Airline travel is becoming more and more difficult, time consuming and unsure.  Delays are becoming a common occurrence and travelers are looking for alternatives.  Passengers have lost the romance of flying commercially.  An airline flight used to be something you would dress up for.  Now it is more like a bus ride.  Long security lines and the fear of terrorist attacks and exposure to airborne viruses have reduced the appeal of airline travel to a necessary evil.  People are looking for a viable alternative and air taxi may be their answer.   Next Generation small aircraft and creative new business models may provide a viable solution to the travel problems faced by a growing number of business travelers.  Air Taxi services have been with us for decades but only the very wealthy could afford them.  So what makes the new Air Taxi business different?  Why are there so many new start-up Air Taxi businesses and why does it finally seem that air taxi service can be affordable?

New jet engine technology has made possible a smaller jet that is able to carry smaller groups of people than previous jets.  It is more efficient to carry two people in a small jet than to carry two people in a large jet.  Most business jet trips are flown with only two people in the airplane.  The new jets are faster and cost about the same per mile as a comparable turboprop aircraft for trips of 300-1000 miles.  This is significant for more than the benefit to the client.  Speedier aircraft save the aircrew time and allow them to avoid many of the fatiguing effects of slower turboprop and piston aircraft.  Jet aircraft are quieter and vibrate less than propeller airplanes.  Faster aircraft will enable Operators to complete more flight legs in a day making their flying shifts more profitable.  FAA regulations limit pilots to a flying “crew day” to avoid accidents caused by pilot fatigue.   Since the new jets go faster pilots will be able to cover more ground in a given crew day.  Jet engines enjoy a better reliability record than do piston or turboprop aircraft.  In line with this statistic the flying public views Jets as “safer” than propeller aircraft.  Safety is enhanced by an aspect of the smaller jets that also allows them more flexibility in landings.  The new jets are designed for slower landing speeds and allow operations into and out of smaller airfields than larger jet aircraft.  This opens up more geographic flexibility and increases safety in the landing environment.

Very Light Jets tend to be slower than larger jets in the enroute environment.  This can cause complications for air traffic controllers as they attempt to sequence the little jets in with normal traffic flows.  As Next Generation air traffic control systems (NexGen) is implemented this minor VLJ limitation will begin to disappear. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) hopes to spend more on upgrading the Air Traffic control system in coming years to support the Small Airport Transportation System (SATS).  This expenditure is an important part of the infrastructure of air travel and should be viewed as a stimulus for growth rather than an unnecessary expense.  In the current financial environment legislators may argue to limit spending in this area.  I hope they will be able to see the benefits of bringing air traffic control up to speed.  This will provide the ability to fly into many smaller airports in poor weather conditions.  “Free Flight” technology will allow aircraft to easily maneuver to avoid conflicts without the need for rigid routing allowing more direct flights and better advantage of prevailing winds.  Advancements in avionics provide next generation pilots with better tools than were available in older aircraft, for lower cost.  New techniques in design, manufacture and testing make the new generation of aircraft better suited to the hard use of an air taxi aircraft.

The world-wide-web is now available to anyone with a Laptop computer or PDA.  Automated online services can make quick connections between a traveler and aircraft operators in a way that was not imagined in previous generations.  25% to 40% of Charter aircraft flights are flown empty due to the inherent inefficiencies of on demand travel.  This is the single biggest reason why prices for air taxis have heretofore been affordable only to the ultra wealthy.  Easy online access to empty leg information will allow travelers to find these efficiently positioned aircraft and book them for a bargain while increasing the revenue to operators who otherwise would have absorbed the cost of the flight.  Many online booking services have already brought the percentage of empty legs down.  Taxijet.com is designed to make rapid connections between traveler and operator in an online auction format to support the growth of the air taxi industry and bring more efficiency to on demand air travel.

