The Recent Launch of DayJet Services, LLC ...

Nov. 7, 2007
... truly marks the onset of the era of the very light jets. The official start-up in October of DayJet’s on-demand Part 135 certificated charter service links five Florida cities and their airports. Based in Boca Raton, DayJet is owned by software entrepreneur Ed Iacobucci, who plans to expand the service regionally (Southeast first) and in time could have a fleet of more than 1,000 VLJs. DayJet bills its service as “per seat, on-demandâ€. Essentially, it charges the customer based on his or her flexibility. If you absolutely need to depart Tallahassee by 9 a.m. for a trip to Boca, it will be one price; be more flexible and depart “by†noon, and it could be much less. It’s all about time, says Iacobucci. The November/December issue of AIRPORT BUSINESS magazine features a Business Profile on DayJet via an interview with Iacobucci. Here a few of the outtakes from that session ... On what some might see as a complex pricing scheme ... “Well, that’s what this is all about. It’s an education expense, which is something the [market] leader has to deal with. Thus far, we’re seeing a pretty good response. A pretty high percentage of people who get activated actually try it and when they try it they negotiate; they don’t just take the first price that comes. Basically what they’ve done is determine what level of service they want based on what their value of time is. We call it time-value pricing. It’s a new dimension.†On what’s in it for a fixed base operation that might become a DayPort ... “We’ve had a lot of different proposals. I can tell you that nothing is off the table. “At some locations we’re renting space and buying fuel; at others we have a day base operation, we have hangars and more people. I’m not exactly sure there’s a magic formula that fits all yet.†On the fact that its on-demand service borders on being classified as scheduled service, which is regulated differently ... “It’s been questioned by a lot of people but not by FAA or DOT. We could cross the line if we did things that we don’t do. The request comes from the user. We don’t publish availability; in fact, we don’t know what our availability is. It’s very fluid and dynamic.†On the response from the pilot community ... “That’s one of the things we were concerned about initially, but it’s turned out to not be as big an issue. The pilots want the same thing our customers want – quality of life. “Right now we’re hiring all captains; our salary is a flat $50,000 per year. “The interesting thing is the pilots aren’t really pilots; they’re salaried employees who work eight hours a day. They come in every day whether they fly or not, and they have different assignments. What we want to emphasize is the pilots are serving customers. “We’ve got about 3,000 resumes for a few hundred jobs. We’re looking for people who have the right personality and desire to engage with customers.†Finally, Iacobucci cautions those airports or communities which may be looking at building a terminal facility anticipating VLJ service that such a move may be premature at this point. As he notes, his concept is a model that still needs to be proven. Thanks for reading. jfi