A new private jet club will break ground today on its luxury facility at Centennial Airport.
Owners of XJet Club LLC are selling annual memberships for $100,000 and plan to match jet owners with people interested in flying or owning shares in those jets. The company will have a clubhouse, a restaurant and a fuel management program.
XJet founder and chief executive Josh Stewart said the 100,000-square-foot jet facility will have three hangars and will be completed by November 2006. The project will cost more than $10 million.
Denver oilman Alex Cranberg is an investor as well as an XJet member who owns a Falcon 50 and a Citation 5 aircraft, according to Stewart.
The company also has struck partnerships with Jet Fleet International and Phoenix Fuel.
Shaw Construction started moving dirt Tuesday on XJet’s 13-acre site. The company plans a groundbreaking ceremony today.
“We’re really excited to get this underway and to really change the way private aviation is conducted,” Stewart said.
The club has a handful of members and is continuing to seek them. Stewart has options for another three hangars, and said he would also like to expand to California and Texas and other locations, as well as Europe.
While fixed-base operators serving private jets at airports generally make money by selling fuel, Stewart said he will instead sell fuel at cost and generate revenue through the membership fee.
“They’re really a niche operator,” Centennial Airport executive director Robert Olislagers said.
Staff writer Kelly Yamanouchi can be reached at 303-820-1488 or at kyamanouchi@denverpost.com.
