DayJet is preparing to launch its per-seat on-demand air taxi service in Europe. A fleet of Eclipse 500 very light jets will link towns and cities across the continent that are poorly served by other forms of transport.
The move comes as the Boca Raton, Florida-based company takes delivery of its 12th Eclipse 500, paving the way for DayJet to start services "in the coming weeks".
Operations will begin "once DayJet has successfully completed its FAA proving runs", says the company's Kevin Carter.
A launch date for the European programme has not been disclosed and DayJet is tight-lipped on detail until later in September. The venture will, however, be based on its US business model, which is structured to radically alter "the time and cost equation for business travellers" by setting bases at a network of under-used local airports, called DayPorts, from where it will try to match travellers who want to go from one to the other at roughly the same time.
In the USA, DayJet plans to serve the south-eastern region with the 310 Eclipse 500s it has on order and other VLJs. Initial service will be based out of the five Florida DayPorts of Pensacola, Tallahassee, Lakeland, Gainesville and Boca Raton.
Production delays have pushed DayJet's launch back by months, and officials say the service will not be profitable until 40 jets are in service.
Retrofit repairs have been installed in almost the entire Eclipse fleet, after problems with freezing in the pitot static system led to a US Federal Aviation Administration airworthiness directive on 27 June that prevented filing or flying instrument flight plans, says Eclipse chief executive Vern Raburn. An Avio NG integrated cockpit avionics will be retrofitted in the fleet by the end of the year.
"Our engineering organisation is really devoting a lot of resources to manufacturing support as we're ramping up production," Raburn says.
Source: Flight International
