HAPPY days are not quite here again in the business aviation industry, but at least there are some breaks in the clouds.
Gingerly, some business travelers are venturing back into private aircraft after the battered economy — and a public outcry against that perk of fat cats, the corporate jet — walloped the general aviation industry starting in 2008.
São José dos Campos, January 29, 2010 – Embraer delivered the 100th Phenom 100 aircraft, today, to JetSuite, a U.S.-based private jet charter company. The commemorative aircraft is the sixth delivered to this customer.
“Embraer happily shares this thrilling milestone with JetSuite,” said Luís Carlos Affonso, Embraer Executive Vice President – Executive Jets. “Delivering the 100th Phenom 100 jet represents an important achievement for Embraer. We hope to strengthen our relationship with JetSuite, as they incorporate more Phenoms into their fleet.”
“JetSuite is honored to accept this special aircraft from Embraer. We are delighted by our partnership, and are grateful for Embraer’s support and for the reliable, revolutionary jet they have produced,” said JetSuite Air CEO Alex Wilcox. “Our brand-new Phenom 100 jets make for a much better flying experience than our competitors’ older, less efficient, aircraft, and often at half the cost. Our customers share our love for the Phenom. When they fly on it once, they come back again and again.”
The Phenom 100 was certified in December 2008, and has proven to be the fastest entry level jet. Featuring an unparalleled level of comfort, the jet is equipped with the latest in cockpit and cabin design. It also offers a private aft lavatory, which is one of its competitive features. With a range of 1,178 nautical miles (2,182 km), including NBAA IFR fuel reserves, the Phenom 100 is capable of flying nonstop from New York to Miami, in the U.S.; London to Rome, in Europe; or Brisbane to Melbourne, in Australia. The aircraft is flying in over ten countries and has already accumulated more than 7,000 flight hours.
JetSuite Air serves the greater western U.S. with a fleet of brand-new Phenom 100 aircraft by Embraer, and has the youngest fleet in the industry. Founded by a group of experienced commercial airline entrepreneurs, including several founding members of JetBlue, JetSuite Air is focused on service and safety, and boasts the newest planes flown by some of the world’s most experienced pilots, with an average pilot experience of over 8,000 hours. JetSuite’s major markets are the greater Los Angeles and Orange County and the San Francisco Bay area, in California; Las Vegas, Nevada; and Phoenix/Scottsdale, Arizona. The company offers nonstop, or one-stop, service to virtually all points west of the Mississippi.
Long Beach, California-based private jet charter operator, JetSuite, has launched the industry’s first private jet DayCard.
JetSuite’s ‘All-You-Can-Private-Jet’ programme offers 10 and 25-day (rather than hourly) cards priced at $35,000 and $75,000 respectively. DayCard holders can enjoy the industry’s lowest hourly rates, at $999 an hour, to fly up to 12 hours each day.
JetSuite, the California-based private jet charter, recently launched its All-You-Can-Private-Jet promo through the company’s DayCard.
Business travelers have long known there can be an upside to the recession: Luxury hotels at bargain rates and fire sales on business-class tickets. But just mention private jet travel in the same breath as “affordable” and you’ll be treated like you had proposed a toast to Bernie Madoff.
Long Beach, Calif.-based private jet charter operator JetSuite on Oct. 29 unveiled an All-You-Can-Private-Jet product via its new DayCard.
JetSuite, which plans to begin flying in the western U.S. on November 15, began selling DayCards to customers late last week. The company has firm orders for 61 Embraer Phenom 100s and has already taken delivery of two; it plans to receive another five by year-end.
I know very little about private jet chartering. I’ve never done it, and in fact I’ve never even been on a private jet. So when PR guru Gareth Edmonson-Jones (formerly of Virgin Atlantic and JetBlue) asked if I wanted to learn more about Our Embraer Phenom 100 Airplanethe new charter company JetSuite (based here in Long Beach), my interest was piqued. While I can’t imagine this ever being something I’d use, I can see the value in it for sure.
LOS ANGELES, CA (OCTOBER 29, 2009) – JetSuite now offers “All-You-Can-Private-Jet” pricing with the introduction of their new DayCard™. Based in California, the company serves the greater western U.S. with a fleet of brand-new Embraer Phenom 100 aircraft.
JetSuite’s DayCards are sold in 10-Day and 25-Day plans, priced at $35,000 and $75,000, respectively. DayCard holders then enjoy the industry’s lowest hourly rates, at $999 an hour, to fly up to 12 hours each day. JetSuite’s DayCards are refundable, less the cost of hours already flown.
A daily jet card is an industry first. Industry leaders Marquis Jet and others offer hourly jet cards. A 25-hour jet card from Marquis, for example, sells for more than $120,000 plus fuel and other surcharges for each hour flown.
