Very Light Jets VLJs - Small Business Jets
| Very Light Jets (VLJs) are state-of-the-art compact business jets that can carry four to six passengers on short-haul flights and cost a fraction of the price of a standard corporate private jet. |
The aim of Very Light Jets is to make private jet travel more affordable and accessible to thousands more travellers. They can be operated by a single pilot and can land on very short runways making them ideal for use as an air taxi - where you can turn up at the airport and fly wherever you wish within the range of the aircraft.
A number of executive jet manufacturers launched VLJ aircraft with mixed success:
Eclipse
500
This was the first VLJ available to the business travel market.
It can fly at 41,000 feet and carries up to four passengers (facing each other)
at a cruising speed of 425 mph, with a range of around 1,200 nautical miles. It
has 2 Pratt & Whitney jet engines and retails at $2.15 million. The Eclipse
has been certified worldwide and 260 aircraft have been delivered.
Note, production at the plant in New Mexico, USA was halted in mid-2008 and the company went into bankruptcy proceedings at the end of 2008. - the company is currently being restructured.
Cessna
Citation Mustang
4+2 seats, 41,000 feet altitude ceiling, range
of 1,170 nautical miles, cruising speed 400 mph. Purchase price is $2.9 million.
Cessna is a very well established aircraft manufacturer, production at Kansas,
USA. Over 200 Mustangs have been delivered.
Embraer
Phenom 100
Brazil's VLJ offering has a range of 1,185 nautical miles,
6-8 seats, 41,000 feet altitude ceiling, power from 2 Pratt & Whitney engines,
cruising speed 450mph, costs $3.6 million. Largest cabin in the class designed
by BMW with the option of chemical lavatory or 2 extra seats. First tested in
July 2007, certified in US in December 2008. Received EU certification in April
2009. 100 deliveries expected in 2009.
Honda
Jet
Japanese motor manufacturer Honda has its own light jet in the
pipeline, with deliveries due around 2011. It will carry up to 5 passengers, range
will be 1,400 nautical miles with a max cruise speed of 480 mph. Expected to have
class leading fuel efficiency. Cost will be around the $3.9 million mark.
Diamond
D-Jet
Manufactured by Austria's Diamond Aircraft, will carry 4 passengers
plus 1 pilot, range 1,350 nautical miles, costs approximately $1.4 million. Deliveries
due in mid-2010.
VLJs are being purchased by operators who plan to offer scheduled services between business centres that will be priced competitively against the major airlines' business class products - whether they can withstand the current tough economic climate is another matter. Because of the point-to-point nature of flying by VLJ, this could be attractive to some business travellers as an alternative to the 'hub and spoke' networks of the airlines. Also appealing to the busy executive will be check-in times for pre-screened passengers up to 10 minutes before take-off.
Very light jets can be offered as a cheaper fractional ownership deal; they will also be targeted to potential owner-pilots - it remains to be seen whether business travellers will want to fly the plane themselves though.
Direct operating costs for a Very Light Jet are around the $350 - $800 per hour mark. For example, Cessna calculate their Mustang costs $677 per hour to run which equates to $2.16 per mile.
On the downside these jets really are small in size and many (except the Phenom 100) lack the space for luggage holds and bathroom/toilet facilities. Food and drink will be carried on board and served by passengers themselves. But the cabins will have the usual standard of luxury fittings expected on an executive jet.
VLJ manufacturers boldly pronounced they could sell as many as 20,000 light jets flying in 10 years. This is probably an overly-optimistic assumption - especially in light of the economic slowdown - not to mention air traffic control concerns of more aircraft in busy air spaces. But they certainly will have a place in the short flight private aviation sector.
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