Private jet company NetJets has announced major job cuts. The company, which is owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, will cut 350 jobs, five percent of its work force. The Columbus Dispatch also reports that the company is delaying an expansion of its Port Columbus campus. The project was to be one of the biggest economic-development projects in Ohio and Columbus fought valiantly to lure NetJets to Ohio. The company had promised that the $200 million expansion could create as many as 800 jobs within six years. The company had not accepted any public money for the expansion. Cash incentives were to be made in the form of reimbursement.

Like many jet operators NetJets has struggled in the economic slump. It lost nearly $350 million during the first six months of 2009. Many charters and fractional businesses have had layoffs in the wake of major decreases in business travel and some have folded up shop completely. Ohio government officials expressed confidence that the company would continue to stay in the state and would be an economic powerhouse once again.

Companies and individuals are selling their private jets in droves but is it also time to sell off fractional jet shares too? James Butler, an attorney writing for Halogen Guides seems to think so. He cautions that if own a fractional jet share you might want to sell even though share values are in decline. He points out that because fractional jet owners are more than customers they are partners with their jet providers they could be in trouble if the jet provider goes out of business. Part of the worry is that the agreements with providers state that the company will buy back your share based on your aircraft's fair market value. But now some fractional companies don't have ready cash and are hoping to delay repurchasing shares. Also as the market floods with preowned aircraft for sale, fractional aircraft, which have higher mileage, become harder to sell. Butler says that the it may be advisable to sell your share while you can, reclaim your capital and switch to another option like using a fractional jet card.

When NetJets Europe placed the largest order in business aviation history with manufacturer Dassault, for 33 Falcon 7X aircraft, they decided that the $1.5 billion worth of jets needed a little something special. The company commissioned British architect Lord Norman Foster (above) to design the interior and exterior of the high-tech planes, the fastest Falcon ever made. Foster drew on his experience both as a pilot and a NetJets client for the project, the result of which was just unveiled. The 33 7X's are being integrated into the NetJets fleet over the next eight years.

Foster's 7X is "thematically zoned into a well-being space for customers and a work space for crew." The passenger cabin is "light and tranquil" featuring leather seating, a cream and tan color scheme and Fiddleback Sycamore wood fittings. Foster designed the seating arrangements to accommodate both business meetings and an "enhanced sleeping and dining experience." The work area is markedly different with an industrial vibe featuring a grey and black color scheme, employing carbon fiber and steel for the galley and crew areas.

We are coming off a bad year for companies and their private jets so it's a bit startling to see Starbucks, a company which has closed hundreds of locations and cut thousands of jobs, take delivery of a new jet. The Seattle Times reports that Starbucks bought a $45 million Gulfstream 550 to add to their corporate fleet. The company ordered the jet three years ago in less austere times. A spokeswoman said that the company decided it would be too expensive to cancel the order. In order to cancel the contract, it would have cost around $5 million plus the forfeit of payments already made. This new plane brings the Starbucks fleet up to three including a seven-year-old Gulfstream V that it is trying to sell. According to Bob Zuskin, a consultant at Jet Perspectives, that plane could have brought in $45 million six months ago but would now be more likely to fetch a price in the $32-34 million range. The new jet spent its first two weeks under Starbucks ownership in Hawaii on a trip that was, according to Starbucks spokeswoman Deb Trevino, a "combined personal and business trip."

Starbucks is far from alone in keeping a private plane or two, as we saw recently even the embattled financial firms are holding onto their fleets.

General Motors has announced that they are paring down their corporate jet fleet. General Motors started this year with seven jets in their corporate fleet but the Detroit News reports that they turned in two in September and plan to jettison two more as a result of drastic cutbacks in travel expenses. The Big Three automakers all faced angry words from lawmakers on Capitol HIll when their CEOs flew in on private jets to ask for federal aid. Regulatory filings reveal that General Motors spent 256,793 on personal use of the company's aircraft by CEO Rick Wagoner, Chief Operating Officer Fritz Henderson and Vice Chairman Bob Lutz,. Ford spent $752,203 last year on CEO Alan Mulally's personal use of the company's aircraft using the jet for all business and personal travel for security reasons. Ford also spent $29,107 last year on first-class commercial airfare for Ford Americas President Mark Fields' to fly to and from his Florida home. Chrysler doesn't own any corporate jets but leases or charters planes per trip as needed and says they try to fill the jet whenever possible including giving children rides to Detroit hospitals from other cities. The corporate jet has been seen for years as a necessary perk for CEOs who frequently travel but like lavish holiday parties, luxury boxes at sporting events, and corporate retreats, the private jet now serves as a symbol of greed and foolish expense.

Lately it seems that the private jet revolution is bigger in Europe than in the U.S. The latest new fractional ownership and charter brand Jet Republic, a new company set to take on the European leader NetJets Europe. Jet Republic has bought 110 Bombardier Learjet 60XRs which is a full 25 orders and 85 options valued at an impressive $1.5 billion which is said to be the largest single business jet order in European aircraft history. The venture recently launched and will sell a Jet card at 130,000 euros ($190,000) for 25 hours of flying time. Jet Republic has arrangements with 30 business aircraft operators throughout Europe to provide charters for their customers.

About a year after the company gets their first aircraft they will begin a fractional ownership program. They are selling shares now but customers won't be able to use them until next year. Each one-sixteenth share in the Learjet 60XR will entitle the owner to 50 flight hours and owners can go up to a half share with 400 hours. The owners will pay a monthly management fee of 2,000 euros plus an hourly rate of 3,500 euros. Flight Global quotes Jet Republic chief executive Jonathan Breeze as saying he's not concerned about the current economic turmoil. He says it's a great time to launch the company and that when they "put the package together in July we were actually turning investors away."

