Very Light Jet Report :: NetJets Inc. to Expand in Ohio

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NetJets is building a “world-class” campus adjacent to Port Columbus, expanding its operations base there. Ohio Governor Ted Strickland, Lieutenant Governor Lee Fisher and Columbus Mayor Michael B. Coleman today joined NetJets Inc. Chairman and CEO Richard T. Santulli, Ohio business leaders and hundreds of guests at the company’s hangar to announce that NetJets and FlightSafety International have chosen Columbus, Ohio as the site for a major expansion that will create at least 810 new jobs and more than double the size of FlightSafety, thereby creating the largest flight training facility in the world.
The news comes just after Waypoint, also based at Port Columbus, and Lane Aviation announced an air taxi partnership using Very Light Jets and set to launch next summer. Related Story
The State of Ohio, City of Columbus, Franklin County, and the Columbus Regional Airport Authority offered a combined growth package that includes workforce development, job credits, tax abatements and other direct assistance valued at $67.6 million, including $37.4 million from the state, $22 million from the city and county, and $8.2 million from the airport. These figures do not include approximately $30 million in incentives related to area site improvements, loans and marketing.
“Today is a landmark day in the history of NetJets,” said Santulli. “I am pleased to announce that after an extensive review of where to locate our future expansion, we are staying and expanding in Columbus. Specifically, we are announcing that NetJets and Flight Safety International will retain our 2,022 employees in Columbus and will commit to creating an additional 810 new jobs. Together NetJets and Flight Safety International expect to invest more than $200 million to build a world-class campus, including the largest Flight Safety International training center in the world. In short, our goal is to become the employer of choice in the Midwest and to have a legacy campus that befits our status as the world’s ultimate luxury brand.
“Ohio Board of Regents Chancellor Eric Fingerhut and OSU President Gordon Gee personally led a team that articulated an inspiring vision for how higher education can spur economic development in Ohio,” Santulli continued. “We are excited to help make their vision a reality and we look forward to providing details in the coming months of a significant partnership with the Ohio system of higher education.”
The campus, now at 19 acres, will grow to 120 acres located adjacent to Port Columbus “in order to draw the best and brightest talent from across the nation and help initiate a growing aeronautical cluster” there. The company will also embark on an unprecedented partnership with Ohio State University to attract college graduates, solve real world business problems and develop existing talent in Ohio. Finally, NetJets, with corporate headquarters in Woodbury, N.J., is taking a leadership role in Ohio, including support for community and environmental initiatives.
"This news speaks volumes about Ohio's positive business environment as well as Ohio’s colleges and universities," said Governor Ted Strickland, on hand for the announcement. “The partnerships among academic and business leaders, particularly Dr. Gee and Ohio State University, are sure to help NetJets continue to be successful in Ohio and, together, allow us to achieve our ambitious plan for a vibrant and growing aeronautical industry."
While it has yet to acquire Very Light Jets, NetJets fractional aircraft ownership allows individuals and companies to buy a share of a private business jet at a fraction of the cost of whole aircraft ownership. NetJets Inc. also offers aircraft management, charter management and on-demand charter services through its subsidiary, Executive Jet Management. NetJets began in 1964 as the first jet aircraft charter company. Richard T. Santulli invented the concept of fractional ownership in 1986.
The market for fractional aircraft ownership is growing quickly. Over the past decade, the total number of owner shares has grown from approximately 1,500 to over 7,000 expected this year. On average, the market has grown by 8.5 percent annually.
For the last two years, the Berkshire Hathaway company’s market share has been ~70 percent based on net value of aircraft sold and leased. NetJets has flown more flights than all of its competitors combined and manages more than 390,000 flights annually.
Flight Safety is a sister company of NetJets through Berkshire Hathaway and is the world’s largest provider of aviation training, educating more than 75,000 pilots annually across 43 Learning Centers in the United States, Canada, France and the United Kingdom.
FlightSafety will more than double the number of its existing simulators, creating its largest concentration of simulators in the country.
In 2007, NetJets worldwide flew over 390,000 flights, 237,000,000 miles to more than 173 countries, employing nearly 7,300 worldwide (3,957 pilots, 400 flight attendants). In the U.S. NetJets fractional program alone spent over $34 million on catering; arranged more than 100,000 cars and limos; sanded at over 1,500 airports; spent $66 million on pilot training at FlightSafety International; and required over 1.8 million maintenance work hours. In the state of Ohio in 2007, NetJets directly spent nearly $300 million.

NetJets Inc. to Expand in Ohio

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