There can be fewer more ostentatious trappings of wealth than a private jet. However, the perception of such aircraft as mere playthings of the rich and famous has tended to detract from their more mundane role as effective, hassle-reducing business tools.
Nowadays, with even the most infrequent of business fliers inconvenienced by airline route rationalization and sadly essential security measures at congested airports, many companies are turning to executive jets -- if for no other reason than time-management.
The global corporate-jet market was transformed long ago by shared ownership schemes and leasing arrangements that sidestepped prohibitive import taxes. Over the past decade or so, however, the trend has increasingly been toward fractional ownership, with individual or corporate customers having guaranteed access to an aircraft without being responsible for crew recruitment and training or aircraft maintenance.