Recently we have seen some signs of weakness in the air taxi business that is delaying their entry into large scale use.  Dayjet was an ambitious undertaking that ceased operations on September 19,  2008.  Eclipse Aviation is struggling to find investors willing to pump money into their Eclipse 500, the VLJ that sparked the dreams of new air taxi hopefuls.   These and other air taxi related businesses are feeling the economic pinch but the concept of air taxi has never rested solely on the shoulders of these early pioneers.   The news is not all bad however.  Taxijet Spain, not affiliated with Taxijet.com, announced on October 30, 2008 that they intend to build a fleet of 30 Eclipse 500s with 150 pilots by 2013.   They are positioning themselves for the expected economic turnaround in 2010.  Linear Air has been operating the Eclipse 500 successfully in the northeast US.  North American Jet provides a robust service using the Eclipse 500 in the Chicago area.  Memley Aviation provides Eclipse 500 air taxi service in the Fresno area with some of the best pricing we’ve seen.  Other US based operators flying the Eclipse 500 include:  Guardian Air, -  Baton Rouge Air Charter, - Wilson Air Charter, and Alpine Air.

Today Eclipse Aviation announced that the European Aviation Safety Council (EASA) has certified the Eclipse 500 jet.  This certification will allow Eclipse Aviation to be registered in any of the 37 European countries.  Also today Eclipse Aviation announced FAA certification of its Avio NG 1.5 avionics suite.  “Obtaining EASA certification is one of Eclipse Aviation’s greatest accomplishments,” said Roel Pieper, Eclipse Aviation CEO.  “With the additional FAA approval for Avio NG 1.5, EASA certification enhances Eclipse’s capacity to spread the global reach and impact of the Eclipse 500, and we expect many new orders from all over Europe, Russia and Turkey to follow.”

Dayjet may make a comeback and I’m still hopeful that Eclipse Aviation will secure the financing it needs to continue production.  Fortunately for travelers there are other aircraft manufacturers and other air taxi operators in the game as well.  The air taxi business is not dependent on the Eclipse 500.  At their current pricing level of $2,150,000 the Eclipse 500 may still be a good value but it does not represent the disruptive technology that its founder Vern Raburn set out to create.   Had Mr. Raburn and Eclipse Aviation been able to produce the Eclipse 500 in the volume they promised and at the price they promised we would have seen a real shift in the value equation for air taxi travelers.   So air taxi prices won’t come down quite as far as we hoped but other Light Jet and Very Light Jets such as the Cessna Citation Mustang, Embraer Phenom 100 and Hondajet will help bring the price of air taxi service down while improving convenience and comfort.  Embraer expects to certify the Phenom 100 very soon and produce 10 of the aircraft by the end of the year and 120-150 in 2009.  The Hondajet is expected to enter service in 2010.  The Citation Mustang is in production and US based operators providing charter service in this aircraft include American Jet International Corp,  OpenSky Aviation, -  26 North Aviation, - Gary Jet Center, - Scott Aviation, and  TWC Aviation.

Next generation Light and Very Light Jets fit into a niche between business class airline travel and higher end charter aircraft.  Air taxi operators hope to capitalize on this niche and provide customers with new travel options that provide them value.  Operators of existing aircraft are making gains in efficiency of use that is bringing down the price of air taxi services even in older aircraft.  They are experimenting with new business models such as per seat pricing and using technology to aid in efficient aircraft positioning and maintenance.   The price of fuel is a very large part of the cost of operating aircraft and recent reductions in fuel prices has also reduced the end price of air taxi and aircraft charter.  I saw the price for unleaded automobile gas at $1.57 yesterday downtown. 

Some piston air taxi operators have also been doing quite well by providing short haul regional services with a single pilot.  These small aircraft are very comfortable, decked out with the latest avionics packages and they can fly into very small airports.  Business travelers are finding these small aircraft can give them the extra two hours of sleep they need before the big meeting.  SATSair and ImagineAir are two companies thriving with this business model.  Also providing Cirrus SR22 air taxi services are Hopscotch Air in the Northeast and Skyway Air Taxi  providing service from New York to South Carolina to Ohio.  Not all attempts to provide air taxi service with the SR22 have been successful.  An air taxi operator in Bismark ND that flew the Cirrus SR22 light propeller aircraft closed its doors a few years ago citing weather related restrictions as a major contributing factor to its demise.  So you may not see these light piston aircraft in areas that are routinely affected by severe weather.  They have a harder time avoiding weather than jets.  Jet aircraft can generally fly high enough to get above thunderstorms while propeller driven aircraft must maneuver around.  Propeller aircraft are more susceptible to icing problems than jets (generally speaking).  These small propeller aircraft can provide you with quick transportation at near airline prices and you can often sit in the front seat if you like.  Personally I see that as one of the biggest advantages of flying in a single piloted aircraft.  It is fun. 

