Avolar Will Offer Airbus Fractionals;
Sees Closer Ties with United Airlines

United Airlines parent UAL Corp missed its chance to make a splash with the name of its new fractional ownership program when the big NBAA meeting was canceled this past September.

This week the new company, dubbed Avolar as all the world now knows, is in New Orleans at last, talking up not only its pending $4 billion-plus purchase of some 224 Gulfstream 200s, IV-SPs, Vs, and V-SPs, as well as Falcon 50EXs, 2000s, 2000EXs and 900EXs, but a new deal with Airbus whereby the UAL unit will operate as many as 15 Airbus Corporate Jets under FAR Part 121 charter rules.

The ACJs will fly "under the command of mainline United Airlines pilots," the UAL unit says, and will be maintained by United Services, a division of United Airlines.

Avolar also plans to conduct a corporate shuttle business using the ACJ, and is offering management services for ACJ owners who've bought their aircraft directly from Airbus.

The UAL unit is the first-ever affiliate of a major airline to enter the fractional fray. It says it will offer top-notch luxury services, dismissing the skepticism of industry veterans.

"The last place I'd look for 5-star service is any U.S. airline," comments one business aviation specialist. "Who's going to load the bags?" asks another in reference to a stated plan to employ seasoned, veteran pilots for the business jet fleet. In business aviation, "Every client is somebody you have to foster and develop and keep," says yet another, suggesting that such customer coddling is not exactly United's forte.

The new UAL unit is being further challenged by United flight attendants who question the company's investment in luxury travel at a time when the airline is facing unprecedented financial challenges. They have threatened to sue if they're kept out of the new luxury aircraft.

Avolar says it's "begun to hire a number of professionals from the general aviation industry, including many from the ranks of United Airlines.

"Nearly two dozen furloughed United pilots, flight attendants, dispatchers and administrative personnel are being hired and trained by Avolar," the company said last month. "As Avolar's fleet grows, so will the opportunities for these professionals."

The UAL unit is to have a cadre of about 1,000 pilots when the Avolar fractional fleet is at full strength.

Avolar says it's "positioned to jointly offer with United Airlines the world's broadest program of jet transportation services." It also says it is seeking outside funding for the new business, but that UAL will maintain a significant minority stake. "UAL will continue to maintain a significant interest in Avolar that will allow United to reap the benefits of synergies such as these," the firm says.

Full operations are to commence as aircraft deliveries begin this coming spring.

"New owners who purchase shares before then will be provided with interim service using Avolar's Falcon 50EX aircraft," the UAL unit promises, as well as "preferential charter arrangements."

By Rich Piellisch