By JIM THARPE
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 10/05/07
They're sleek. They're fast. They're relatively inexpensive. And they're about to change the face of general aviation — for better or worse, depending on who's talking.
VLJs — the aviation world's term for "very light jets" — will soon be debuting at small airports across Georgia and the rest of the nation. That's a vision that brings smiles to the faces of private pilots, but makes commercial aviation officials and some safety experts grimace.
"Every time I think about these, I visualize the old Jetsons cartoon with George Jetson in his glass-walled house with all of these little things zipping around," said David Castelveter, a spokesman for the Air Transport Association. "It certainly causes concern."
Castelveter's organization, which represents the commercial airlines, testified before the U.S. Senate that if swarms of the small jets take to the skies it could create even more delays for the airline passengers and jeopardize safety.
Baloney, say proponents of the small jets. They argue the personal jets, which have a range of about 1,300 miles, will generally fly below the air space used by passenger jets. And insurance restrictions, they contend, will force private pilots to undergo intensive training before zooming around the increasingly crowded skies.
The small aircraft — they generally have two to six seats and weigh less than 10,000 pounds — offer the performance of high-end business jets at a fraction of the cost. About 20 VLJ models are now in various stages of design, certification and production. Most will cost between $1 million to $3 million and big companies like Honda and Cessna have gotten in the race to mass produce the pint-sized jets.
Experts estimate there could be 4,000 to 10,000 of the new personal jets in service within a decade or so.
Jonathan Sweatman, an Atlanta-based sales manager for a company that markets the Diamond D-Jet, said the airlines are howling because they fear the VLJs are going to skim off their highest-paying passengers.
DayJet, an air taxi service using Eclipse 500, a VLJ already on the market, recently began operations in Florida and plans to soon expand into Georgia. The company's pitch: Avoid the crowds and delays at hubs like Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and fly hassle-free aboard your own jet into smaller airports.
"The threat to the airlines has got nothing to do with safety," Sweatman said. "It has everything to do with the fact that the people who used to sit in their first-class seats are now going to pay to sit in their own jet aircraft because they are sick and tired of the appalling service the airlines are now offering."
But some experts worry a lot about the millionaire-next-door running out to buy the latest aviation toy. Many of the new jets fly at twice the speed of piston-powered aircraft and many private pilots simply don't have the skills to control them, some experts contend.
"It's the speed. It's all about the speed," said Brian Alexander, a pilot and aviation lawyer with the Manhattan firm of Kreindler & Kreindler. "It's going from a Model T to a Porsche."
One VLJ now under development, the ATG Javelin, is a two-seater that looks like a fighter jet and will be marketed to private pilots as well as the military as a trainer. ATG sales representatives say it will let well-heeled businessmen fly the airborne equivalent of a Lamborghini on once-boring business trips. It can travel at more than 500 mph.
The company's Web site boasts: "Designed to turn heads. Built to perform."
That sort of promotion worries Alexander.
"They're unfortunately going to become lawn darts," Alexander said. "They have to raise the bar for training for people who want to fly these faster aircraft."
David Basha, a Gainesville car dealer and pilot who has ordered a VLJ from Diamond, said those worries are misplaced.
"I don't think the insurance industry will allow pilots to fly planes beyond their capability," said Bahsa, who hopes to take possession of his single-engine D-Jet late next year. "There will be a lot of pre-conditions."
Basha currently flies a high-performance, twin-engine Cessna Conquest 1, which has a maximum speed of about 300 mph. His D-Jet will top out at about 350 mph, he said.
He pays about $35,000 a year for insurance and figures that will go up for his jet.
"It will be a high-risk policy," he said. "You'll have very few companies that want to be in that business."
Basha said he will use his jet to visit his North Carolina beach property, to visit friends in Florida and for business. He figures his $1.3 million jet will cost about half as much to fly as his current plane.
"It's an eight-hour drive to North Carolina and an hour-and-10-minute flight," he said.
