While questions remain as to whether the shutdown of the US's largest SR22-based air taxi company, SATSair, on 24 October is more than temporary, competing services are moving in to fill the void.
Washington DC-based OpenAir was the first to offer flights in SATSair's south-eastern US service area with its eight SR22s. Atlanta-based ImagineAir, which had provided supplemental lift services to SATSair in summer with its five SR22s, had already been called by a number of SATSair clients trapped by the company's unexpected shutdown.
SATSair had not made an official statement on the closure, other than a voice recording on its booking line noting that services would probably be down beyond 26 October. SATSair chief executive Steve Hanvey reportedly said the disruption is temporary and that his business model - which does not charge customers for repositioning flights - is not at fault, a position traditional air taxi providers say is flawed.
The four-passenger SR22 is a Continental IO-550-powered piston single. SATSair's aircraft are equipped with the Cirrus Airframe Parachute System.
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Source: Flight International
