Business Jet Traveler magazine is a favorite of ours, and a must-read for corporate flight departments and active jet owners. There are also useful nuggets for fractional owners, card members and charter flyers. We’ve synopsized key articles from the latest issue, with those readers in mind.

If you’re interested in more, consider downloading our independent Decision Guide to Private Jet Travel. In an odd tree-hating gesture, Business Jet Traveler offers a free print version of their publication, but the electronic version costs $37.50.

Review: Cessna Citation Mustang Reviewer Mark Huber likes the new six-seater VLJ, which was the first in its class to achieve FAA certification. Vitals include a 1,300 mile range, and a max cruising speed of 390 MPH at 35,000 feet. The $2.75 million aircraft can be flown by a single pilot using its state-of-the-art avionics. Cabin dimensions are a comfortable 10 feet long, 4.5 feet wide, and headroom of 54 inches. Other parameters are what you’d expect for a new-model jet (tasteful styling, convenient storage) and a small aircraft (63 cu.ft. of baggage capacity; chemical non-flush toilet). Huber’s review repeatedly cites Cessna’s experience in design, production and certification as a key driver in this well-designed plane. Not that you could get your hands on one: current production capacity is already pre-sold into 2009/2010.

Cabin Tech 07 Stephen Pope and Kirby Harrison call out their top 10 technologies for cabin living:

1. Wi-Fi networking and Internet access – currently a few suppliers offer solutions at respectable speeds.
2. Satellite TV – A high six-figure feature appears to be moving toward a low six-figure feature. The hard part is when your parents find out you spent more on TV than they did on their house.
3. HDTV – The same thing that happened in your family room will happen on your plane. Better. Cheaper. Bigger.
4. High Def DVD players – Same thing here, only a catfight between competing standards will slow adoption. New hybrid players can handle both standards.
5. Cellphone and Blackberry access – A fair amount of technical hocus-pocus may make this a possibility, as long as the FAA plays ball. Don’t look for this anytime soon.
6. Satcom for Voice Calling – You may already have this in your plane, but you might not know that there are multiple tiers from Inmarsat for different levels of voice quality and data speed. Competitor Iridium is planning a next-gen system to replace its aging fleet of satellites.
7. iPod and MP3 Integration – Docking stations are now de rigueur for new jets. The more advanced installations include a graphical control screen and the ability to send the tunes to specific seats or the cabin speakers.
8. Noise-canceling Headphones – The article calls out the Bose QuietComfort II ($300), JVC HA-NC100-J/C ($79) or Plane Quiet’s NC6 ($80). [With all due respect to Business Jet Traveler, Helium Report defers to the authorities at Wired magazine, who recommend the Audio-Technica ATH-ANC7 ($220) as a miles-ahead favorite beyond even the $450 Sennheiser.]
9. Digital Moving Map Displays - A handful of providers continue to evolve these goodies with improved imagery, more in-depth statistics, and voice announcements.
10. Cabin Management Systems – As new features, gadgets and AV options become available for passengers, there’s a proliferation of buttons, controls and dials that threatens to make the cabin look like the cockpit. A Cabin Management System endeavors to put all those goodies in a simple set of controls… like a universal remote for your plane.

Review: Airbus Corporate Jet Reviewer Mark Huber notes the recent sales momentum of the A319-based Airbus Corporate Jet. With 20 sales in 2006, there’s a chance this $55 million, eighteen passenger beast could emerge from the Boeing Business Jet’s shadow. Vitals include 850 square feet of floor space, max speed of 550 MPH, and a range of over 7,000 miles. The sheer size may disqualify it for certain GA airports, either due to infrastructure requirements, or local political squabbling. The plane has a little brother (the A318 Elite) and a big brother (A320 Prestige) rounding out the lineup. If you’re considering a Boeing Business Jet, it’s worth taking the time to review the Airbus offerings as well.

New FAA Rules Rattle the Charter Industry Jeff Wieand dissects paragraph A008 in the FAA’s charter regulations, with new clarifications that went into effect on March 15, 2007. The FAA has tightened its definition of “operational control” to best ensure that Part 135 charters comply with the original intent of the regulation. A few bad fish have exposed some wiggle room that has resulted in a few bad accidents. Some claim the FAA’s reaction is needlessly restrictive, for instance, the requirement that pilots be employed by the operator, when the aircraft owner (often not the charter operator) is more comfortable with his or her own flight crew. As a consequence, many expect charter availability to narrow considerably. Wieand points out that the Air Charter Guide is already showing fewer aircraft being added to charter certificates. The NBAA has asked the FAA to suspend and reassess these new guidelines.

Fractional Options – Do they really add value? James Butler’s columns are always among the most insightful. In this issue, he looks at recent options in fractional programs. Butler focuses on Flight Options’ Fractional First program (see Helium Report’s description here), and Flexjet’s Versatility Plus (also covered by Helium Report). The broad theme of these programs is greater flexibility for fractional owners’ flexibility to overfly, underfly, buy short-leg waivers, guarantees and swap flight-hours with other owners. Flight Options includes better transparency on fuel surcharges, eliminating the added margin that irritates so many owners. Butler points out that the devil is in the details, and that owners need to dig deeper and ask tough questions. As appealing as these programs seem, they’re not for everyone. As Butler concludes: “Owners’ search for flexibility, simplicity and transparency continues, as does the providers’ search for a better bottom line. Each of these new programs has something to offer owners. Yet, in many ways this is a zero-sum game between you and your provider.”

What is your experience with these providers? Writing a review is valuable to private jet travel consumers worldwide.

Note to Readers: Halogen Guides is the new name of Helium Report.