WSB Radio talk show host Neal Boortz, a pilot for 25 years, has also lined up to buy a D-Jet. Boortz said his insurance company probably will require 50 to 60 hours of training with a mentor pilot in the cockpit of his new plane. And that's just for starters. Another 50 hours of solo flight will be probably be required before he can carry passengers.
"The insurance company will kick my butt," Boortz said.
Boortz currently flies a piston-driven Mooney, which has a top speed of about 220 mph. He will pick up 130 mph or so with his new jet.
"To pilots, speed is everything, and you get the speed advantage with a jet," Boortz said.
Bob Everson, the Federal Aviation Administration's director of tactical operations for the Midwest, said he thinks most of the new jets will fly at 20,000 feet or so, far below the level of most commercial jets.
Everson said he does not anticipate any major air-traffic problems with the jets in the next few years.
"We're going to ensure safety first," Everson said. "We're never going to degrade safety."
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
U.S. Airline Delays Worsen in August -
By DAN CATERINICCHIA,AP
Posted: 2007-10-03 13:00:43
WASHINGTON (AP) - The airline industry's dismal on-time performance in 2007 continued in August with nearly 30 percent of flights delayed.
The most recent government data, which also showed a surge in fliers' complaints, was released less than a week after President Bush promised to help fix the problem.
Forcing carriers to shrink their flight schedules or to pay more to fly during peak travel periods are some of the steps the government is considering.
The nation's 20 largest carriers reported an on-time arrival rate of 71.7 percent in August, down from 75.8 percent a year ago, the Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics said Wednesday. The on-time rate was 69.8 percent in July and 68.1 percent in June.
Through August, more than 25 percent of flights have arrived late - the industry's worst on-time performance since comparable data began being collected in 1995.
The airline industry and the Federal Aviation Administration blame the delays on outdated air traffic control technology, bad weather and increasing passenger traffic. Analysts say commercial airlines' use of smaller planes is partly to blame for increased congestion in the skies and on runways, as is an increase in general aviation aircraft used by corporate travelers.
Whatever the cause of the worsening delays, travelers have noticed.
Customer complaints nearly doubled to 1,634 in August compared with 864 in the same month last year. Poor weather conditions were blamed for more than 38 percent of delays in August, a slight increase from a year ago.
"Endless hours sitting in an airplane on a runway with no communication between a pilot and the airport is just not right," Bush said last week after meeting with Transportation Secretary Mary Peters and the acting head of the FAA, Bobby Sturgell.
Peters asked airlines to form a plan to improve scheduling at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, one of the nation's busiest. Without an industry solution, the department is prepared to issue a scheduling reduction order, she said.
The government also could force a so-called congestion pricing model upon the industry, Peters said, but airline executives last week told Congress that raising flying costs during peak periods would simply result in higher fares.
The airlines and the FAA are pressing for a new, satellite-based air traffic control system that will cost about $15 billion and take nearly 20 years to complete. Airline traffic is projected to double by 2025.
The FAA in late August awarded ITT Corp . a contract worth up to $1.8 billion to build the first portion the system, known as NextGen. The agency on Tuesday said it wants all planes to be equipped to use the new navigation technology by 2020.
"NextGen is pie in the sky. What about Now-Gen?" Patrick Forrey, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, quipped Tuesday in a conference call with reporters.
The union says delays will worsen unless the government hires more members and pays them better. The FAA and the union have been locked in a contract dispute since the agency declared an impasse last year.
Bush on Saturday signed a stopgap spending bill to keep Cabinet departments running at current levels through mid-November. Congress has until then to reauthorize the FAA and possibly raise taxes and fees to pay for upgrades to the air traffic control system and other programs. Commercial airlines are battling corporate jets and small plane operators over what share of the cost they each should shoulder.
The commercial airline industry and the White House say a House-passed FAA funding bill does not fairly link fees to system use.
August's on-time performance was the second worst on record for that month, topped only by a 70 percent arrival rate in 2000. But not all airline performance was poor.
