NetJets Europe has launched its own finance offering for customers buying fractional ownership, with rates said to be comparable to those offered by major financial institutions.

Luis Pinto, cfo, says: "With the current economic climate, many businesses are working to avoid the large capital outlay traditionally associated with jet or even fractional jet ownership, especially given the scarcity of credit from the traditional lenders. However, corporates still need to fly to do business and remain competitive, and want the financial and tax benefits leasing can't deliver."

The NetJets financing model involves a 25 per cent down payment, and interest rates vary depending on the amount of hours purchased by the customer. Backed by Berkshire Hathaway, NetJets Europe represents a secure line of credit for the term of the five year acquisition programmes.

"NetJets Europe's first innovation was one of delivering new ownership models that made more efficient use of client funds to let them purchase what they needed, when they needed it," says Pinto. "Today, we're letting customers pay for the assets how they want to. We're already seeing a huge amount of interest from Eastern Europe and from large corporate clients."