The
A Tdrvaivseolry
W h ere’s my seat?
474, 8 91: The number of fewer
domestic airline seats
avail able in January 2008
compared with January 2007
as airlines aim to lower fuel
costs. That’s equivalent to
abou t 1 percent of the total
U.S. market, according to OAG.
A Jet All Your Own. Well, Almost
DayJet launches on-demand, air taxi service in the Southeast
CEO Ed Iacobucci Where DayJet flies.
C’MON ADMIT IT—YOU HATE FLYING COMMERCIAL.
And you’d really hate flying commercial if you were stuck
flying from Tallahasse, Fla., to Augusta, Ga., four times a
month. And even though it’s only 365 miles, you’ll probably have
a layover in Atlanta. All told, the trip probably will end up costing you at least four hours. You could drive, of course, but that
would just be crazy. If only there were another way.
Well, there may be. DayJet, an on-demand air taxi service
that launched in October, is trying to be the go-between for
frequent business travelers who just can’t stand making those
commercial connections but can’t justify the charter to upper
management. The three-seat Eclipse 500 jets carry passengers point-to-point much quicker than commercial and much
cheaper than charter. And unlike other air taxi services, passengers can book just one seat on DayJet.
DayJet, which flies exclusively in the Southeast, does
require a $250 annual membership fee to allow customers to
search for flights, but so far more than 1,500 travelers have
signed on, says the company. And pricing varies widely but are
lowest for those travelers who allow bigger time windows for a
departure. The lowest range prices, at least, are comparable to
commercial service pricing.
Currently DayJet serves 45 smaller cities in Florida, Alabama,
Georgia, Mississippi and South Carolina with North Carolina
and Tennessee in the works, according to Ed Iacobucci, president and CEO of DayJet. He said DayJet’s target market are those
frequent business travelers—particularly consultants—who
would either fly into a larger hub airport and drive or simply drive
to their destination.
“We are embarking on a new era in regional transportation
that, for the first time, brings the benefits of on-demand jet
service to the average business traveler,” Iacobucci says.
“Business travelers in the Southeast can have all the power in
the travel relationship. They can decide how much their time
is worth and dictate a travel itinerary that increases their productivity and enhances their quality of life.”
And who wouldn’t want that? Now, if only you just snag those
assignments in DayJet cities… —Joseph Kornik
Souvenir Savings
Tired of overpaying for keychains and stuffed bears at the
airport just so you don’t come home empty handed? Here’s
a list of airports that, through a partnership with airport
retail developer BAA USA, offer “mall pricing” on consumer
goods. To learn more about the pricing policies at these
airports, call 1-800-ITS-FAIR or visit www.baa.com:
Baltimore/Washington International
Thurgood Marshall Airport Pittsburgh International Airport Boston’s Logan International Airport
Sister organization BAA plc also runs seven U.K. airports,
which offer similar retail savings and pricing guarantees.
