Fractional jet firm Flexjet picked up props from the Robb Report in its 21st "Best of the Best" issue last month. A great way to keep the prolies away when you travel, this Bombardier-backed company offers "debit cards" for private jet access, so you can buy what you need rather than take on the hefty burden of maintaining your own bird. Both the Flexjet 25 Jet Card and Bombardier Skyjet program got nods from the magazine beloved by the world's wealthy.

Fred Reid, President of Flexjet and Skyjet, was obviously psyched about the results, saying, "By offering a full range of award-winning aviation solutions – from whole aircraft management through our Flexjet One program to fractional jet ownership, jet cards and charter – we are uniquely positioned to help companies and individuals best meet their changing needs."

A few new programs have been announced to give jetsetters more options. The revamped ""Walk Away Lease" program comes with a lot of the perks of fractional ownership ... but you can ditch it with only 90 days notice. And, roundtrip travel comes with a 15 percent discount.

The Flexjet 25 Jet Card is available in 25-, 30- and 35-hour increments and allows card-owners to choose how many days they want access: 275, 325, 355 or 365.

Another fractional yacht ownership company, Synchrony Yachts has launched. Synchrony's first yacht is a 120-foot Benetti Classic 120 which sleeps 10 in five staterooms with room for six or seven crew members. The yacht has exterior styling by Italian designer Stefano Righini and an interior designed by the French architect Francois Zuretti and offers a large main saloon, formal bar, an upper deck with a saloon area, outside deck area for alfresco dining and a sun deck with Jacuzzi and bar. The yacht comes fully loaded with the requisite water toys including a jet ski and a pair of wave runners as well as a well-trained crew.

Synchrony offers six week shares which start at $4.8 million. Each owner receives a quarter share in the yacht but can also use any other yacht in the Synchrony fleet and trips can be arranged for both long and short durations. The syndicated ownership term is five years from the yacht launch date and the yacht will be put up for sale at the end of the term. The company promises that each owner is protected against credit risk, default of any other owners or even the insolvency of Synchrony (all of which could be a concern in these uncertain times).

[via Forbes Life]

The San Francisco Chronicle recently covered one of the latest fractional residences. If you want a piece of Napa life you might want to check out the Orchard at Carneros Inn. The new offering is 17 cottages with 10 owners each. Each share costs $275,000 each.

The Carneros Inn is a 27-acre resort in Napa that has 86 guest cottages, million dollar homes, three restaurants, a spa, pools, fitness center, boutiques and even a deli. It is basically a small village unto itself. The cottages will have a rustic feel but with all the requisite amenities like stainless steel appliances and flatscreen TVs as well as access to all the Carneros amenities. Your $275,000 buys you three weeks a year plus additional time as available. The cottages will also be in a rental pool where they are expected to bring in $1,200 to $1,800. owners also have to pay dues of $8,100 plus a property tax that works out to around 1% of the purchase price each year. The first six cottages will be ready in August; the remaining ones will be finished in November.

Tanavista is the latest development in the increasingly luxe Mammoth ski resort town in California. Tanavista is a quarter ownership resort development for second homeowners. There will be 45 residences located on the Sierra Star golf course and within walking distance to The Village at Mammoth which offers shopping and restaurant options. The properties include one to three-bedroom residences ranging from 775 square feet to over 2,000 feet. The homes feature large expanses of glass with wood elements to give the development an Alpine village feel. Shared amenities include an owner's lounge, games room, fitness room, den and an outdoor hot tub. Quarter ownership entitled you to one quarter of the home's time each year (13 weeks per year plus special arrangements for the Christmas holiday season ever four years). The quarter share can be rented out or sold by the owner. The homes are professionally managed and maintained with all expenses shared by the owners. Prices start at just under $200,000 per share and the homes should be ready in 2009.

The Magellan, which plans to be the world's largest private residential cruise ship has just gotten a bit bigger. They have announced twelve additional residences and a new amenity, a tennis court. The Magellan is now 860 feet and weighs an astounding 72,000 tons. The new residences include four one-bedroom condos and eight two-bedroom condos. The Magellan includes an indoor pool, greenhouse (shown here), resaurants, a spa, an observatory and a 450-seat live, satellite broadcast theatre. Private residences on The Magellan range in price from $1.875 million to $8 million for penthouses and from $134,000 for fractional ownership condos. The Magellan is set to be completed in 2009 and the ship is designed to run for 100 years. With the residential cruise ship market just beginning, the Magellan is clearly seeking to be the most extravagant option for those looking for life on the seas.

