By Graham Warwick in Washington, DC
US Eclise 500 very light jet per-seat air taxi operator DayJet has announced its launch plans, with Florida and south east USA named as initial areas of operation.
Announced today, the choice of launch region is not a surprise, as DayJet is based in Delray Beach, Florida. “As a launch region, the South East USA is not necessarily the best from an economic viewpoint, but it is close to home,” says president and chief executive Ed Iacobucci. “We can observe the system as it rolls out. It’s a good region to start with.”
At launch, DayJet plans to offer service between five locations, or DayPorts, probably all in Florida, using 10 Eclipse 500 very light jets. Two of the locations will also be DayBases, to where aircraft and crews will return every night.
Iacobucci says the locations of the initial DayPorts will be announced in June. They will be located at existing fixed-based operations in small and medium-sized cities with poor airline connections. “We will stay away from major hubs,” he says.
By the end of 2007, DayJet plans to have about 20 DayPorts in the South East USA, around eight of which will be DayBases, each home to a minimum of six aircraft. “There will likely be 40-50 in the entire region when fully deployed in 2008,” Iacobucci says.
DayJet has 239 Eclipse 500s on firm order, plus 70 options, all planned for delivery within 24 months of beginning operations. The three-passenger aircraft will be flown five days a week by two-person crews working in two daily shifts.
Customers select the origin and destination airports, and specify “depart no earlier than” and “arrive no later than” times, and DayJet’s computerised scheduling system optimises aircraft routing between DayPorts in real time to aggregate demand.
The target market is business travelers on day trips within the region who face the choice between either a connecting flight through a major hub or a long drive. The more flexible they are on departure and arrival times, the lower DayJet’s fare will be.
With announcement of the launch regional, DayJet enters the operational readiness phase, says Iacobucci. The company has its Part 135 operating certificate and, assuming Eclipse certification at the end of June, deliveries are to begin by the middle of the third quarter.
Source: Flight International