Aloha Airlines had the highest on-time arrival rate at 97 percent, followed by Hawaiian Holdings Inc .'s Hawaiian Airlines at 93.7 percent and Southwest Airlines at 77.7 percent, according to government data.
But almost half of Atlantic Southeast Airlines were delayed, and two of its flights arrived late every time they took off. The Delta Connection carrier, which is owned by SkyWest Inc ., had the lowest on-time arrival rate at 55 percent, followed by United Airlines at 66.2 percent and Alaska Airlines at 67.1 percent.
The rates of mishandled baggage fell to about 7.6 reports per 1,000 passengers from 8.1 reports a year ago, according to government data.
Posted: 2007-10-03 13:00:43
WASHINGTON (AP) - The airline industry's dismal on-time performance in 2007 continued in August with nearly 30 percent of flights delayed.
The most recent government data, which also showed a surge in fliers' complaints, was released less than a week after President Bush promised to help fix the problem.
Forcing carriers to shrink their flight schedules or to pay more to fly during peak travel periods are some of the steps the government is considering.
The nation's 20 largest carriers reported an on-time arrival rate of 71.7 percent in August, down from 75.8 percent a year ago, the Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics said Wednesday. The on-time rate was 69.8 percent in July and 68.1 percent in June.
Through August, more than 25 percent of flights have arrived late - the industry's worst on-time performance since comparable data began being collected in 1995.
The airline industry and the Federal Aviation Administration blame the delays on outdated air traffic control technology, bad weather and increasing passenger traffic. Analysts say commercial airlines' use of smaller planes is partly to blame for increased congestion in the skies and on runways, as is an increase in general aviation aircraft used by corporate travelers.
Whatever the cause of the worsening delays, travelers have noticed.
Customer complaints nearly doubled to 1,634 in August compared with 864 in the same month last year. Poor weather conditions were blamed for more than 38 percent of delays in August, a slight increase from a year ago.
"Endless hours sitting in an airplane on a runway with no communication between a pilot and the airport is just not right," Bush said last week after meeting with Transportation Secretary Mary Peters and the acting head of the FAA, Bobby Sturgell.
Peters asked airlines to form a plan to improve scheduling at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, one of the nation's busiest. Without an industry solution, the department is prepared to issue a scheduling reduction order, she said.
The government also could force a so-called congestion pricing model upon the industry, Peters said, but airline executives last week told Congress that raising flying costs during peak periods would simply result in higher fares.
The airlines and the FAA are pressing for a new, satellite-based air traffic control system that will cost about $15 billion and take nearly 20 years to complete. Airline traffic is projected to double by 2025.
The FAA in late August awarded ITT Corp . a contract worth up to $1.8 billion to build the first portion the system, known as NextGen. The agency on Tuesday said it wants all planes to be equipped to use the new navigation technology by 2020.
"NextGen is pie in the sky. What about Now-Gen?" Patrick Forrey, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, quipped Tuesday in a conference call with reporters.
The union says delays will worsen unless the government hires more members and pays them better. The FAA and the union have been locked in a contract dispute since the agency declared an impasse last year.
Bush on Saturday signed a stopgap spending bill to keep Cabinet departments running at current levels through mid-November. Congress has until then to reauthorize the FAA and possibly raise taxes and fees to pay for upgrades to the air traffic control system and other programs. Commercial airlines are battling corporate jets and small plane operators over what share of the cost they each should shoulder.
The commercial airline industry and the White House say a House-passed FAA funding bill does not fairly link fees to system use.
August's on-time performance was the second worst on record for that month, topped only by a 70 percent arrival rate in 2000. But not all airline performance was poor.
Aloha Airlines had the highest on-time arrival rate at 97 percent, followed by Hawaiian Holdings Inc .'s Hawaiian Airlines at 93.7 percent and Southwest Airlines at 77.7 percent, according to government data.
But almost half of Atlantic Southeast Airlines were delayed, and two of its flights arrived late every time they took off. The Delta Connection carrier, which is owned by SkyWest Inc ., had the lowest on-time arrival rate at 55 percent, followed by United Airlines at 66.2 percent and Alaska Airlines at 67.1 percent.
