European Update - Blink and Jetbird

It has been a while since I have discussed the status of European operators, but an article in Time magazine recently highlighted the efforts of both Blink and Jetbird. The article entitled "Private Jets: Air Pressure" discussed again the projections about the number of vljs operating in Europe in the future and how that might impact airspace traffic and congestion - especially at the higher altitudes where fuel efficiency is the greatest.

Blink, which will be flying the Cessna Citation Mustang, and Jetbird, which has chosen the Phenom 100, are both discussed in the article. Based in Dublin, Jetbird's website is still calling for a 2009 launch while Blink -- claiming to be Europe's "first air taxi service" -- with its headquarters in London has indicated it will begin operations this month. The article also discusses a concern of Eurocontrol with the potential adverse impact of vljs (that I discussed here a few months ago):

It notes that "[i]n October, Eurocontrol will conduct a simulation in Budapest that will flood air-traffic control with hundreds of microjets. If the test suggests that the safety of larger planes could be compromised, Eurocontrol may push regulators to mandate dedicated flight paths and better collision-avoidance gear."

My sense is that ultimately the European market and customers for air taxis are somewhat different from that in the US with much greater initial attraction to leisure and vacation travel in Europe in addition to business travel. It will indeed be interesting to compare the two markets as they emerge. While there might be quite a few differences, one thing is the surley same: the common themes of improvements in quality of life and efficiency and renewed enjoyment in air travel are shared by both current US operators and prospective European operators.

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From JetBlue to JetSuite with the Phenom 100

A strong group of aviation professionals with significant ties to JetBlue formerly announced the creation of JetSuite in a press release yesterday. Led by Alex Wilcox, one of the original founders of JetBlue and later the COO of Kingfisher Airlines, JetSuite plans to operate Phenom 100s in a managed owner aircraft model concept. JetSuite plans to serve the West Coast and start by early next year.

JetSuite has an order for 50 Phenom 100s and options on an additional 50 Embraer aircraft. It will be the largest US operator of the Phenom aircraft. Speaking of large, the Phenom 100 is one of the largest of the new vlj models. The Embraer website has a great cross sectional comparative analysis of the Phenom cabin comparing it to the Eclipse 500, the Mustang, the CJ1, and the (potentially soon to be resurrected) Adam 700.

More details about JetSuite's plan are available on its website which has been up for some time. Here is some additional information:

The press release states that Wilcox is "joined by several former JetBlue founding colleagues, including Usto Schulz, JetSuite's Vice President Certification and Safety, who was Vice President, Safety for JetBlue and was with the Federal Aviation Administration for 17 years, and Amy Curtis-McIntyre, former Vice President of Marketing at JetBlue who is consulting on JetSuite's brand and product. Also, Ken Burnham, former Fleet Captain for the DC-10 at United Airlines, has joined JetSuite as Vice President, Flight Operations."

The JetSuite concept appears to be an innovative air charter management and owner/operator operation. While the aircraft are not being utilized by the owner, their "care and feeding" and charter flying will be handled exclusively by JetSuite.

The website states: "As a JetSuite owner, you are given a set number of hours to use per year for free. If you need additional hours, you can purchase them at a discount to our retail rates and significantly less than other offerings. . . . In exchange for placing your aircraft in the JetSuite fleet, you receive JetSuite’s premier management service at absolutely no additional cost. While our competitors charge you a monthly maintenance fee, our comprehensive program includes aircraft maintenance, hangaring, pilot training, arranging flight plans and flight crew, and much more at no cost."

JetSuite's choice of the aircraft, business plan and charter concept is surely worth watching as there is no doubt with respect to the depth of the aviation experience of its management team.

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