Get a group of fractional aircraft customers together and chances are that at some point the conversation will drift toward billing and in most instances that conversation will include the dreaded fuel surcharge.  With the recent announcement from Flight Options concerning the launch of their Fractional First program, that among among other things eliminates the fuel surcharge, that conversation may be a thing a of the past.

Aircraft, Real Estate, Yachts, RVs and now Luxury Suites at sporting events.

Sports Shares Executive Club provides the ultimate in luxury suite packages.  Private suite access to premier sports, concerts and special events in selected cities, encompassing multiple entertainment venues, with a level of flexibility that is critical to small and midsize businesses.

SAND, warm sun-kissed sand, a spread of golden grains stretching out as far as the eye can see, the caw-caw of the seagulls, the lapping of the waves, the ...

O.K., go ahead and just shoot Michael Bevilacqua now. Right now.

"There are a lot of people out there who can't stand the feel of sand between their toes, and Michael is one of them," said his wife, Marisa Fox, a Manhattan-based freelance writer and editor. "I've always loved the beach. I find that New Yorkers crave what they don't have, which is a roaring surf and turquoise skies."

Mr. Bevilacqua, an artist, put it this way: "It's just not my thing anymore. I grew up in Carmel, Calif., and I was the one running across the sand to go surfing — but I think I O.D.'d on the beach."

Private planes look better as commercial air travel grows ever more nightmarish.

(FORTUNE Small Business) - Richard Arroyo was sitting in his Phoenix office when he learned that one of his company's drivers had rolled her beverage delivery truck off an icy road and into a ditch while traveling through Flagstaff, Ariz. Although the driver was uninjured, Arroyo's insurance policy required that a senior executive assess damaged inventory at the scene of the accident. But sending a supervisor out to Flagstaff entailed a two-hour, 145-mile drive from Phoenix. Fortunately, Arroyo had a high-speed solution. "I jumped in my airplane and was in Flagstaff in 45 minutes," he recalls.

Fractional ownership is a swankier option than time-sharing, but buyers shouldn't view it as a real estate investment

It was a leaky faucet that soured Ken and Nova Matheson of Buffalo on owning a vacation house from afar. The leak persisted during a six-month absence from their Whistler, B.C., house, causing the kitchen floor to cave in and requiring a $60,000 repair. They don't have such worries now that they've bought into the Rocks Residence Club, a resort community at the base of Pinnacle Peak in Scottsdale, Ariz. For $195,000 up-front, plus $14,500 a year in dues, they get use of a four-bedroom, Southwestern-style home for 21 days a year. The arrangement also entitles them to playing privileges at eight golf courses, access to a private spa, concierge services -- and the peace of mind that the management company, The Markers, takes responsibility for all upkeep. "We've been so pleased, we're thinking about selling our home in Whistler," Nova says.