Wherever you want to go you can hail an air taxi.  A wide variety of airplanes are available for your use.  Prices are still not what they can be but we’ll bring them down together.  Use Taxijet.com to make more efficient use of aircraft and save yourself some time and money in the process.  As more people look to air taxi as a quicker and more comfortable travel option the air taxi industry will grow.  With growth comes economy of scale and lower prices.

Hello,

I’m Roger Burton, CEO and founder of Taxijet.com.   For three years I have been working on building an online portal to help passengers find air taxi and air charter flights.  My focus has been on making contacts in the aviation community and helping to promote the idea of an interdependent network of air taxi operators. I have written a few blog entries in the past with an emphasis on helping other pilots take the steps necessary to start air taxi businesses of their own with the hopes that they will utilize our service once they are up and flying.   During this time I have put a great deal of resources and effort into creating our online passenger coordination service.  This service is an integral part of my vision of facilitating the air taxi revolution.

Now that we have built the working online service I am shifting my attention to bringing you, the traveling public, to our website.   I’ll be writing in this blog on a regular basis to inform you of new developments in the air taxi industry as well as explain how our service can aid you in finding the Right Aircraft in the Right Place at the Right Time for your travel needs.  I’ll write about aviation related issues and hopefully help you see the benefits and limitations of flying private air taxis.

With over 20,000 private jet and turboprop aircraft in the United States there is a great need for an easy way to connect passengers with those aircraft.  The concept behind our online service is simple.  If you are looking for a private jet or other type aircraft you can enter a Travel Request on our home page in less than 5 minutes.  We have tools to help you find the right airport and get a sense of what the prices might be as you fill out the online form.  Once you have submitted the form the system can instantly send it to many FAA certified aircraft operators simultaneously.  We use an internal filtering system that sends your request to the aircraft operators who are likely to have an aircraft available.  Once these operators receive the request they can submit a bid through our service.  The automated system can instantly forward these bids to your email address.  Here is what makes us different from other demand aggregators.  We present all the options to you so you can make your choice based on cost as well as a number of other factors.

The operator bids we receive are sent to your email address along with the operator’s contact information and pricing.  You can contact the operator directly to finalize your plans and book flights or ask Taxijet to assist you in the process.  We are not a broker.  We don’t accept payments from the Requester.  The Requester will pay the Operator directly.  This is in keeping with the intent of the FAA’s recent guidance on operational control.  The flight transactions are between you, the Requester, and the aircraft operator.  After a flight has been conducted Taxijet bills the operator a finder’s fee.  This fee is 5% of the total charter price (less taxes) for cooperating operators.  This is the industry standard discount that operators offer to charter brokers and demand aggregators like Taxijet.com for their services.  What this means to the Requester is that you would pay the same price to the operator if you call them directly as you would if you find them through Taxijet.com.  What you save by using our service is time.   If you normally use a broker to find your aircraft we’ll also save you money by eliminating the middle man markup.

You can submit a Travel Request on Taxijet.com and we will advertise that request to many operators with aircraft that might work for the trip.  We don’t just send the request to operators based at the origin airport but to other likely regions as well.  If you try to contact operators by phone in person you would spend 10-15 minutes on the phone for each operator you call and you would be getting the same price quotes you get by using Taxijet.com.  Since we expose your Travel Request to many operators the chance that we can find an efficient trip is greater.     Since we have many contacts in the industry we can send your request straight to the people who make the scheduling decisions.

I hope you enjoy the commentary I include in my coming blog entries.  Blog one out.