History Of NetJets
In the year 1964 a company was formed under the name of Executive Jet Aviation. When we look at the history of the private jet charter and management companies we come to see that Executive Jet Aviation was one of the first one on the scene. Retired Air Force Brigadier General Olbert F. (“Dick”) Lassiter was president and chairperson of the board. The founding members included an Air Force general and an ex military pilot Bruce Sundlun. Entertainers James Stewart and Arthur Godfrey were also on the board of directors along with many others. In 1970, Bruce Sundlan became the president. Paul Tibbetts followed him in 1976 and became the next president. Richard Santulli purchased Executive Jet Aviation Corporation and became the new chairperson and CEO of the corporation in 1984.
NetJets came into the limelight in the mid 1980s when the NetJets program created by Santulli was launched. The “first fractional aircraft ownership program” by Chairman Richard Santulli came into existence with this idea that the company would offer partial ownership of private jets to businesspersons. It began in 1987 and NetJets after some internal revamping started providing the jets, the pilots, the hangars, and the maintenance. They were highly appreciated by business tycoons all over the world. The business community paid a lot of money as well as providing support for the convenience of a private jet whenever they had a need and one was available. No longer did they have to wait and suffer through commercial flights, delayed schedules and stand in security clearance lines.
In 1998, Warren Buffett, Chairman and CEO of the Berkshire Hathaway company, acquired NetJets Inc. Warren Buffet a regular customer of this company. By this time, NetJets had expanded into the gulf region of the United States, further establishing its dominance in the private jet chartering industry in 1995. The expansion to Europe soon followed in 1997. By the year 1999, NetJets expanded their operations to the Middle East. In early August of 2009, David Sokol became the next CEO after Santulli decided to resign. David Sokol moved NetJets Inc. corporate headquarters back to its original home in Columbus, Ohio.
A fleet of 10 Learjet 23 aircraft, by the name of Executive Jet Aviation started its operations in 1964 and by the year 1980, they managed to service close to 250 customers, with flying contracts and logging more than three million miles per year.
NetJets profits remained steady and increased every year. In the year 1997, NetJets Inc. obtained 52 new jets thereby becoming one of the largest fleets. This was the largest purchase of jets in the history of the industry. NetJets joined forces with the most prominent jet company in the world soon after. In 1997, the first Boeing jet was added to its fleet and 161 new business jets ordered in 1998. The total sum of this order exceeded $2.8 billion USD. The next notable move by NetJets followed in the year 2000, when they established a 200,000 square foot headquarters inside the Port Columbus Airport. The company purchased another 20 jets and this made NetJets the first company in the United States that allowed the rental and chartering of private jets to executives. NetJets still dominates the jet charter industry and their success in the future is almost assured.
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