Splendour in the sky: Private aviation users are value-conscious and they want the same experience in the air as they do in their homes, vacation destinations and offices

The worldwide recession exposed the risks and challenges associated with full and fractional ownership as asset prices fell quickly when those who may have purchased at the height of the market discovered that they were over-extended or didn't need as much as they purchased.

Amortising these high fixed costs, or market depreciation costs, over a short period of ownership resulted in much higher than anticipated total costs of operation.

In times of credit scarcity and financial belt tightening, business leaders could no longer accept the significant capital commitment and asset risks of aircraft sitting on the balance sheet.

With the fractional model dominating for more than 25 years, it was no surprise that the overall private aviation shrank in many established regions such as the US.

But the demand for private travel is still there.

Frequent users of private aviation are looking for more efficient and less risky travel alternatives for the future.

VistaJet's unique solutions have meant we have seen revenue growth across our key service areas of Europe, Middle East and Asia. Our business models are built around luxury (which everyone wants), transparency (which everyone asks for) and simplicity (which everyone relishes).

VistaJet offers on-demand, which is service by the trip, and for the more frequent user, Program Partnership, which is built around that customer's schedule, guaranteed access to a new fleet of Bombardier aircraft, and the largest single service area in the business. At VistaJet, we take all the ownership and operational responsibilities (the headaches and hassles) of our fleet so that customers can focus on their business.

And when they want to fly, our customers partner with our entire fleet of new Bombardier aircraft which they can use when and where they want. Each aircraft has the same luxurious look, touch and feel, inside and out - so whether travelling one hour or 10 hours the experience is high-end and consistent.

Private aviation users are value-conscious and they want the same experience in the air as they do in their homes, their vacation destinations and their offices.

No doubt, flying aboard a private aircraft is more expensive than flying commercial. But the experience is vastly different, and this is the most significant discriminator for our customers.

As a result of being able to determine your own schedule of flying - whether with family or business colleagues - the time saved (or invested) is what converts people from first class to private aviation.

With increased investments in the Asian region and greater numbers of business executives and entrepreneurs discovering the advantages that flying privately provides, we expect a surge in private jet usage over the next five to 10 years.

In particular, we anticipate China, Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia to be hubs of increased private aviation demand.

As a result of these forecasts, we have invested heavily in the Asian market with offices in Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur.

This will be a very important year in VistaJet's development and we anticipate taking delivery of several more aircraft, some of which will be assigned to the Asia-Pacific region.

In future, we expect increasing numbers of customers to see the value, flexibility and time benefits available through alternative private aviation business models with Asia emerging as a leading player in the use of private jets.

The writer is chairman and founder of VistaJet

VistaJet was founded by Thomas Flohr in 2002, and is now Europe's largest jet on-demand chartering company, and the second largest business jet charter company outside the US. Since 2008 it has also been involved in fractional aircraft ownership. Its fleet comprises medium to ultra-long range jets, mostly Bombardier aircraft. In 2007, it established its South-east Asian base at SkyPark Subang, Kuala Lumpur