DayJet Mins.

[Cavpilot]

Not sure if that is true, I see it as a very different market. Limos make money and so do cabs, but you don't see the limo companies buying cabs ...

I wasn't really talking about a fractional business model. NetJets has been flirting with scheduled operations for a few years now. All I am saying is that if there was a way, any way, to make a buck flying VLJs, one of the major fractional players would be giving it a go.

I truly hope that Day Jet is successful. I think that it is an intriguing concept. Unfortunately, I believe that they will suffer the same fate as Indigo.

 

[jetfo]

DayJet's finally posted their hiring minimums...and they are RIDICULOUS!!!

ATP
3000TT
1000 PIC
500 PIC in a Turbojet

I was really interested in working for them but seeing as I don't have 500 turbojet PIC, I guess I won't. Anyone else think that is a little excessive?

Forget about the hiring mins, what do they pay?

 

[Rogue5]

World News & Analysis

DayJets Plans Florida Launch of Jet Taxi Service
Aviation Week & Space Technology
04/24/2006, page 64

Joseph C. Anselmo
Washington

DayJet plans jet taxi service in Florida, but can it afford the aircraft on order?

Printed headline: A Taxi That Flies

The fledgling jet taxi industry is headed for its first big test, with Florida chosen as the inaugural market.

DayJet Corp. is aiming to begin its on-demand taxi service at five airports in the Sunshine State during the fourth quarter of this year and then branch out to six other southeastern states. The company plans to start commercial operations with 10 Eclipse 500s, the first of 239 very light jets (VLJs) it has ordered from Eclipse Aviation.

DayJet's first aircraft went into production earlier this month in Albuquerque, N.M., in anticipation of the Eclipse 500 receiving FAA certification in June and is scheduled to be delivered this summer (see p. 72). Each of the jet taxis will carry two pilots and up to four passengers.

DayJet President/CEO Edward E. Iacobucci was scheduled to announce the inaugural service agenda on Apr. 24, but does not plan to name the five Florida airports until final negotiations are completed.

In an interview, Iacobucci said DayJet ultimately intends to branch out into a 346,000-sq.-mi. region of the southeast U.S. that also includes Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, North Carolina and South Carolina. The goal is to be serving 20 secondary airports in four states by the end of 2007, each staffed by 5-10 company personnel. Passengers will be charged $1-3 per mile, with lower prices for those willing to be flexible in their scheduling.

THE FAA RECENTLY forecast demand for 4,950 VLJs through 2017, driven in part by new jet taxi services. DayJet, founded in January 2002 by computer industry veteran Iacobucci and his wife, Nancy Lee Iacobucci, is the most prominent of the handful of ventures that have been announced (AW&ST July 25, 2005, p. 44).

But the company is still a long way from demonstrating it can pay for the 239 Eclipse Aircraft that are scheduled to be delivered, mostly in 2007 and 2008. DayJet has raised $22 million, up from $18.3 million a year ago, not including debt and financing. But even assuming it received a hefty discount--the planes were ordered in 2002 when the Eclipse's list price was $855,000, compared with $1.48 million today--DayJet will need more money. Iacobucci said earlier this month that the company was in the midst of raising another $135 million, including an equity placement he hoped to have completed by the end of the summer. He declined last week to provide further details other than to say the company was raising additional equity and debt "in parallel."

DAYJET ALSO HAS TAKEN options for another 70 Eclipse 500s.
The air taxi venture's business plan calls for reaching breakeven within a year of inaugurating service, a milestone that would require 30-40 aircraft in operation. The company initially intends to operate each of its Eclipse 500s for 1,300-1,400 hr. per year, eventually ramping up to 2,000 hr. Eclipse Aviation is locating one of its maintenance facilities for the 500s in Gainesville, Fla. DayJet also is negotiating with Pratt & Whitney for fixed-price "power-by-the-hour" maintenance of the 900-lb.-thrust PW610F engines that will be flown on the 500.

Iacobucci says DayJet will hire as pilots only captains with at least 3,000 hr. of flight time. The company already has received more than 1,000 resumes for the pilot positions, which will pay at least $45,000 a year, plus benefits and stock options. DayJet currently employs 56 people, up from 25 a year ago, and expects to have 300 on its payroll by the end of the year and 1,000 by the end of 2007, according to Iacobucci.

The selection of the southeast region to begin operations was hardly a surprise, since DayJet is headquartered in southern Florida, near Palm Beach. But Iacobucci says the company seriously considered several other areas in the U.S., including New England, the Pacific Northwest and the Ohio Valley.

DayJet will focus on secondary markets, where about half the people in the southeast live. Iacobucci notes there are 337 accessible airports that could accommodate Eclipse 500s. The company expects its volume to start at 10-20 passengers a day per airport and grow.

 

[Ultra Grump]

The company initially intends to operate each of its Eclipse 500s for 1,300-1,400 hr. per year, eventually ramping up to 2,000 hr.

Holy crap!!

 

[gunfyter]

Holy crap!!

Yep... sounds like the Cape Air model to me....

Will sure beat taking a Rental car ...

 

[Publishers]

The interesting thing here is the solution of logistics through mathmatical equations. They are taking requests from a number of people to go to a number of places and then generating the flight plan that will get them there. After they generate the plan, it is flown but unlike a hub and spoke, there is not a great deal of ripple effect off the stone in the pond.