The rates of mishandled baggage fell to about 7.6 reports per 1,000 passengers from 8.1 reports a year ago, according to government data.
Monday, October 1, 2007
VLJs' Impact on ATC Is Uncertain
Aviation Week & Space Technology 09/24/2007, page 63
David Hughes Washington
As deliveries begin, the impact of very light jetson the ATC system is just beginning
With as many as 7,600 very light jets forecast to be flying in U.S. skies by 2025, a key operational question will be whether an air traffic system transitioning to satellite-based navigation will be able to absorb all of them.
The Government Accountability Office recently summarized nine VLJ outlooks, ranging from the Teal Group’s low of 3,000 aircraft by 2016 to Rolls-Royce’s high of 7,600 by 2025. The air taxi business will play a role, alongside owner-flown aircraft, in any additional load on the U.S. air traffic system.
Florida-based DayJet is about to show what it can do with an on-demand air taxi service using the Eclipse 500. The company expects to have 40 Eclipse 500s in service by year-end and 140 by late 2008, according to Bruce J. Holmes, director of air systems research. For 33 years, he worked as a research scientist at NASA Langley Research Center, where he helped to design the NextGen ATC system with the FAA.
Holmes says DayJet will be opening up service primarily to “underutilized” airports, with initial operations using five DayPorts at Boca Raton, Lakeland, Gainesville, Tallahassee and Pensacola, Fla. Flights will operate selling seats “in network” to these airports and “out of network” to other facilities in Florida when a customer charters an entire airplane. DayPort locations will then be added at similar airports in Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.
Meanwhile, DayJet is starting operations just at the end of the biggest summer-delay meltdown in the history of U.S. civil aviation. The problems naturally have been at large and congested airports—in the New York metropolitan area, for example. But big airports aren’t where DayJet plans to fly. Holmes says the NextGen ATC plan devised by the Joint Planning and Development Office in Washington will not fix congestion at 14 of the 35 biggest U.S. airports. They will still be in a serious delay crunch when the program is completed, he notes.
Instead, DayJet will operate in a “parallel universe” of underused airspace and airports where air service has been scarce, if available at all. But the company also plans to be an “early adopter” of some of the innovative air traffic techniques that will be possible with the NextGen satellite navigation approach to ATC.
For example, DayJet intends to use Required Navigation Performance (RNP) approaches to fly GPS-guided procedures down to precision minimums (200-ft. decision altitude) as soon as possible. It’s even working with airports and state governments to determine if ADS-B ground-based receivers could be installed earlier than the FAA envisions at some locations. The agency is not targeting Florida to receive ADS-B equipment by 2010, meaning the state may have to wait until the next phase, scheduled for completion in 2013.
Holmes explains that DayJet may base as many as 25 aircraft at some airports, and they will often be arriving at about the same time late in the day. Thus, “ADS-B in” capability for cockpit display of other DayJet traffic would help pilots plan their arrivals efficiently.
The GAO report says the impact of VLJs on FAA costs and Aviation Trust Fund revenues will depend on how many aircraft are delivered, the extent to which they replace existing aircraft, and whether they facilitate a large-scale air taxi industry.
The same factors will influence VLJs’ impact on ATC. Aviation consultant Jack Olcott, former president of the National Business Aviation Assn., says he agrees with the GAO in that the introduction of VLJs will be orderly and the “sky won’t be blackened” by them. He adds that it’s too early to quantify the effect of owner-flown VLJs, a refinement of the entry-level business jet. The industry has 35 years of experience with this type of aircraft, he adds.
“Today’s FAA, training community and insurance industry are prepared to deal with VLJs in the hands of owner pilots, albeit cautiously. Time and accident/incident experience will shape future policy, but I suspect there will be few surprises,” says Olcott.