“Unlike traditional jet cards where you pay as much for your last hour flying as for your first, the DayCard means you actually pay less per hour, the more you fly,” said JetSuite CEO Alex Wilcox. “And our 25-day card is actually cheaper than our competitor’s 25-hour cards. Throw in the lowest hourly rates and a brand new Phenom 100 and that’s ‘All-You-Can-Private-Jet’ pricing.”
The Phenom 100 is the world’s newest and most fuel-efficient private jet, requiring less than a quarter of the fuel other private jets require, but it is also the most spacious in its class. The Phenom seats four comfortably and features the largest baggage compartment in its category.
JetSuite is the first and only to offer the all-new Phenom in a jet card program. The company will offer seven Phenom 100s by the end of 2009, will take delivery of another 54 firm at the average rate of one per month, and holds options on more than a dozen more Phenoms, which may be 100s or the larger, longer range Phenom 300.
With an aircraft range of up to 1,100 nautical miles, JetSuite offers nonstop service for up to four passengers, their luggage, pets, golf bags, skis and snowboards throughout California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, and Baja, Mexico, and one-stop service to nearly all points west of the Mississippi river.
“The vast majority of private jet trips in the U.S. span less than 1,000 miles, with fewer than five passengers onboard,” said Mr Wilcox. “Many individuals and corporations are realizing the globe-spanning jets they own and operate are too big and costly for their typical mission, so the timing couldn’t be better to introduce the Phenom 100 to the market.”
“Before the economic downturn, many were doing the equivalent of hiring a tour bus to take three people across town. Now they see much more value in right-sizing to the equivalent of a town car,” he said.
JetSuite currently has four base airports within its “Suite Spot” markets, at Long Beach, Hawthorne (western Los Angeles) and Oakland, CA, and Henderson, NV (Las Vegas). JetSuite waives its usual landing fee of $175 when flying into one of these four bases. In 2010, the company will add additional bases in the southwest U.S.
Powered by Pratt & Whitney Canada PW617F engines, the Phenom delivers best in class performance, with cruising altitudes up to 41,000 feet, and speeds up to 450 miles per hour. All flights offered by JetSuite are operated by FAA Part 135 Licensed Air Carriers.
Did last year’s death of DayJet – the Florida start-up that was going to tempt America’s suit and briefcase brigade from airlines and automobiles into frequent, accessible and reasonably-priced Eclipse 500s – end the air taxi revolution in North America?
A new jet ownership and charter business called JetSuite is preparing to take delivery of its first Phenom 100 next April and has unveiled details about its business model.
JetSuite is actually the latest incarnation of what used to be MagnumJet, a business that in 2006 announced an order for 101 Adam Aircraft A700 very light jets. At the time, MagnumJet also ordered 100 Embraer Phenom 100s (50 firm and 50 options), and given the recent financial difficulties at Adam Aircraft, JetSuite will launch a year later than originally planned and with the Phenom 100 instead of the A700, according to president Alex Wilcox. JetSuite is backed by Proctor Capital Partners, a New York private-equity firm that helped start MagnumJet and transitioned that company into JetSuite.
Much to our surprise many of the airlines have reported better-than-anticipated numbers. Now that’s not to say that they haven’t been awful or reported multi-year losses, but there have been some upside surprises.
One great surprise has been the private jet companies who have been a beneficiary of all of the disgruntled travelers. One beneficiary has been JetSuite, a private plane company where you can buy a share with a down payment and an asset-secured note so that you are guaranteed a certain amount of hours per year.
Are the airlines in jeopardy? Will an airline or multiple airlines face bankruptcy risk this year? Are you angry about the American Airline news and having to pay $15 to check your luggage? Think it couldn’t get worse? Better yet, how much worse could it get?
With fares rising and commercial air service increasingly unreliable for business travelers, Ed Iacobucci figured his plan for an air taxi service would be a no-lose proposition. So why is Mr. Iacobucci shaking his head in frustration?
The reason: Just as his company, DayJet, had proved that there was a business in using small jets for short-haul, on-demand service and was poised to expand its market, the credit market froze. DayJet was unable to raise $40 million it needed to grow, Mr. Iacobucci said. Expansion plans were postponed and the company laid off 100 of its 260 workers.
Jet Blue, with its innovative pricing strategies, marketing, and amenities, was able to turn commercial aviation on its head when it was founded nine years ago. Now, one of the men responsible for Jet Blue’s success, is looking to repeat the coup, this time with his sights set on private aviation.
DEFYING the sagging economy, the business-jet market is performing better than ever. That is partly because domestic commercial airlines are performing worse than ever, especially in terms of customer service in the air and on the ground.
What if jet ownership were re-thought to a point where overall travel costs could be reduced to a level that’s actually comparable to first-class commercial travel? What if you could come and go as you please and take off from airports that still have parking spaces? What if you had access to travel the way it was meant to be?
Alex Wilcox, a founding member of JetBlue and the first president of India’s Kingfisher Airlines, has unveiled his latest project: JetSuite, a very light jet (VLJ) operator that will pay aircraft owners a monthly income in return for rights to charter their aircraft.
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