DayJet Corporation to Provide Nation’s First Per-Seat, On-Demand Jet Service
Breakthrough Technology and Approach to Enable Affordable
On-Demand Jet Service – You Pay Only for the Seat You Use;
Service Will Restore Day Trips in Small Regional Markets
DELRAY BEACH, FL – April 25, 2005 – DayJet™ Corporation today outlined plans to operate the nation’s first “Per-Seat, On-Demand” jet service to transform the regional business travel experience. DayJet will be first to combine a new-generation of very light jet (VLJ) aircraft with
its own real-time operations system to make what was once an elite mode of transportation (on-demand jet travel) broadly affordable and available on a “per-seat” basis, uniquely tailored to each passenger’s individual schedule and priced only slightly higher than full- fare coach airfares.
DayJet president and CEO Edward Iacobucci, a prominent high-tech entrepreneur, today announced initial details behind the company’s service, enabling technology, and purchase agreement for Eclipse 500 aircraft in a joint webcast with Vern Raburn, president and CEO of
Eclipse Aviation Corporation. In a separate announcement, DayJet today also unveiled its management team, board of directors and funding.
DayJet’s “Per-Seat, On-Demand” jet service will make the conve nience of corporate jet travel broadly available and affordable for more people and organizations, turning wasted travel time into valuable business and personal time. “Per-Seat” means you only pay for the seat(s) you
reserve, not the whole aircraft. “On-Demand” means you fly where and when it is convenient for you.
“We are at the threshold of a new era in aviation that will redefine regional transportation. Innovations in small jet aircraft combined with advances in computing technologies will enable a personalized air transportation network that promises to end the dilemma of 400- mile drives with
overnight stays or hub changes and layovers,” stated Iacobucci. “To make this promise a reality, DayJet has brought together the aircraft fleet, aviation expertise, computational skills and entrepreneurial drive that will deliver the world’s first ‘Per-Seat, On-Demand’ jet service. Starting next year, we plan to give business travelers the experience of truly efficient regional travel where business is conducted in a day, productivity is increased and personal time restored.”
Order for Eclipse Jets
DayJet Corporation also announced today that in July 2002, it signed a long-term agreement with Eclipse Aviation, the leading manufacturer of a new generation of VLJ aircraft, for the purchase of Eclipse 500 jets. The first 24 months of the five- year agreement includes firm orders for 239
Eclipse 500 aircraft and options to purchase 70 additional aircraft. Deliveries will begin shortly after the Eclipse 500 receives FAA certification, which is on track to occur in March 2006.
“The ‘Per-Seat, On-Demand’ opportunity is significant, and DayJet’s strategy to leverage technology to create a scalable, on-demand transportation service positions the company to be a leader in this dynamic market,” said Raburn. “Ed’s deep background in both technology and
aviation gives him a compelling advantage – the vision to imagine a new future for regional air transportation, and the real- life operations, logistics and service expertise required to make it happen. We are very excited to supply the fleet of next-generation aircraft that will enable DayJet to transform the regional business air travel experience.”
Service to Operate Under Existing FAA Regulations
DayJet Corporation has been working closely with the FAA and other government authorities to ensure its “Per-Seat, On-Demand” services will comply with all applicable regulations and safety standards, and operate within the national airspace infrastructure. DayJet will operate and maintain its own fleet of Eclipse 500 aircraft in accordance with existing FAA Part 135 on-demand regulations, subject to receipt of the necessary government operating authority.
Each seat aboard DayJet’s aircraft will be individually negotiated and customized to the needs of each and every customer. The customer will select the origin and destination airports, the time they want to “depart no earlier than,” and the time they want to “arrive no later than” at their
destination. DayJet will not publish schedules for its service, nor will it operate on a schedule other than the customer’s.
A Transformative Market Opportunity
DayJet Corporation is built from the ground up to offer scalable, on-demand transportation services to hard-to-reach regional markets that have limited, if any, scheduled airline service today. By offering its services on a “Per-Seat,” shared-ride basis at prices that are only slightly higher than full- fare coach, DayJet will make on-demand air transportation a practical and affordable option for those road warriors who need the productivity gains the most: field sales forces, operations managers, business development managers, and other mid- level managers
whose productivity drives the top- line performance of their organizations.
