NEWS, PRESS & EVENTS

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AirShares Elite Acquires iFly

June 9, 2008 – (Atlanta, GA) – Professionally managed aircraft pioneer AirShares Elite announced today that it has purchased iFly, the world’s first exclusive aero club, effective immediately.  The acquisition will extend AirShares Elite’s penetration in the Southern California market while greatly expanding the network of iFly’s Los Angeles and San Diego-area members.

AirShares Elite CEO David Lee foresees the acquisition providing significant benefits for the customers of both companies.  “AirShares is the largest national shared ownership program and iFly runs the biggest program in the Los Angeles / San Diego market.  Together, we will offer our customers an even greater range of flying experiences – more planes in more locations, with a larger, more experienced and more capable organization.  The new organization will be a plus for all of our owners.” 

The company will operate a fleet of Cirrus SR22 G3 Turbo aircraft in the Southern California market, which iFly Chairman Andrew DeMond believes will provide even greater utility to iFly’s members, who previously flew iFly’s fleet of normally aspirated Columbia (now Cessna) 350s.

“AirShares and iFly have been the innovators and market leaders in our respective markets; now, we can move forward together,” DeMond said.  “For iFly’s California members, the combination with AirShares lets them move up to a turbo-normalized aircraft ideally suited to the West Coast market.”

AirShares Elite will provide access to its transition training program to iFly’s members, enabling them to begin flying its fleet of Cirrus aircraft within the next few weeks.

June 2006:  Aviation Consumer Concludes - AirShares Looks Best

Aviation Consumer, "the consumer resource for pilots and aircraft owners", reviewed the owner-flown, AirShares market in its June 2006 issue.

Highlights of the Aviation Consumer article:

- "Looking back on several years of two GA fractionals serving this group, we can say with confidence that the system works, with a few caveats"
- "Although neither AirShares Elite nor OurPlane are cheap, they're still the less expensive way to own a new airplane."
- "The number one benefit we heard from AirShares owners was the pleasure of not dealing with the details of ownership"
- "Time has shown that the model works if managed correctly. That's why we're most impressed with AirShares Elite. In our opinion, the focus on one airplane manufacturer, one market segment and a targeted segment of the pilot population makes sense."
- "ASE's ownership structure is simple and protects your investment as much as possible."
- "They seem to back it up with excellent customer service. In fact, the worst complaint we could coax out of any ASE owner was "we were getting frustrated and brought the problem to their attention and they fixed it".
- "Once you sign up, you may have the experience that many AirShares owners seem to have: they fly more. If that isn't a legitimate reason to own a piece of an airplane, at least its a juicy rationalization."

Aviation Consumer's bottom line is actually the title of the article: "Fracional Ownership: AirShares Looks Best".

And our Owners seem to agree.

As soon as I saw the cover of my copy of Aviation Consumer, I dropped everything to read the article. They got it spot on. After personally checking out both AirShares and OurPlane, there is no doubt the best choice is AirShares. Right service, right goals, right attitude. I have enjoyed every moment.

Chris Freedlander
President, Survival Intelligence, Inc.

You can read the entire article in Adobe .pdf format by clicking here.

June 2004: Read Flying Magazine's three part article covering their two years as an AirShares SR22 Owner in New York. The Jury's In: AirShares Elite SR22. Want the bottom line even before you read the three articles, here it is:

"Shared ownership has been a nearly unqualified success for me, and the AirShares experience has been an excellent one. I get the airplane nearly every time I want it, the service, including instruction, has been top notch, and I’ve found that the 75 hours a year I have available to me is adequate. Likewise, the 21 overnights a year I have allotted through AirShare’s plan is workable. Sure, these are compromises, but they’re compromises that I’ve found I can live with. Overall, I’m a happy camper."   Bob Goyer, Sr. Editor, Flying Magazine

August 19, 2008:  AirShares Elite and OptAir to Continue Network Alliance after Formal Separation

December 13, 2007:  AirShares Elite Offers Carbon Offset Program

May 2, 2007 : AirShares Elite announces opening of Los Angeles locations.

September 27 , 2006: AirShares Elite reaches 50th airplane milestone.

July 27, 2006: AirShares Elite becomes first corporate supporter of AOPA's Project Pilot.

July 23, 2006: AirShares Opens in Raleigh-Durham and Minneapolis; CEO Invites pilots to Just Fly.

June 1, 2006: Aviation Consumer Concludes - AirShares Looks Best .

January 26, 2006: Avidyne and AirShares Host Pilot Seminar.

January 24, 2006: AirShares Elite to Head Back to the Moon in 2006! ite in AirShares Elite pilot owners cross

January 8, 2006: AirShares Tampa Adds Second SR22 Ahead of Schedule.

 

Are you ready to fly the Cirrus SR22 and make your flying more effective? Call us today at 800-482-5411 or click here to have an AirShares Elite professional contact you.

"I figure I have better availability to the aircraft than if I owned an entire plane outright."
- Paul Platt, Atlanta, GA