Aerial taxis preparing for takeoff

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over a three-year period. The Federal Aviation Administration later this year may determine whether the Eclipse 500 and planes like it can be used for commercial flights. The second milestone lies in software for managing the flights. DayJet has hired Russian mathematicians from Citrix Systems to develop a reservation and scheduling system.

Under this system, passengers will submit to DayJet their proposed itinerary, including a desired time of departure and arrival. The system then tells the potential customer in about five seconds whether the flight will be possible and what it will cost.

The price is determined by the passenger's flexibility. If someone is willing to get to the airport a few hours early and put up with a stop along the way, they pay less. If not, they pay a higher price.

Time, of course, is DayJet's ally. The more of the five or six seats on each small plane it can fill, the more money it makes. Traveler flexibility will allow the company to increase the odds of filling the additional two-to-three available passenger seats on a flight. The software essentially tries to predict if the company will be able to fill those seats.

Even if it doesn't sell the other seats, DayJet won't raise the price or force the passenger to buy the unsold ticket. In current charter planes, passengers have to book the entire plane. In that case, the airline calls passengers and tells them they can get to the airport just before their flight.

But DayJet only needs to fill about 1.3 seats on each flight to break even, Iacobucci said.

Iacobucci wouldn't say where service would begin. He did say that within a 600- to 800-square-mile region, DayJet hopes to be able to fly into around 150 airports. Thirty to 50 of these airports will house DayJet facilities--ticket offices, ground crews, pilots. (The plan is to let the planes return home every night. Getting stuck overnight "is the No. 1 lament" of pilots, he said.)

The idea for the airline came after Iacobucci retired from Citrix in the late 1990s. He and his wife bought a Lear jet.

"I got totally addicted, (but) not to the elitist aspects. I'm not into gold faucets," Iacobucci said. "But it gives you back time."

The International Marketplace

It will be quite interesting to see if these proposals can take of also in the international marketplace particularly in places like the Caribbean (with their geographical area represented by an islands chain) and the Latin American region on the whole.

[chabig83]

Not cheap

These flights may be convenient, but they will not be cheap. This
is still a high end product.

Cost, Luxury Convenience may go Hand-in-Hand!

Additionally, if these flights turn out to be as convenient as they were promised to be... then considerations should be given by the carriers with regards to the question of these becoming "feeder" services for the replacement Supersonic (Concorde) flights ( http://www.onera.fr/cahierdelabo/english/asup_ind01.htm ) from "airports" that be too far away to be convenient to "would-be" executive, celebrity, vacationing or commercial travellers. A very good scenario for computer software and company executives to put their financial, economic and technical "wizardry" to the test... Question: Will these ventures be economically feasible!!!

[Christopher Hall]

Anyone got a ticker symbol?

This looks like an investment worth looking into... I can see businesses using a service like this very frequently, if the cards are played right?

[Christopher Hall]

Whoops...

That last statement wasn't a question...

Which of these is not a question - Cost, Luxury, Convenience...

Since it is the understanding that these modes of travel are not going to be for "free" then there naturally have to be the "questions" with regards to the costs that will be involved, how much luxury will be afforded and how convenient this form of travel will be, et cetera, et cetera. Lets see some figures someone: and; yes, if "other people's money" will be involved some sort of homework has to be done with regards to the profitability of these manufacturing (aircraft) and services (travel and aircraft maintenance) businesses.

;-)