“A new ‘Per-Seat, On-Demand’ model would enable business travelers to more easily reach manufacturing plants, suppliers or partners in obscure locations that are difficult to reach using traditional airlines,” said Harvard Business School Professor Clayton Christensen, who explored the topic in his book Seeing What’s Next. “Introducing an innovation such as this – one that would build to demand – must come from a CEO who has used emergent strategy processes to create a new- market disruption in another service business. It will require an outside perspective to enact this type of disruptive innovation in the aviation industry.”
Satisfies Pent-up Demand of Business Travelers
Eighty-four percent of the 405 million annual U.S. business trips taken during 2004 were regional, and 80 percent of these were by car. The number of people driving 200 to 400 miles for business has increased 25 percent during the past three years (DOT, 2004). As part of its extensive research and development efforts, DayJet Corporation has interviewed
hundreds of business travelers and corporate managers across 20 focus groups in nine states to gain a first- hand understanding of regional business travel frustrations and priorities. This research reveals a strong, latent demand for convenient “Per-Seat, On-Demand” jet services.
Typical of the focus group responses is this comment from William Downey, advertising director for a regional publishing company:
“DayJet on-demand jet service holds strong appeal for its ability to turn wasted travel time into valuable business and personal time. To me, the value of time is defined as: can I drop my son off at school in the morning, get to the airport, make my trip, and be back in the evening to see his basketball game? DayJet will allow me to use my time more efficiently, so I can meet all my travel demands yet still be at home in the evening. I hope to benefit from DayJet both professionally and personally, and I’m looking forward to giving it a try once it’s in my market.”
Enabled Through New Field of Real-Time Technology
For the past three years, DayJet Corporation has been engaged in pioneering research in a new field of logistics to real-time optimization. During the same period, the company has been implementing these logistics breakthroughs in an operational infrastructure necessary to run a
large-scale “Per-Seat, On-Demand” jet service. When coupled with the reduced acquisition and operating costs of new VLJ aircraft, DayJet will
achieve the breakthrough value proposition that is necessary to address the needs of the regional business traveler. The company believes that the VLJ price points in conjunction with the “traditional” air taxi model alone are not sufficient to drive down the cost of on-demand jet travel enough to enable significant market expansion. Today, less than five percent of U.S. travelers reap the benefits of on-demand air transportation through corporate jets, fractional ownership programs, hourly membership cards or traditional air charter/air taxi services.
“The key to making the ‘Per-Seat, On-Demand’ model work is leveraging advanced optimization technology to match the ever-changing supply and demand in real- time. Ironically, it’s like flying itself: Millions of tiny adjustments over time keep the whole system on track,” said Esther Dyson, founder of Flight School and editor of Release 1.0 for CNET Networks. “What’s exciting is being able to offer on-demand jet service in the ‘long tails’ of the market between less-traveled city pairs where jet travel is currently unavailable or too expensive for ‘normal people.’ DayJet
brings one-to-one service to air travel just as the Internet has brought one-to-one applications to so many other markets.”
DayJet’s real-time operations system encompasses the necessary dispatching, integrated planning and optimization tools to make real-time, automated decisions on a large-scale basis. This proprietary infrastructure will allow DayJet to efficiently serve sparse demand in outlying “tails”
of the market, while driving its cost of services down, making on-demand jet travel broadly available and affordable on a “Per-Seat” basis for most business travelers.
DayJet’s real-time operations system has been tested for more than a year and will be ready for operation when the first aircraft roll off Eclipse’s production line.
Taking Flight in 2006
DayJet Corporation expects to launch service mid-year 2006 to select markets soon after it takes delivery of its first Eclipse 500 aircraft, and subject to receipt of the necessary government operating authority. The company plans to serve more than 35 markets with “Per-Seat, On- Demand” service by the end of its second year of operations.
About DayJet Corporation
Founded by prominent high-tech entrepreneur Ed Iacobucci, DayJet Corporation is the pioneer of a new type of regional travel: “Per-Seat, On-Demand” jet service tailored to the passenger’s individual schedule and priced only slightly higher than full- fare coach airfares. Headquartered
in Delray Beach, Florida, DayJet has developed this new industry’s first real-time operations system. Combined with the speed and efficiency of new-generation small jet aircraft, DayJet has created the next major advance in regional business travel. For more information visit
www.DayJet.com.
