"Why wait in lines at the airport?"

["Stephen Irwin" <stepheni@xxxxxxxxx>]

Sunday, December 30, 2007

FIRST CLASS: JET SET
Why wait in lines at the airport?
The Detroit (MI) Free Press


PRIVATE FLIGHTS: Want to fly where you want to be, when you want to be
there, without the hassles of commercial travel? Private aviation companies
have been offering some luxurious and convenient alternatives that some
well-heeled travelers just can't pass up.

You can own a piece of a jet through fractional ownership programs or buy
jet time in 25-hour increments with no long-term commitment through newer
block-share charter programs. In either case, your pet can sit by your side
during the journey.

PRIVILEGE OF WEALTH: "When you are worth $25 million, who wants to go
through an airport?" asks Frank Migliazzo, a private wealth adviser for
Merrill Lynch in Auburn Hills. "Our customers are frustrated with flying
commercial. Many of them use these services."

FLYING HIGH: Corporate and Fortune 100 executives, local furniture moguls,
retail chain owners, international disaster recovery company executives,
physicians, professional athletes and the social elite rely upon private
aviation services for travel. They like saving time by pulling their cars
right up to the hangar, boarding the plane and taking off without going
through airport security lines.

WHAT'S THE COST?: "This is not for the faint of pocketbook," says Rick Nini,
owner of Corporate Eagle in Waterford. There, a 1/8 share, about 42 days a
year, will cost about $380,000 for travel aboard a King Air jet. Starting
prices for Edsel B. Ford II's Pentastar Aviation's block-share program out
of Waterford and Romulus is $80,000 for 25 hours on a midsize aircraft with
seating for six to eight passengers.


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