In a 2005 analysis, Philippe A. Bonnefoy, a graduate student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, states that VLJs might operate much the way light bizjets do now. This means they won’t always take off from an out-of-the-way airport and head for another one in a similar location (AW&ST July 25, 2005, p. 51). For example, they may want to travel to the New York city area; but unlike large bizjets using Teterboro, N.J., airport, VLJs have short-runway capability that might allow them to use small airports such as Princeton, N.J.’s
David Hughes Washington
As deliveries begin, the impact of very light jetson the ATC system is just beginning
With as many as 7,600 very light jets forecast to be flying in U.S. skies by 2025, a key operational question will be whether an air traffic system transitioning to satellite-based navigation will be able to absorb all of them.
The Government Accountability Office recently summarized nine VLJ outlooks, ranging from the Teal Group’s low of 3,000 aircraft by 2016 to Rolls-Royce’s high of 7,600 by 2025. The air taxi business will play a role, alongside owner-flown aircraft, in any additional load on the U.S. air traffic system.
Florida-based DayJet is about to show what it can do with an on-demand air taxi service using the Eclipse 500. The company expects to have 40 Eclipse 500s in service by year-end and 140 by late 2008, according to Bruce J. Holmes, director of air systems research. For 33 years, he worked as a research scientist at NASA Langley Research Center, where he helped to design the NextGen ATC system with the FAA.
Holmes says DayJet will be opening up service primarily to “underutilized” airports, with initial operations using five DayPorts at Boca Raton, Lakeland, Gainesville, Tallahassee and Pensacola, Fla. Flights will operate selling seats “in network” to these airports and “out of network” to other facilities in Florida when a customer charters an entire airplane. DayPort locations will then be added at similar airports in Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.
Meanwhile, DayJet is starting operations just at the end of the biggest summer-delay meltdown in the history of U.S. civil aviation. The problems naturally have been at large and congested airports—in the New York metropolitan area, for example. But big airports aren’t where DayJet plans to fly. Holmes says the NextGen ATC plan devised by the Joint Planning and Development Office in Washington will not fix congestion at 14 of the 35 biggest U.S. airports. They will still be in a serious delay crunch when the program is completed, he notes.
Instead, DayJet will operate in a “parallel universe” of underused airspace and airports where air service has been scarce, if available at all. But the company also plans to be an “early adopter” of some of the innovative air traffic techniques that will be possible with the NextGen satellite navigation approach to ATC.
For example, DayJet intends to use Required Navigation Performance (RNP) approaches to fly GPS-guided procedures down to precision minimums (200-ft. decision altitude) as soon as possible. It’s even working with airports and state governments to determine if ADS-B ground-based receivers could be installed earlier than the FAA envisions at some locations. The agency is not targeting Florida to receive ADS-B equipment by 2010, meaning the state may have to wait until the next phase, scheduled for completion in 2013.
Holmes explains that DayJet may base as many as 25 aircraft at some airports, and they will often be arriving at about the same time late in the day. Thus, “ADS-B in” capability for cockpit display of other DayJet traffic would help pilots plan their arrivals efficiently.
The GAO report says the impact of VLJs on FAA costs and Aviation Trust Fund revenues will depend on how many aircraft are delivered, the extent to which they replace existing aircraft, and whether they facilitate a large-scale air taxi industry.
The same factors will influence VLJs’ impact on ATC. Aviation consultant Jack Olcott, former president of the National Business Aviation Assn., says he agrees with the GAO in that the introduction of VLJs will be orderly and the “sky won’t be blackened” by them. He adds that it’s too early to quantify the effect of owner-flown VLJs, a refinement of the entry-level business jet. The industry has 35 years of experience with this type of aircraft, he adds.
“Today’s FAA, training community and insurance industry are prepared to deal with VLJs in the hands of owner pilots, albeit cautiously. Time and accident/incident experience will shape future policy, but I suspect there will be few surprises,” says Olcott.