We've mentioned fractional options for the Eclipse 500 Jet before but Jet-Alliance offers a cheaper way to get your piece of a new Eclipse. They offer something called a “fractional alliance” where the owners share in the costs of ownership and operations of the aircraft plus an administrative fee to Jet-Alliance. For a 1/16th slice of the plane, the cost is $81,000 plus ownership fees starting at $15,000 per year and usage fees of $650 per occupied hour to cover fuel and engine reserves.

[via Very Light Jets Blog]

It's been an exciting year for aviation and 2006 looks to be a break-out year. The aviation market seems to be moving in two opposite directions. First of all there are the megaplanes, led by the behemoth doubledecker Airbus A380 and the Boeing 777. These larger planes lead to the need for increased runway size. In fact several airports have had to lengthen runways in order to accommodate the A380. And while they are making the runways larger they are also making the airports more luxurious as well, adding additional features like better restaurants, spas, luxury shopping and lounges worthy of wiling away a few hours.

On the flip side are the little planes: the Eclipse, the Mustang, the Adam A700, and the Javelin are just some of the planes we have been tracking and which should end up taking to the skies in large numbers in 2006.  Because many of these planes are geared for short distances we could see a rise in air taxi services and private ownership. There has already been an increase in private plane clubs. Fractional ownership, which we noticed was big last year, has increased even more and we have also seen the rise of fractional clubs for those who are interested in being pilots instead of passengers (a trend born out by celebrities likeAngelina Jolie taking to the skies). All this small jet activity has also led to the rise of more and more private airports, posh private hangars with amenities that resemble boutique hotels and even homes which are designed so that you can park your plane in the driveway.

What's in the future? As we've seen by the latest moves from Richard Branson and Virgin Galatic space flight is definitely on tap for the next few years. "Space tourism" is currently still pricey but it is expected that the prices will fall eventually. And with the creation of the Rocket Racing League, we may well have NASCAR in the skies. But what I am really excited about for next year is the VTOL, that is the Vertical Take Off and Landing vehicles. The most-talked about is the Moller Skycar which made the pages of the Neiman Marcus Christmas Book this season but there are other vehicles such as the Bell/Augusta "impossicopter" and the Carter Copter that offer the advantages of a plane and a helicopter. And NASA is still offering that $250,000 prize for a flying car. Could this be the year of the flying car? Let me know your predictions for 2006 in the skies.

For those who love winter sports Aspen is the ultimate place to play, but is there a fly in the ointment? The Aspen Times has a piece of the difficulties of flying into Aspen. Because this is such a playground of the elite, private planes are coming in droves causing scheduling delays. Some jets have been denied landing spots and been forced to circle for a while before landing or diverted to other areas. For the busy season in Aspen the FAA uses the Special Traffic Management Program which creates times slots and gives priority to commercial planes with first come first served for private planes. Fractional companies have a little bit sway than those who own a jet themselves since they have designated people who work on reserving slots which has led to some resentment.The FAA says that is is doing all it can so the bottom line is that if you are flying into Aspen you may need to be patient about landing your private jet.

We have seen exotic and classic car clubs and fractional ownership opportunities sprouting up all over the place. A recent Wall Street Journal article covered the trend including a few options we hadn’t seen yet. The article mention new elite garage services and high-end clubs that cater to car enthusiasts. DreamCar Carriage House sells spaces that start around $50,000 and include amenities like a lounge for entertaining, wine storage and a guest office with Internet access. They also offer detailing, mechanical and valet services. Other clubs such as theAutobahn Country Club focus on people’s need to drive their cars on private roads and tracks. These clubs make perfect sense for someone who has bought something truly amazing and want to see what their new baby can do without worrying about running afoul of the law. The Autobahn Country Club charges a $25,000 initiation fee and dues of $3,000 per year for use of the track and clubhouse.