Business aviation "has changed the life" of Warren Buffett's 90-year-old aunt and turned her into "a missionary" for the business aviation industry.

And although it sounds odd, the story illustrates the fundamental change business aviation is bringing to the world--and the transformation the industry itself is undergoing, according to Buffett. He's the self-made billionaire and chief of the renowned investment firm Berkshire Hathaway, which owns FlightSafety International and Executive Jet, Inc. He's also becoming one of business aviation's most prominent and influential spokespersons. This is his third NBAA meeting.

Buffett's aunt, he explains, spent long years working in a grocery business. Now, at 90 and with ample finances, there's only so many things she can do with her money. Her one-sixteenth share in an EJI Raytheon Hawker, however, allows short-notice, at-will and hassle-free travel between her Omaha, NE, home and Florida.

And Auntie, not known as a big spender, now preaches the benefits of fractional ownership of business jets, Buffett said.

Buffett himself has been a business jet owner and operator since 1984 when he purchased a used Falcon 20. He graduated to a Canadair Challenger 600 before turning it in to take a share in a fractional jet. The fractional program better suits the travel needs of his 12-person corporate headquarters in Omaha, NE, he said, adding that his company is "hundreds of millions of dollars better off because of the plane." Corporate jets also have allowed him to act quickly and make acquisitions that would not have been possible using conventional air travel, he said.
Buffett flies about 225 hours a year and is the sole passenger on about 85% of his flights. Many are same day out-and-back flights, even if he gets back late at night. He says a good's night rest at home allows him to be well rested for the next day's business.

Buffett encourages Berkshire's non-aviation subsidiaries to use business jets whenever appropriate. Insurance company Geico, for instance, puts about 900 hours a year performing regional trips using its D.C.-based Lear.

"If I buy another company tomorrow (actually I might do that)," Buffett told Show News he would strongly recommend its management either use or look into a corporate jet.

The proliferation of fractional shares also is changing--and expanding business aviation's user base, Buffett said. "When someone in your neighborhood has a one-sixteenth share of an Ultra," the corporate jet suddenly loses its elitist reputation. To Buffett, fractional ownership has become an achievable goal for the upwardly mobile 35-year-old businessperson.

This, in turn, helps increase whole aircraft sales to both fractional programs and individual owners. "I don't know anyone who has bought a plane or part of a plane who wasn't happy," Buffett said, adding that fractional ownership now introduces 400 people to business aviation every year.

Buffett also expects fractional programs to help accelerate global growth of business aviation. Since most corporate jets are based in North America, he believes there is a lot of potential in the remainder of the world. Corporate jets also are being increasingly used by companies to keep their top executives "productive and happy"--not wasting valuable company and personal time "riding on buses."

A growing, broad-based business aviation constituency also will aid NBAA lobbying efforts on regulatory reform, Buffett said.

Although the self-made billionaire clearly "loves" business aviation, he can't think of any related companies he'd like to buy. Instead, he intends to continue his hands-off management style at FSI and EJI.

Buffett's investment strategy is to find profitable, good companies with strong management and let them run themselves. He likes the fact that Al Ueltschi, head of FSI, and Richard Santulli of EJI, are both strong leaders who founded their companies and stay in the business for the love of it.