VLJ: What’s the Hype?
Over the next year, the introduction of Very Light Jets (VLJs) to the air will drastically change the way we fly. Or not.
It’s hard to tell right now, with some big companies (Adam Aircraft, Honda) convinced that VLJs will be their key to future success, but other industry watchers remain unconvinced. These small jets will also affect the opportunities open to someone looking at fractional ownership of a jet.
Everything about VLJs is up in the air right now (excuse the pun). There are already some fractional ownership opportunities out there for VLJs, especially the Eclipse 500.
VLJs are cheaper to buy and to operate. They can be flown by one pilot and are lighter so they use less fuel. They can fly up to 1000 miles, but I’m not sure I would want to fly that long—they don’t have great bathroom options. The Eclipse 500 is possibly the best known of these VLJs simply because the media has made a big deal about the fact that it doesn’t have a lavatory, like in this article about VLJs from Charter X.
There are so many questions that VLJs are raising now, and the answers aren’t known, and in fact won’t be knowable until they’re in the air for a few years. A few of the questions include:
• Will they clog airspace around major airports?
• Will they be a boon to small, underused airports?
• Will they push the government to fund a satellite-based air traffic navigation system?
• Will they make private flight and fractional ownership an option for more people?
• Will noise complaints push them away from the smaller airports, usually near residential areas, that they’re built to land in?
You know, I don’t know. If you’ll forgive another pun, VLJs have been on my radar for a while now, but I still can’t decide what to make of them. The experts don’t even agree.
If they are viable, there is no disputing that they will make fractional ownership an even more affordable option.
