Air Taxi Charter Operator DayJet OK’d by FAA
23-Mar-2007
By Karen Di Piazza
Ed Iacobucci, cofounder and CEO of DayJet Corp. told CharterX that the FAA has approved his company's Part 135 training program to operate its point-to-point airline-like private jet service. DayJet's per-seat, on-demand private jet service will be operated by DayJet Services, LLC, which is the FAR Part 135 certificate holder, a wholly-owned subsidiary of DayJet Corp. The Delray Beach, Fla.-based operator has placed an order for 239 Eclipse 500 very light jets with options to purchase an additional 70 aircraft.
DayJet confirmed to CharterX on March 23, the company expects to take delivery of its first aircraft in the next few weeks. "Our first four aircraft we take delivery of will be training aircraft, as those aircraft will serve as the means for our pilots to obtain a type rating in," Iacobucci said. "After that, as more aircraft are delivered, we'll use those for our customers."
Albuquerque, N.M.-based Eclipse Aviation Corp., manufacturer of the Eclipse 500, will deliver serial number 000002, tail number N126DJ to DayJet as its first aircraft. Serial number 000003, tail number N816KD, was delivered to a non-pilot on March 14, according to a source that personally talked to the owner's pilot upon delivery. However, according to the FAA's registry make/model inquiry results, as of March 23, the new owner isn't shown. But that's not surprising; the FAA "manually" updates this registry. For instance, serial number 000001, tail number N508JA, according the FAA, shows the certificate "issue date" Jan. 10, after the FAA signed off on Dec. 31. That aircraft was delivered on Jan. 4, but still remains at Eclipse, as it's being leased back on a month-to-month basis.
Iacobucci didn't shy away from addressing the fact that Eclipse has had problems and several delays.
"The heat is on Eclipse to produce, no doubt," he said. "I know they are working on getting the third attitude heading reference system (AHRS) functional; for 135 operations it has to work. There are several ways that could be accomplished, but a good portion of Eclipse 500s we'll take delivery on will have Avidyne's systems. There is nothing unsafe about Avidyne's avionics whatsoever--we'll just need that third backup.
"In the future, we'll have our aircraft retrofitted with Eclipse's new avionics, but that won't happen for a long time. You can't retrofit everything at the same time and operate a per-seat, on-demand jet service. If we don't get our first couple of aircraft from Eclipse soon, I'll have to change our launch date, again. But believe me, I don't think I've been sold down the river. Eclipse has had problems but I know they are being fixed and the aircraft is a good plane. I have every confidence in the product and that it will meet our customer's needs. Right this second we have seven ATP pilots--10,000-hour-plus jet-trained pilots ready to complete training on the Eclipse 500."
As Eclipse's largest customer, Iacobucci has had to delay launching his DayJet operations as he waits like everyone else to receive aircraft. As for DayJet's third funding infusion of $50 million, and media reports that his company's "online booking system is available," without any aircraft, Iacobucci set the record straight on that, too.
"Our online booking system isn't available to the ‘public,' it's in the final stages of testing, so I can see why people would question that," he laughed. "As for the $50 million, most of that supports infrastructure--administration, staffing and less than 20 percent is applicable to the cost of any Eclipse 500 aircraft." He said the recent $50 million shot-in-the-arm will support the "operational launch" of the company's jet service--construction of DayPort customer check-in areas to support delivering regional business travelers with affordable mobility between difficult-to-reach regional destinations. It's akin to an airline-booking system, but without airline delays and long security lines.
DayJet's close to airline coach-fare service by June may not be possible. If they don't get enough Eclipse jets that customers can fly on [certified for 135 use], DayJet might have to start service in late summer. DayJet's initial service areas include Tallahassee, Lakeland, Boca Raton, Gainesville and Pensacola Fla.
Eclipse spokesperson Andrew Broom told the Lakeland Ledger that he's confident the company can deliver 12 jets to DayJet by June 30. Out of the 53 tail numbers posted on the FAA's registry, 14 are assigned to DayJet. Sources close Eclipse told CharterX that more FAA inspectors are now at Eclipse, so aircraft deliveries might happen faster. However, the source said the airframer might not get its production certificate until May.
As for DayJet's new efficient aircraft online booking platform, using software designed specifically to operate a large-scale per-seat, on-demand operation, Iacobucci said, "People are crazy if they think I'm in this just for the software platform; this is a real business with advanced software--to book a flight with real aircraft."
For Iacobucci and his wife, Nancy, they aren't new to the charter world. Under the umbrella of DayJet Corp., they operate Wingedfoot Services, LLC--a FAR Part 135 operation that has a Challenger 604 and Learjet 60.
Further, Ed Iacobucci has always maintained that in the future, as DayJet's operations grow, it won't just be a Florida-based operation. Being able to hop a flight at reasonable prices will consist of West and East Coast operations, too. He told CharterX that at some point it "would become necessary to have a larger aircraft--maybe a Cessna Mustang, an Embraer Phenom 100, an Adam A700 or a HondaJet." Who knows?
Iacobucci said DayJet's whole theme is to stop wasted travel time and provide business and personal time, by accommodating each person's schedule utilizing real-time flight availability--from DayPort to DayPort. "All DayJet flights will be operated by two captains--equally trained--equally competent," he said.
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