Bostonherald.com
Friday, September 21, 2001

Bookings taking off for private planes:
Travelers revisit airflight options

by Tom Kirchofer

Little planes are suddenly becoming big business.

Travelers afraid of flying on commercial airlines after last week's
terrorist attacks are increasingly looking into private planes.

But there are no super-saver fares in the world of private aviation - an
hour of flight in a private plane can cost more than an entire week's
vacation, complete with commercial air fare.

``The call volume has gone through the roof. We've transferred people from
other departments to take calls,'' said Paul A. Svensen, co-founder and vice
president of sales at eBizJets Inc.

Norwell's eBizJets runs a network of about 1,400 private planes leased from
people and companies who don't always need them. Clients include the likes
of Los Angeles Lakers' star Shaquille O'Neal and Texas Rangers shortstop
Alex Rodriguez.

But be prepared to cough up some big bucks to fly without strangers.

The company's ``Travel Card'' program requires fliers to deposit $250,000
into an account which they use to pay for flights.

A light jet, such as a four- or five-passenger Learjet, costs about $1,600
an hour. A mid-sized plane, such as an eight-passenger Hawker jet from
Raytheon Co., can run about $2,500 an hour.

A Gulfstream business jet, which seats more than 10 people, costs about
$4,000 an hour to fly.

In the first few days after its planes got back in the air last week,
Svensen said business was up about 400 percent, as stranded people tried to
get home. Since then, it's about double what it was before terrorist
hijackings halted all civilian air traffic for several days last week.

FlightTime Inc., of Waltham, has also seen its business take off.

Travelers can get in the door of its membership-based program by paying a
$36,000 fee. From there, they pay by the hour, starting at around $1,400 for
a light jet.

``A lot of people that were thinking about it are closing. This has pushed
them over the fence,'' said spokeswoman Lisa Pisaturo.

FlightTime also handles charters of planes as big as a 747, and it has seen
some cancellations by groups that want to avoid flying. But at the same
time, Pisaturo said FlightTime has had inquiries about the cost of
evacuating people from such places as Egypt, as well as from vacation groups
and foreign nationals looking to leave the United States.

And in North Andover, King Aircharters Inc. has seen lots of new interest
from people who want to charter jets, do a ``fractional ownership'' deal -
akin to real estate time-sharing - or buy a plane.

``I'm finding folks who are very serious'' about getting into a private
plane, said David Parker, King's general manager and chief operating
officer. ``In many cases, I think they're going to sign on.''

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