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Here are the first several lines. BTW Most newspapers are linked, register with one you register with many.
Private planes to fly at public prices
By Peter Pae, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
November 8, 2007
Flying in a private jet has been typically reserved for the privileged few who can easily drop $20,000 for a weekend ski trip to Aspen, Colo.
But two Santa Monica High School graduates are starting a no-frills discount "air taxi" service that could allow more people to join the jet set.
Next year, the company, JetAviva, will begin offering seats on a new line of small planes that it says will bring airline affordability to the private-jet experience.
For about the price of first-class airline travel, a party of three can drive right onto the tarmac at Van Nuys Airport, hop on one of JetAviva's Eclipse 500 jets and be in Las Vegas in 45 minutes, avoiding airport security, airline schedules and, of course, strangers. Travelers rent the entire four-passenger plane rather than a seat at a time.
"It'll be like flying in your own private jet but at airline prices," said Cyrus Sigari, who founded the Van Nuys-based company 18 months ago with his boyhood friend Ben Marcus.
Both are barely 25 years old, but the West Los Angeles natives are hoping to be at the cusp of an emerging industry thanks to the development of small jets that are selling at a fraction of the cost of the current generation of private jets.
Known as Very Light Jets, or VLJs, the planes can seat as many as five passengers and range in price from $1.6 million to $3 million. That's far below conventional private jets, which can cost from $9 million for a six-passenger Learjet to $50 million for a 16-seat Gulfstream G-550.
Position: Piston/Turbine Props....not just for boats!
Posts: 1,830
Ah, just a 135 with "cheaper" jets. Still have to get the planes delivered to have a business going. Speaking of this type of operation, anyone have anything good/bad/indifferent about DayJet? Didn't know if ops were going well for this or not.
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Both are barely 25 years old, but the West Los Angeles natives are hoping to be at the cusp of an emerging industry thanks to the development of small jets that are selling at a fraction of the cost of the current generation of private jets.
I wonder at what point prospective owners will learn about insurance rates vs. pilot credentials (ratings, flight time, etc). Many owners will find that the idea of owner/pilot is prohibitive because of high insurance premiums. For the same reason, flying VLJ's will not be an entry level job for pilots.
So, in a "global" pilot shortage the pay should be competitive to attract qualified pilots. Many feel that this issue could skew the cost benefit of operating a VLJ.
I wonder at what point prospective owners will learn about insurance rates vs. pilot credentials (ratings, flight time, etc). Many owners will find that the idea of owner/pilot is prohibitive because of high insurance premiums. For the same reason, flying VLJ's will not be an entry level job for pilots.
So, in a "global" pilot shortage the pay should be competitive to attract qualified pilots. Many feel that this issue could skew the cost benefit of operating a VLJ.
I have often wondered about starting an air taxi service aswell using the VLJ's and worried about the same issue you brought up. I think it can eventually be done, but it's not going to take off until flying a regular airline becomes an even bigger headache than it is now and the prices for coach seats gets a lot higher. If user fees are passed, it definitely will never be possible.
I wonder at what point prospective owners will learn about insurance rates vs. pilot credentials (ratings, flight time, etc). Many owners will find that the idea of owner/pilot is prohibitive because of high insurance premiums. For the same reason, flying VLJ's will not be an entry level job for pilots.
So, in a "global" pilot shortage the pay should be competitive to attract qualified pilots. Many feel that this issue could skew the cost benefit of operating a VLJ.
Yup, I always thought that insurable pilots was the weakness in the business model. I'm all for VLJ's if they work...more demand for professional pilots.
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