In a 2005 analysis, Philippe A. Bonnefoy, a graduate student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, states that VLJs might operate much the way light bizjets do now. This means they won’t always take off from an out-of-the-way airport and head for another one in a similar location (AW&ST July 25, 2005, p. 51). For example, they may want to travel to the New York city area; but unlike large bizjets using Teterboro, N.J., airport, VLJs have short-runway capability that might allow them to use small airports such as Princeton, N.J.’s
AVweb's NBAA 2007 Podcast #1: DayJet's Iacobucci — Initial Eclipse Availability Is Promising
Podcast Index | How to Listen | Subscribe Via RSS
Ed Iacobucci, president and CEO of DayJet, told AVweb in this extended podcast that the initial maintenance availability and reliability of the company's first 12 Eclipse 500 twin jets has been better than he expected and that operating economics have thus far panned out to within 5% of expectations as DayJet flies its first revenue passengers. So far, so good — but Iacobucci says DayJet's marriage to Eclipse isn't necessarily monogamous; he's talking to other jet makers, too. Bottom line: It's too soon to tell what the long-term potential of either the VLJ market or the air taxi segment will be.
www.avweb.com/podcast/podcast/196219-1.html?kw=AVwebAudio
Ed Iacobucci, president and CEO of DayJet, told AVweb in this extended podcast that the initial maintenance availability and reliability of the company's first 12 Eclipse 500 twin jets has been better than he expected and that operating economics have thus far panned out to within 5% of expectations as DayJet flies its first revenue passengers. So far, so good — but Iacobucci says DayJet's marriage to Eclipse isn't necessarily monogamous; he's talking to other jet makers, too. Bottom line: It's too soon to tell what the long-term potential of either the VLJ market or the air taxi segment will be.
www.avweb.com/podcast/podcast/196219-1.html?kw=AVwebAudio
Friday, September 21, 2007
AVWEB'S FRIDAY PODCAST:
The age of the very light jet (and the version of the air taxi business it has spawned) is upon us, and it's now time to find out if the bold predictions of some of the players will come true. Phillip Butterworth-Hayes is an analyst with PMI Media, a British and German firm that studies the aviation market, and he's released his second report on VLJs just in time for the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) Convention in Atlanta next week. AVweb's Russ Niles talked with Butterworth-Hayes about the report and where the VLJ sector is heading...
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
On-demand Air Taxis and Very Light Jets Predicted to Expand Air Travel Market According to Research 2.0 Report
Press Release
Source: Research 2.0
Wednesday September 19, 11:30 am ET
Low-cost, High-performance Jets to Greatly Expand Use of Municipal Airports; Offer Relief to Overburdened National Airspace System
BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Research 2.0, a research firm that specializes in the analysis of emerging technology for the investment and business communities, today revealed findings from its new report focused on the impact of very light jets (VLJ) and on-demand VLJ air taxi services.
The report covers the growth of the VLJ services market, the predicted expansion of the Small Aircraft Transportation System (SATS) to local communities nationwide and the NASA-inspired technology that is enabling a potential seismic paradigm shift in air travel. The report also covers VLJ manufacturers, competition, manufacturing, regulatory, environmental and other issues specific to this new emerging market.
Summary of September 2007 Report Findings
VLJ Air Taxis Predicted to Relieve Overburdened Commercial Industry
Commercial airline traffic is predicted to see sustained annual growth over the next two decades, pressuring a lagging air traffic control infrastructure. VLJ air taxi services and increased utilization of hundreds of idle secondary landing facilities can substantially alleviate this pressure.
New Technologies Enable Small Aircraft Transportation System to Dramatically Expand
The Research 2.0 report affirms that only 660 of the approximately 5,400 public use landing facilities are used for scheduled air carrier flights as part of the standard commercial hub-and-spoke network system. Most of the other 4,800 facilities are utilized substantially below capacity. According to NASA, 93% of the U.S. population lives within a 30-minute drive of a SATS-type airport, while only 22% reside within the same distance of a major or hub airport. A NASA-sponsored five-year public private sector research project has shown that enabling technologies can support SATS's mission of providing a "safe travel alternative, freeing people and products from existing transportation system delays by creating access to more communities in less time."
