Charter & Fractional
Is less more at Flight Options?
Taking a quasi-Southwest Airlines approach, Cleveland-based fractional provider Flight Options last month announced a “go-forward” plan to rationalize its

Taking a quasi-Southwest Airlines approach, Cleveland-based fractional provider Flight Options last month announced a “go-forward” plan to rationalize its fleet over the next three to five years with the goal of simplifying operations, increasing fleet reliability and reducing overall costs. The move is a big gamble, however, since roughly half of the company’s shareowners are up for renewal in the next 18 months.

Flight Options, which is 78 percent owned by Raytheon, said it will gradually pare the fleet from 11 types to four–the Beechjet 400A/Hawker 400XP (light category); Hawker 800XP (midsize); Citation X (super-midsize); and Legacy (large). This amounts to one type per aircraft class and effectively lays the foundation for an eventual fleet of new (or newer) aircraft, versus a mixture of brand-new and older pre-owned airplanes.