll out with firm orders, | | | | airfields will be a dream come true for large numbers |
| together with deposits for 2,400 aircraft on the books. | | | | of business travellers and HNWIs bent on pleasure. It |
| It's ahead of the competition in terms of timing and | | | | will, however, present a new challenge to air traffic |
| price but not in terms of facilities: there's no loo. | | | | control centres, which will need to factor a growing |
| Next to market in December will be the Cessna | | | | number of novel aircraft movements into their |
| Citation Mustang. Also a five seater, it's faster than the | | | | calculations. |
| Eclipse and also nearly twice the price (USD2.5m | | | | With such a large new industry beginning to unfold, it |
| GBP1.4m), but at least there's a loo on board. | | | | seems certain that the Isle of Man's Aircraft Registry |
| Also due out in December is the Adam A700. With six | | | | will be a success for those wishing to register an |
| seats but a lower speed and range than the | | | | aircraft on this side of the Atlantic. |
| competition, it may also struggle on price at USD2.1m | | | | Remember, ILS has the right corporate structures |
| GBP1.2m. | | | | available when it comes to VLJ purchasing, whether a |
| Largest of the planned VLJs will be Embraer's | | | | single aircraft or a whole fleet is under consideration. |