Brazil-based Solojet has found that business people who started using private aircraft during the pandemic are now considering fractional ownership as an entry option to ownership. It launched its Solojet Shares programme back in July 2020, as ANAC was formulating legislation to govern the activity, and is now seeing some healthy interest in the alternative to aircraft acquisition.

“The customer buys a quota, a part of the aircraft, which entitles them to a given number of flight hours per year, to suit their own needs,” says sales manager Marcelo Orsolini. “That’s the only way they won’t stay on the ground when they need to travel. They don’t need to make a bigger investment than necessary, giving them more freedom to use their capital wherever else they want.”

The great advantage of sharing, in Orsolini’s view, is that with the aircraft fleet under the management of Solojet, the customer has more alternatives to fly when they need to: “More even than if you were the owner of the aircraft itself because if one aircraft is not available, maybe it is undergoing maintenance, on vacation with the crew or when the crew is in training, it is possible to use another one from the fleet. We can guarantee service to the quota holder,” he continues.

Aircraft sharing is widely used in the United States, but it only became possible in Brazil and safe – from a legal and operational point of view – from 2021 onwards following a change in legislation.

One of the main advantages of aircraft sharing versus chartering and exclusive ownership is a reduction of 32 to 50 per cent in the cost of operation and maintenance. “And remember,” adds Orsolini, “that in charter operations, the time flown has the highest cost of all.”

The company has opted for a Hawker 400, a cost-effective aircraft model that carries up to eight passengers and has a comfortable and spacious cabin. Quarter shares start from $430,000.

Orsolini notes that aircraft sharing has been around for more than 20 years and is a success in many countries around the world, especially in the US, as it allows aircraft acquisition costs and expenses to be shared, maintaining the aircraft’s high availability rate. In shared aircraft, the owner only pays the operating costs of the flights themselves, and there is management and maintenance support.

The company chose the Hawker 400 for its performance; with an operating ceiling of 45,000 ft and cabin altitude of 8,000 ft it provides a comfortable flight with reduced turbulence, and with a maximum speed of 833 km/h and a maximum range of 2,592 km it can fly non-stop from São Paulo to Recife.