Very Light Jets Offer Unique Advantages Over Existing Air Travel Options
The principal technological breakthrough behind the VLJ is a newly developed small, compact, lightweight jet engine with sufficient thrust force to propel the aircraft. VLJs are defined by several general specification factors, including a maximum passenger plus pilot capacity of seven, a maximum take-off weight below 10,000 pounds, acquisition cost of $1.2 million to $3.7 million and the performance capability to operate on runways approximately 3,000 feet long. Their maximum flight range is usually around 1,700 nautical miles. Fuel and maintenance direct operating costs for VLJs average $0.70 to $1.50 per mile. The report finds that VLJ manufacturers include a mix of new entry start-ups and traditional aerospace industry names. Forecasts for VLJ unit sales over the next decade vary considerably from 2,500 to a high of 8,000 or market sales of $6 billion to $20 billion.
Air Taxi Market Predicted to Create New Demand with Fresh Value Proposition
According to Research 2.0's analysis, with the emergence of VLJ air taxi operators, true on-demand personal air transportation can become economically feasible on a broad scale. These services will drive growth of the air taxi market, which historically has been more like the charter model. On-demand air taxi services, like traditional automobile taxis, provide one-way point-to-point personal transportation immediately upon request. These aircrafts operate between landing facilities or near traveler destination locations, thus delivering value and flexibility not possible with the traditional (scheduled) airlines.
The report finds that the market size for these services is an estimated $2 billion to $7 billion annually. Most new technology air taxi services are start-up operations financed through private equity sources and founded by individuals well known for previous leadership roles in IT, traditional air transportation, aerospace and finance.
"According to our research, on-demand taxi services and VLJs will create a new dynamic within the existing air travel industry," said Kris Tuttle, founder and senior analyst of Research 2.0. "For example, if 10% of travelers that use major metropolitan airports on a given day shift to more conveniently accessed small airports served by on-demand air taxis, the impact would be extraordinary. Beyond the airline industry, the ripple effects would inexorably alter regional economies by redefining overall travel related supply and demand patterns. These trends would likely usher in new economic development opportunities, particularly for those local areas closest to regional airports. The speed and magnitude of this prospective change will depend upon the ability of players in this personal air transportation sector to discern creative, compelling business models that clearly offer maximum quality, efficiency and customer responsiveness."
The On-Demand Air Travel report is available to Research 2.0 subscribers and via other outlets. For more information, visit www.research2zero.com.
Source: Research 2.0
Wednesday September 19, 11:30 am ET
Low-cost, High-performance Jets to Greatly Expand Use of Municipal Airports; Offer Relief to Overburdened National Airspace System
BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Research 2.0, a research firm that specializes in the analysis of emerging technology for the investment and business communities, today revealed findings from its new report focused on the impact of very light jets (VLJ) and on-demand VLJ air taxi services.
The report covers the growth of the VLJ services market, the predicted expansion of the Small Aircraft Transportation System (SATS) to local communities nationwide and the NASA-inspired technology that is enabling a potential seismic paradigm shift in air travel. The report also covers VLJ manufacturers, competition, manufacturing, regulatory, environmental and other issues specific to this new emerging market.
Summary of September 2007 Report Findings
VLJ Air Taxis Predicted to Relieve Overburdened Commercial Industry
Commercial airline traffic is predicted to see sustained annual growth over the next two decades, pressuring a lagging air traffic control infrastructure. VLJ air taxi services and increased utilization of hundreds of idle secondary landing facilities can substantially alleviate this pressure.
New Technologies Enable Small Aircraft Transportation System to Dramatically Expand
The Research 2.0 report affirms that only 660 of the approximately 5,400 public use landing facilities are used for scheduled air carrier flights as part of the standard commercial hub-and-spoke network system. Most of the other 4,800 facilities are utilized substantially below capacity. According to NASA, 93% of the U.S. population lives within a 30-minute drive of a SATS-type airport, while only 22% reside within the same distance of a major or hub airport. A NASA-sponsored five-year public private sector research project has shown that enabling technologies can support SATS's mission of providing a "safe travel alternative, freeing people and products from existing transportation system delays by creating access to more communities in less time."
