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.
