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CNN Live Sunday
Interview with James Butler
Aired November 04, 2001 - 17:18 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DONNA KELLEY, CNN ANCHOR: If worries about airline and security are getting in the way of your business travel, there is an alternative. Joining us to talk about it is James Butler. He is the CEO of Sharcraft Solutions.
Mr. Butler, good to have you join us.
JAMES BUTLER, CEO, SHARECRAFT: Good to be with you.
KELLEY: How does your business work?
BUTLER: Well, fractional air travel is a relatively new concept. It's be been around since '86 but really grown into a full industry since '95. Essentially you are buying transportation. The beauty of the system is that a multimillion dollar fleet of aircraft is available to the traveler, but he only pays a fraction of cost. The maintenance and the operation of the fleet are provided by an aircraft company .
KELLEY: And when you say that, what do you mean, and when you say you buy a part of a plane, does the group come together and say I would like to buy 20 percent of the plane? Is that how it works?
BUTLER: The aircraft company sells the fleet in shares and that is their business. They maintain and operate the fleet. For the traveler, all he knows is a few hours before he wants to fly, he calls ahead to the aircraft company, and they guarantee that they will provide a plane where he wants it, when he wants it to take him where he wants to go.
KELLEY: What kind of bucks are we talking about here and what kind of access? How many times a year can you use it?
BUTLER: Well, these are very cost effective investments. In fact, they pay for themselves many times over. The smallest investment might be, say, $100,000, which would buy you 25 hours on a fleet of corporate jets for a year.
You know, these things are cost effective because time is money. And in today's business world, these planes are like time machines. They make it more productive for executives to fly and do their business, to get where they need to go and that's why people are turning to them as a great alternative to commercial air travel.
KELLEY: How big are the planes and how many people can you take on them?
BUTLER: They really run the gamut. Some may seat as few as five up to big jets, Gulfstreams, that can fly to Europe and fly 25 to 50 people. The benefit also is that with Commercial air travel we all fly through basically the same 50 airports. With fractional, you can fly into 5,500 airports.
KELLEY: So you can land and takeoff from any airports.
BUTLER: Almost any airport depending on the runway. But certainly we are not tied to the hub system. You can be in an out-of- the-way location, and they will deliver a plane to you and take you where you need to go.
KELLEY: I imagine one of the things people are interested in is that they have more control and maybe a little bit more security. But tell us what you do for security on your planes.
BUTLER: Our service is really a consulting business. We help fractional buyers make sure they get the right investment, the right plane, the right program and that is -- because this is a fairly new business, they are looking to us to show them the way.
But in terms of security, we are looking for piece of mind since September 11. And the piece of mind we get from this service is that we know who is on the plane, we know what's in the luggage and we know who is flying the plane. That is just different from commercial air travel and that is what people are looking for.
KELLEY: Certainly a certain clientele, because it's a little pricey. But can you tell us about whether or not you have had a very big increase in this private travel?
BUTLER: Well to tell you truth, our business was growing before September 11, because Sharecraft provides a service that no one else offers, but certainly since September 11 the phones have been ringing off the hook. Our Web site, Sharecraft.com has been getting thousands of hits. People are learning about fractional air travel. They are interested in it and they are kicking the tires and looking at this as a real alternative, something that maybe before was seen as a luxury.
Now, with the delays and cancellations and difficulties with commercial air travel, people are seeing this, both business executives and other travelers, as almost a necessity.
KELLEY: Nice to visit with you. James Butler, who is the CEO and founder of Sharecraft Solutions. Thank you.
BUTLER: Good to be with you.
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