While most of the world was watching the giants of aerospace at Le Bourget, developments at the smaller end of the market may be creating the biggest revolution in modern aviation history.
Equal amounts of scepticism and enthusiasm swirl around the concept of an air taxi market made possible by using the new breed of very light jet (VLJ) for per-seat, on-demand air travel.
Two start-up companies have declared their hands with the latest, DayJet, also revealing an order for 239 Eclipse 500 VLJs. The brainchild of software entrepreneur Ed Iacobucci, DayJet joins Pogo, which is led by low-fare airline pioneer Donald Burr and former American Airlines chairman Robert Crandall.
Pogo signed a 75-aircraft order with Adam Aircraft for its A700, with the intention of beginning operations this year, but certification of the VLJ has been delayed to 2006. Pogo says it is not committed to the A700, and its latest presentations feature the Eclipse 500, although no order has been announced.
Both DayJet and Pogo still have money to raise before they can realise their ambitions. Iacobucci has raised more than $18 million from investors so far, and needs another $15 million to begin operations, planned for the middle of next year.
Pogo, meanwhile, hoped to complete financing arrangements for its first tranche of aircraft early this year.
Backed by a software-intensive operations system, DayJet is preparing to operate an on-demand travel service paid for by the seat, instead of by the aircraft. The business plan, says Iacobucci, involves persuading small-town middle managers travelling to another small town to pay more for a 4h, one-day round-trip on DayJet rather than a 20h, three-day round-trip by car.
On-line
DayJet will be a regional service, operating to 30-50 airports within a 1,100km (600nm) radius. Customers will book flights on-line, selecting the origin and destination airports and setting the earliest departure and latest arrival times, and paying slightly more than the full economy airfare.
If a customer is prepared to be more flexible on the travel window, the fare will be lower, as this will allow DayJet to pair passengers with overlapping schedules, even dropping off or picking up a customer en route. DayJet plans to launch service soon after certification of the Eclipse 500, scheduled for March next year, with the 239 aircraft on firm order and 70 on option to be delivered over the first 24 months of its five-year purchase agreement with Eclipse.
Pogo, meanwhile, says it has selected the site in the US northeast from which it will begin operations next year. The company's launch market is the area within a 800km (432nm) radius of New York, a region with 650 suitable airports that Pogo plans to serve with a fleet of 75 aircraft.
Pogo's business model is based on charging no more than $6 per mile for trips up to 800km and offering 'car service'-like accessibility. Off-peak and repositioning flights will cost less.
The company says its first-year revenue forecast will be met by satisfying less than 1% of current demand for trips of less than 800km in the northeast, or less than 260 passengers per day. Eventually, the company plans a fleet of 225 aircraft serving 2,000 airports.
Attractive as it sounds in terms of aircraft sales, the air-taxi market is still regarded with caution by established manufacturers. Embraer foresees the potential for 2,500-3,000 air-taxi aircraft over the next 10 years, but used only its forecast of a traditional owner-flyer market for 1,400 aircraft to justify launching its own VLJ.
"We find the air-taxi model very interesting," says Luis Carlos Affonso, senior vice-president, corporate aviation. "We think it can work, but we have not based our business model on that."
With its PW600 family powering three of the most serious VLJ contenders, Pratt & Whitney Canada is also watching the market closely. "We believe in the air-taxi space," says president Alaine Bellemare.
Source: Flight Daily News
