When it comes to fractional ownership of business aircraft, few know more about it than Rob Gillespie.

The first president of Bombardier's Flexjet fractional ownership program (launched in May 1995 and now boasting a fleet of 73 Learjet 31A, Learjet 45, Learjet 60 and Challenger aircraft) has now taken over the reins at the business aircraft division of the big company itself.

In between he polished up his marketing skills as president of Bombardier's fast growing regional aircraft division.

"It's great to be back in the business aviation part of the business," he told Show News just four weeks into the new job. "It's a tremendously exciting time. There are lots of opportunities and challenges to keep us moving forward."

The first is to retain Bombardier's leading position in the business jet market in terms of dollar deliveries of aircraft. Two years ago it overtook Gulfstream for Number One position, and it plans to stay there.

While sales are paramount, other challenges stem from success. Bombardier's rapid expansion has caused a number of highly visible bottlenecks, from earlier delays in certification of the Learjet 45 and Global Express, to sales and production rates of the flagship aircraft that substantially outstrip the company's capacity to complete them for customers.

"There is no doubt that rapid growth strains our ability to service the customer. The opportunities to stumble become greater," Gillespie said.

A growing fleet means more customers to support in more areas of the world. Bombardier is pouring resources into expanding its service and support operations in seven North American locations and in Berlin to look after aircraft in Europe, where sales are burgeoning. Completion centers at Tucson and Montreal have been expanded, and virtually all service centers are working two shifts. Employment in customer support now totals 4,800 -- a doubling over two years--and is growing in leaps and bounds.

"We are hiring dramatically," said Gillespie, who noted the number of flight service reps for Learjets now totals 64 worldwide--the highest ratio for any aircraft in service.

"We're exploring every opportunity to increase our own capacity, and we've made tremendous investments in building it up," he said. "We are looking at collaborating wherever else we can, with companies whose standards will match our own."

For the future, Bombardier Aerospace's track record of certifying a new aircraft nearly every year doesn't appear to be slackening. The Challenger 604 achieved FAA certification in 1995, the Learjet 45 in 1997, the Global Express last year, and the new Continental is slated for full approval in 2002. In between, the company also certified the de Havilland Dash 8-Q400 regional airliner, launched the CRJ700 70-passenger jet, and disclosed plans for a 90-seater.
Gillespie said certification programs are becoming more complicated as the number of international partners increases on each program and as certification standards are raised. In addition, the company has a philosophy of certifying an aircraft to the highest possible standards, doubling the process as it strives for simultaneous FAA and European JAA approval.

"We have to face the challenges of managing these programs, and of managing a growing organization," Gillespie said. "We will look further ahead on future programs, including the effects of industry restructuring," he added, referring to the current shortage of capacity industrywide for completing business aircraft, and to recent further reductions in its overall accessibility as corporate acquisitions, such as that of K-C Aviation by Gulfstream, tie facilities more closely to one manufacturer.

Having helped create the boom in fractional ownership through his management of Flexjet, Gillespie is now set to benefit from increased business at the other end of the chain. And he believes Bombardier will build even better aircraft because of the phenomenon.
High utilization rates of fractionally-owned aircraft -- nearly double those of traditional business jets -- place an extra value on Bombardier's airliner expertise as it transfers it to corporate aviation. "The Continental is designed more with these requirements in mind than any other aircraft before," he said.

"Fractional ownership has clearly been a resounding success in expanding access to business aviation; for example, 80% of new owners at Flexjet were entirely new to it," Gillespie noted.
He expects the boom to continue for several years, noting there are still a great many businesses in the U.S. that cannot yet justify the cost or difficulty of owning their own aircraft. Fractional ownership will bring them into the business aviation fold, he believes.
"At Flexjet I saw that business aviation changes their lives--always in a big way, and always for the better. It is very gratifying to hear their enthusiasm for it, and what it has done for them."