Very Light Jets Offer Unique Advantages Over Existing Air Travel Options
The principal technological breakthrough behind the VLJ is a newly developed small, compact, lightweight jet engine with sufficient thrust force to propel the aircraft. VLJs are defined by several general specification factors, including a maximum passenger plus pilot capacity of seven, a maximum take-off weight below 10,000 pounds, acquisition cost of $1.2 million to $3.7 million and the performance capability to operate on runways approximately 3,000 feet long. Their maximum flight range is usually around 1,700 nautical miles. Fuel and maintenance direct operating costs for VLJs average $0.70 to $1.50 per mile. The report finds that VLJ manufacturers include a mix of new entry start-ups and traditional aerospace industry names. Forecasts for VLJ unit sales over the next decade vary considerably from 2,500 to a high of 8,000 or market sales of $6 billion to $20 billion.
Air Taxi Market Predicted to Create New Demand with Fresh Value Proposition
According to Research 2.0's analysis, with the emergence of VLJ air taxi operators, true on-demand personal air transportation can become economically feasible on a broad scale. These services will drive growth of the air taxi market, which historically has been more like the charter model. On-demand air taxi services, like traditional automobile taxis, provide one-way point-to-point personal transportation immediately upon request. These aircrafts operate between landing facilities or near traveler destination locations, thus delivering value and flexibility not possible with the traditional (scheduled) airlines.
The report finds that the market size for these services is an estimated $2 billion to $7 billion annually. Most new technology air taxi services are start-up operations financed through private equity sources and founded by individuals well known for previous leadership roles in IT, traditional air transportation, aerospace and finance.
"According to our research, on-demand taxi services and VLJs will create a new dynamic within the existing air travel industry," said Kris Tuttle, founder and senior analyst of Research 2.0. "For example, if 10% of travelers that use major metropolitan airports on a given day shift to more conveniently accessed small airports served by on-demand air taxis, the impact would be extraordinary. Beyond the airline industry, the ripple effects would inexorably alter regional economies by redefining overall travel related supply and demand patterns. These trends would likely usher in new economic development opportunities, particularly for those local areas closest to regional airports. The speed and magnitude of this prospective change will depend upon the ability of players in this personal air transportation sector to discern creative, compelling business models that clearly offer maximum quality, efficiency and customer responsiveness."
The On-Demand Air Travel report is available to Research 2.0 subscribers and via other outlets. For more information, visit www.research2zero.com.
Monday, September 17, 2007
VLJ Market Looking Brighter, According to Analyst
A European company that has studied the emerging very light jet market says it's painting a rosier outlook for the sector than it has in the past but there are more caveats than a law library in his assessment. Phillip Butterworth-Hayes, of PMI Media, told AVweb Sunday in a podcast interview to be released on Friday that interest in VLJs seems to be sustained and new market possibilities are opening up but (and there are several of them) the next 12 months will likely be the harbinger of things to come, especially in the air taxi business." A lot will depend on just how robust the aircraft are," Butterworth-Hayes, author of the report, said. He said they're going to be called upon to fly far more hours in more rugged conditions than business jets are normally flown and many are far less expensive than the low-end business jets.
He said the other significant factor will be the world economy. Traditionally, companies buy jets when times are good. He said all indicators point to a downturn and that will likely mean the red-hot market for jets will soften. Butterworth-Hayes maintains that the models most likely to fly out of the uncertainty and market saturation that's looming will come from companies that already build, certify and support fleets of jets.
He said the other significant factor will be the world economy. Traditionally, companies buy jets when times are good. He said all indicators point to a downturn and that will likely mean the red-hot market for jets will soften. Butterworth-Hayes maintains that the models most likely to fly out of the uncertainty and market saturation that's looming will come from companies that already build, certify and support fleets of jets.
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