dayjet

DayJet's Eclipse 500 Fleet For Sale

Filed under: Wings

Anyone want to buy some Eclipse 500 very light jets? Now that the DayJet, air taxi operation has folded, their 28 Eclipse 500 planes are looking for a home. DayJet had originally ordered 1,400 of the small jets for their planned network of fights but closed up shop in September citing the current economic crisis and the inability to secure funding as causes. The 28 are now up for sale and are being sold "as is" with DayJet logoes and interiors. The DayJet Eclipses had accumulated no more than 450 hours each. There are three different configurations of the jets. Eclipse hasn't disclosed a price for the aircraft but some have estimated that it would be in the $1.5 million range per plane.

[via Flying Magazine]

Source

Tags: dayjet, eclipse 500, Eclipse500, vlj

DayJet Scales Back

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wings

DayJet, one of the newer air taxi services has announced that they are planning to scale back their growth plan. Aero-News Network reports that the company, which operates a fleet of 28 Eclipse 500 very light jets, has cut back on jobs. The company has cited trouble with getting new investment capital due to the troubled economy as a reason for the revised business plan.

DayJet CEO Ed Iacobucci told ANN that overall DayJet's operations are strong and that the business model is sound but that the external factor of the general economic malaise has led to the scaleback. The Florida-based company has over 1,500 members with more than 550 active DayJet users. The company only officially launched in October 2007 but now needs more money to grow the business. The plan was to have a network of 30-50 aircraft serving 20-30 markets but this would have required $40 million in new operating capital in the first quarter of 2008. Unfortunately for many businesses needing cash no one is in a lending mood lately. Therefore the employees hired and trained with an eye toward expansion had to be let go.

DayJet isn't planning to curtail existing service region and plans to resume expansion plans once the money is available. But this news comes on the heels of the announcements of shuttering of Eos and MaxJet and it makes me wonder about the long-term viability of small jet businesses in general.

Source

Tags: air taxi, AirTaxi, dayjet, eclipse jet

DayJet Chooses Florida For Air Taxi Service

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wings

If you have the need to zip around Florida in one day, you might want to know about DayJet. We've written about this new company before, they are one of the first in the growing air taxi industry and they have chosen Florida as their launch state. DayJet will start by offering service in Gainesville, Boca Raton, Lakeland, Pensacola and Tallahassee. The new service will also open in four other Florida cities within the next year and will expand to other states in the Southeast. What plane does the DayJet use? None other than the much-vaunted Eclipse 500. The flights will work on a per seat basis so you pay only for the seats you need.

[via General Aviation News]

Source

Tags: dayjet, eclipse 500, florida, jet