The concept is interesting and the way they are implementing it creative. We shall see if the supposed great mind theory works in solving problems on the run. With such a small load factor to break even, it may even work.

 

[sweptwingz]

Trust me on this, NO VLJ is going to make a 1000+ hours flight year.

That sort of business model is unsustainable on a new, lightweight aircraft. The current frax operators are beating the TAR out of their planes with 700+ hour flight years. You DON'T want to know the operational ready dispatch rate of some of the harder worked frax fleets.

 

[gunfyter]

Its not a FRAX.

The airplane returns home to base for mx every night. No weekends.

5 hrs a day 200 days a yr will be 1000 hrs.

 

[sweptwingz]

Its not a FRAX.

The airplane returns home to base for mx every night. No weekends.

5 hrs a day 200 days a yr will be 1000 hrs.

Gunfighter, I understand completely DayJet is not a Frax.

I stand by my statement. The VLJ WON'T hold up to running
1000 hours per year. I also give the "no nights, no week-ends"
sales pitch about a 6 months life span.

Think of all your nights and week-ends in the Ten. Too much money to ignore in ANY business model.

I sincerely wish DayJets well, but it's gonna "evolve" and quickly.

Semper Fly, swept

 

[gunfyter]

I don't know anything about the plane.

But how many hours does Cape Air put on those 402's?


What I would do is look for routes that have city pairs that currently have business travelers utilizing Major Airlines first class travel connecting through Orlando, Miami or Atlanta.

Offer direct flights bypassing Atlanta, Miami and Orlando. and saving a lot of time.

Example... KEYW - KJAX. KAPF - KTLH

Maybe even Freeport or Nassau from numerous Florida cities.

As travel on the airlines becomes more burdensome.... I think they can steal Pax from the airlines.

The airlines mostly carry business travelers MON - FRI from 0600-2300.

All I am saying is its possible.

But they will have to bump up that pay from $50k to keep pilots on the property and not defecting to CS, NJ or FLEX.

I expect they will run more like Cape Air than a 135 charter or frax. City pairs will be offered and hrs of operation.... Outside those boundaries you will have to shop elsewhere. Not like the Frax that HAVE to accomadate owners no matter where or when they want to go. And they won't wait hrs for late pax.

 

[AerroMatt]

"But how many hours does Cape Air put on those 402's?"


Good question. I don't know the answer to that, but I do know a 135 operator in the upper midwest that flies a C404 1200hrs per year on a corp shuttle. They've been doing it for over 10 years now too, and have no intention of upgrading.

I also know of a few canadian operators who operate PC12's on scheduled service that are doing around 3000hrs per year.

I understand how a new aircraft will have teething troubles, but that 2K does not seem like an unattainable goal.

 

[hogfish]

Its kind of like surfers and managers.

The managers are out to screw the surfers. Everyonce and a while the surfer will screw the manager with the bill.

inside joke.

Big wednesday?????????

 

[Leroy Smith]

Nope.

 

[hogfish]

Nope.

North Shore?

 

[NJA Capt]

HEED THE EXPERTS! HEED THE EXPERTS! ALL MUST FAIL! ALL MUST FAIL! What a bunch of yahoos.

Well, lets see the track record for the Eclipse (Which sounds like a great plane).

It is on its second engine supplier...
It is on its second avionics supplier...

And it's about to be restricted to VFR only!

AIN alerts >> June 2007
The FAA is expected to issue the first Airworthiness Directive on the Eclipse 500 VLJ in the next few days, restricting the jet to day VFR flight because of a pitot/angle-of-attack probe freezing problem that occurred on three flight-test airplanes. Until the AD becomes effective, the Eclipse 500 can be flown IFR but not in IMC, pending installation of a pitot tube fix.
http://ain.gcnpublishing.com/conten...00-ad-to-limit-flight-to-vfr-only/?no_cache=1

 

[skydan5]

Insurance considerations

Yeah but the Eclipse is Single piloted....

....and the insurance will dictate the minimums. It will, potentially, get worse if there is an accident (I'm a former underwriter). Getting the liability coverage that owners are wanting will be cost prohibitive and the flight time mins will be high. Imagine flying into places like Teterhole, Santa Monica, etc. as a single jet pilot. It gets very busy with two pilots! The single pilot jet concept will take a while to prove itself to be worth affordable premiums and insurance companys (historically) are slow to change their ways.

Just my opinion.

 

[pilotpat]

Hmmmm...$50K to fly a fair weather only jet? Guess there'd be no question about flying into an area of crap! That'd be a fun gig if the AD never gets corrected.

 

[skydan5]

another insurance restriction

Their website states: Initially they will operate with a crew of 2. That being the case, 500 hrs PIC Turbojet for the Right Seat, does seem a bit on the high side. IMO

Typically, the insurance companies require a number of hours of "dual instruction" in the make and model prior to operating solo. Example: When I was an underwriter, my company (USAIG) required me to get 25 hours with an instructor prior to solo and training at FlightSafety or equivalent before flying a Piper Malibu with 2 mil liability. I can only imagine what they are requiring for higher limits.