Charter & Fractional
The ‘third horse’ in the frax race isn’t losing any sleep
Competition in the fractional-ownership market is intense, and the players are constantly changing.

Competition in the fractional-ownership market is intense, and the players are constantly changing. Inevitably, as in any emerging market, those with the soundest, strongest and most aggressive business plan will likely expand and grow. So when Flight Options and Raytheon Travel Air merged in March to create the second-largest fractional fleet, Flight Options CEO Kenn Ricci characterized the business as “a two-horse race between Flight Options and NetJets, relegating the other providers to boutique markets” (AIN, May 2002).

That rebuff may have hurt some corporate feelings, but it was instead treated with indifference at Bombardier Flexjet, which currently stands as the number-three fractional operator in terms of fleet size. Neither the position nor the implication particularly concerns Flexjet president Clifford Dickman.