If one of the main benefits of business jet travel is privacy, its flipside is inevitably isolation. Though they may be flying in comfort at 41,000 feet, without having to fight over a shared armrest, private flyers are removed from their fellow travelers to the extent that they cannot share with each other the knowledge accrued in their experience with private jets. Thanks to a growing community on the internet, however, private jet flyers may no longer have to fly alone so to speak.

Enter Shaircraft Connections, an online forum where private jet travelers can meet to ask questions and share insights with their fellow flyers about the myriad companies and plans that fill the business travel space. The forum was founded by the CEO of Shaircraft Solutions, James D. Butler, who realized in his work as private aviation consultant and attorney that the experience of each of his clients is a tremendously valuable resource in itself.

Of course, fractional, card, and charter providers are only too happy to keep their consumers isolated from one another. “It’s better from the perspective of the fractionals to keep owners isolated. Until now there has been no way to counterbalance this power by helping private flyers band together,” says Butler. Butler gives the example of how when Raytheon’s TravelAir program and Flight Options merged in 2002, Flight Options unilaterally changed the terms of TravelAir’s plans. The TravelAir members were frustrated and confused, but “no one had enough individual stake in fighting them on it. At the time there was nothing they could do. A lot of what we’re trying to do is change that balance of power.”

In addition to harnessing the collective knowledge and leverage of private flyers, the forum also serves as a powerful practical tool. The forum acts as a marketplace of sorts. Through its ShairSales service, members can buy and sell fractional shares without paying the heavy fees normally charged by brokers and fractional providers. Its ShairValue service lets members see the resale values that providers are paying for fractional shares.

Through its ShairRide service, members can also use the forum to arrange rides aboard each other’s flights. If a free seat aboard your Citation X is going to waste on your next flight from Miami to New York, you can post on Shaircraft Connections to find another passenger to help defray some of your operating costs. Likewise, if you’re looking to hitch a ride somewhere, you can post the details of your travel dates and see if any of your fellow flyers have some room to help you make the trip.

There is no cost to join Shaircraft Connections. “We don’t accept advertising and so initially we charged a membership fee. But the forum has proved to be such a wonderful way for us to build relationships with the private air travel community, that we’re now able to offer it as a complimentary service.” The aim is to grow the membership base, make it a dynamic active community, and thereby increase the forum’s utility and the power to of its members.