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June 09--WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. -- "The most fun you can have with your clothes on."
That's how Howie Martin summed up his splurge: the Embraer Phenom 300.
The hot new toy for grown-ups, on display Wednesday at Westchester County Airport as part of National Business Aviation Association trade show that drew nearly 3,000 people to the sweltering tarmac of the suburban travel hub, is garnering rave reviews from business and leisure jet-setters.
Its price tag is as stratospheric as its cruising altitude -- $8.6 million.
Martin, 51, who runs a chimney-cleaning and asbestos-removal business in Greenwich, Westchester, Manhattan and the Bronx, N.Y., anted up $1 million for the equivalent of 100 hours of annual use of the Brazilian-made light jet through a fractional ownership program -- think timeshares for planes.
"It was a chunk of dough, no question about it," said Martin, a married father of two from Scarsdale, N.Y., who travels by private jet about a dozen times a year, mostly for leisure travel.
The Phenom 300 seats seven, has a top speed of 520 mph and has a range of 2,300 miles and an ear-popping maximum operating altitude of 45,000 feet, helping it to avoid most weather systems and commercial air traffic.
It comes equipped with Wi-Fi, satellite telephones, LED lighting, leather seats, a burl wood trim and next-generation Doppler radar that allows the pilot to check weather data for a 2,000-mile range.
The jet can make it from New York to Denver without refueling, according to specifications on Embraer's corporate web site.
Know your target audience:
"Here to Aspen," said Matthew Doyle, executive vice president of sales and marketing for Flight Options, a Cleveland-based fractional ownership service.
The company is one of the few in the industry currently selling shares of the Phenom 300, with the minimum buy-in at $525,000 for the equivalent of 50 hours of annual use.
"It's certainly giving people a lot more options," Doyle said. "It has the lowest carbon emissions of any business jet of its kind."
Not only is the lower carbon emissions better for the environment, but Doyle said it reduces fuel costs.
Flight Options currently owns seven Phenom 300s and plans to take delivery of 100 of the planes by 2020, with an option to buy an additional 50.
The jets cost about $4,300 an hour to operate, the cost of which is shouldered by the fractional owners themselves, in addition to their initial investment in the aircraft.
Doyle estimated that the company has 1,300 total customers, with 150 of them based at the White Plains airport.
Since the first quarter of 2010, Doyle said Flight Options has seen a 467 percent increase in fractional ownership sales, which are available for several models of aircraft.
"This is attracting more business use," Doyle said of the Phenom 300.
Fractional owners can pick which fixed-based operator they want to use at the airport to provide fuel and ground-handling services. Among them is Million Air, which has done open house events for the roll-out of the Phenom 300.
"This airplane is in such demand," said Michael Mason, one of the company's owners and a Cos Cob resident. "It's economical. It's built like a tank."
Bill Minkoff, vice president of marketing and business development for Corporate Flight Management, a Nashville-based charter company, piloted a Phenom 300 from Brazil to the U.S. and said it was a dream.
"It's going to become the standard for light jets," Minkoff said. "It's a very desirable airplane for us."
Martin gushed that the food served on board is no slouch either.
"You could have surf and turf," Martin said. "Bagels and lox for breakfast."
Martin commented that fractional ownership is more attainable than people realize.
"It's not about the super rich," the chimney contractor said. "You don't have to be a hedge fund manager or bond trader."
Whether it's breezing through the boarding process in 15 minutes or high-tailing it out to the Rocky Mountains for a family ski trip without refueling, Martin said it's money well spent.
"The last thing you want to do when you take your family on vacation is deal with the airport and security lines," Martin said.
Staff writer Neil Vigdor can be reached at [email protected] or at 203-625-4436.