This summer, luxury charter service V1 Jets opened up its seaplane service from Manhattan to the Hamptons (formerly reserved for members) to anyone with the price of a ticket, and it's proved to be very popular with the gliteratti. The 40 minute trip on an 8-passenger Cessna, which costs $495 one-way, has been taken by the likes of models Adriana Lima and Petra Nemcova, actors Pierce Brosnan and Jeremy Piven, and mogul Barry Diller. V1 Jets was founded in 2003 by hedge fund manager Andrew Zarrow who envisioned a way to utilize the excessive amount of "dead legs" created by private aircraft returning empty after delivering clients to their destinations, saving money and resources in the process.

LuckyJets has just announced its carpool-in-the-skies, ferrying high rollers on private jets from Los Angeles, San Diego and Scottsdale straight to Las Vegas, along with additional popular casino destinations. Though you won't have the wings to yourself, a shared flight to Sin City could be ripe for the networking. And at $2,999 a flight with door-to-door limo service to boot, even if the tables treat you wrong, you're still flying high.

If you get in on the action soon, flying from L.A. or Scottsdale to Las Vegas, you'll receive a complimentary round-trip flight voucher. The deal is first-come first-served for bookings on LuckyJets' inaugural flight to gambler's heaven on August 8. Hey, if you're gonna play the game, boy, better learn to play it right.

Wealthy socialites in London love to party just as much as those here in the U.S., but now it seems they've found a way to step things up by getting around that pesky "closing time" obstacle: they hop into a private jet and fly to a different time zone. What makes this interesting is that they aren't hopping into their own personal private jets, they're "jet-pooling" in planes operated by The Private Jet Club that are coordinated through Whisky Mist, a new club at Hilton's Zeta bar.

Even if they're continuing to party on the planes I can hardly imagine still being up for more by the time the plane lands in New York or Rio (the most popular destinations), but then I'm not a wealthy socialite with nothing else to do but fly around the world looking for a good time!

Having or chartering a private jet used to be a big deal, a very special luxury enjoyed by only the elitest of the elite, but private air travel is practically a necessity for even "entry level" wealthy people in today's world. Even with the economy in the condition it's in, those accustomed to traveling privately aren't giving up the luxury in exchange for less expensive commercial flights. And although chartering private jet travel certainly isn't cheap it's not as pricey as it used to be -- as little as $10,000 will get you where you want to go.

If the economy has any kind of negative effect on private air travel experts expect it to be in how much people fly, not in the privacy they expect when they do. Many of those who use private charters and/or own their own jets consider it a necessity in their lives, not a splurge.

Think travel agents are a thing of the past, a dinosaur of the pre-internet days? These days travel management firms do a brisk business in helping clients navigate the world. The NY Times reports on the travel services that go above and beyond the call of duty to make sure their clients get where they need to go. Corniche Group handles a variety of celebrities and also works with sports teams handling tasks such as managing housing for Major League Baseball teams during the World Series. Whatever their clients want, whether it is special accommodations at a hotel or last-minute travel, Corniche handles it. For those without the bucks to hire Corniche, Anastasia Mann, the founder of Corniche, has some tips on how to make the impossible happen for yourself. She says that if you need something unusual you have to be "extraordinarily aggressive and not easily intimidated. " The advice is echoed later in the article by Paul A. Tucci, author of "Traveling Everywhere: How to Survive a Global Business Trip" who says that being polite but assertive is the way to resolve problems. You may have to challenge the first answer from customer service in order to get a satisfactory answer.

We've seen jet cards in the million-dollar range before but the new $5 million card from Halcyon Jets is causing a stir this holiday season. What do you get for your moeny with the Holiday Dream Card? It entitles you to access to Halycon's fleet of jets for one-way trips or round-trip travel, for single flights or multiple trips. The press release doesn't say exactly how long the card is good for but we hope it's a lifetime use for that price. Other ancillary services that come with the card include your own private aviation specialist and personal concierge to assist with the travel, dining and entertainment plans. Jets in their fleet include Citation jets, Lear jets, Gulfstreams, helicopters and even jumbo jets from Airbus and Boeing.

Those Google guys must really be into over-sized private jets, because they're at it again! Apparently having 3 private jets, including a Boeing 767, with landing rights on NASA's Moffett Airfield wasn't good enough for them as they've now added a Boeing 757 to their ever-growing fleet.

Although smaller than the 767 they already have, obviously the 757 is still a large aircraft. Why does Google need so much in the way of wings? Who knows really, but a move like this sure is to get people talking.

The move toward encouraging users of private jets to pay for carbon offsets has for the most part been optional with a strong dose of guilt. Now The Guardian reports that NetJets Europe has upped the ante by making carbon offsetting compulsory for its customers. The company is set to announce that all the new customers will have the cost of offsets added to their bills, adding around 4,000 euros to the bill for each NetJets customer. Existing customers will be signed up for the added cost when they renew their contracts. The chairman of NetJets Europe was quoted as saying in the article that he does not believe the added cost will damage sales and that the customers have driven this move. NetJets will invest in the carbon offset projects of EcoSecurities.

If you really love your airplane now you can live above it. Carousel Condos are designed to be affordable hangar-home living. The hangar suites can be used as a primary residence or a second home. The computer-controlled carousel hangar area lets one person position the rotating floor at the hangar door to bring in or remove a plane easily. Each owner-occupant has equal access to the environmentally controlled hangar and an upper level suite. Expenses in the common hangar areas are shared by utilities for the suites are separate for each owner.

[via General Aviation News]