Although the U.S. accounts for 3/4ths of the world’s business jet fleet, a start-up aims to make inroads in Europe, according to the Financial Times. Hopefully coming in 2009, JetBird will be based in Switzerland, and offer Europe’s first low-cost, on-demand private jet service. The youthful founder, Domhnal Slattery has a pedigree, having gotten his start in the industry under Tony Ryan (Ryanair).
JetBird hopes to compete with business-class prices, and come in at half the price of the industry’s biggest operator, NetJets (owned by Warren Buffett).
They claim the market is there: Europe is home to a larger population than the U.S., and there are 2.8 million individuals with assets exceeding $1 million dollars (compared to the U.S.’s 2.9m).
The best part, if you can afford it? They’ll wait for you, if you’re stuck in traffic getting to the airport.