Inside The Newest Fractional Private Jet From Gulfstream

Earlier this month, NetJets announced an agreement that could see it buy 250 of Embraer’s Praetor 500 midsize jets. And today in Geneva, Switzerland, executives from Airbus Corporate Jets and Dassault Aviation told press conferences at the European Business Aviation Conference & Exhibition, or EBACE, for short, they soon hope to have their aircraft in fractional programs. However, the next new aircraft type that will be available for shared ownership is on display here, Gulfstream’s G280.

The super-midsize jet will enter service with Volato, a 2021 start-up with a growing fleet of Honda Aircraft Company’s VLJs. Last week, it confirmed a previously announced order for 25 HondaJets.

The G280 will give Volato customers the first Gulfstream product in its size category available via shared ownership.

The G280 follows the G200, and Flying magazine calls it “a gorgeous airplane, and one whose proportions are perfectly balanced, not at all elongated, as some larger body bizjets can appear.”

Aviation Week adds, “While Gulfstream receives a great deal of attention and praise for the top end of its product line, their super-midsize offering, the Gulfstream 280, should not be overlooked. In comparison to its predecessor, the Gulfstream G200, the G280 incorporates significant enhancements in aerodynamics, avionics, propulsion, and passenger comfort.”

In the U.S. fractional ownership space, it will compete with the smaller Praetor 500 featured by NetJets and Flexjet, the Challenger 350/3500 offered by Airshare, NetJets, and Flexjet, and Textron Aviation’s Cessna Longitude from NetJets.

The G280 has a range of 3,600 nautical miles, making it an ideal airplane for the North American footprint, with nonstop reach to Hawaii, Alaska, and the deep Caribbean.

The cabin height is 6 feet, 1 inch, with a width of 6 feet, 11 inches and a length of 25 feet, 10 inches.

While the version on display at EBACE is configured with single club seats facing each other, another pair of facing club seats in the rear, and a three-seat divan, Volato has opted for a configuration with 10 seats.

The 10-seat layout gives Volato an advantage over other super-midsize competitors, which offer eight or nine seats. Flyers who need that extra seat previously had to buy into more expensive large-cabin jets..

In the rear of the cabin, there will be a set of four seats facing each other with a table between them, designed to provide a convivial atmosphere for family vacations or a perfect spot to spread out blueprints or conduct business meetings. Two more facing single seats are just across the aisle.

There’s a galley in front, a spacious lavatory in the rear, and access to a large baggage area with 120 cubic feet of space.

There’s plenty of light with 19 windows, including a pair in the lavatory.

Volato is selling shares starting at 50 hours per year priced at a $1.75 million acquisition cost, $20,950 per month management fee, $3,600 per occupied hour and an hourly fuel variable of $2,615.

It also brings to the G280 its HondaJet pricing model, providing revenue sharing. In this case, owners get $2,550 per hour for all non-owner revenue hours on the plane.

While Volato may have the next new thing in fractional ownership, NetJets expects to have its first Praetor 500 flying by 2025.

Another interesting option could be the ACJ TwoTwenty from Airbus Corporate Jets.

The VIP airliner can hold up to 135 seats when configured for airline use.

As a business jet, it features a shower and multiple separate living areas, including a master bedroom.

ACJ President Benoit Defforge calls the TwoTwenty “an amazing aircraft for fractional.”

In terms of announcing an order, he declined to specify but said, “It’s just a matter of time.”