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Microjets, a.k.a. very light jets or VLJs, are on the rise. Their proposed use: air taxi service between airports that don’t see much commercial traffic.

NYT columnist Joe Sharkey offers an example of how a business traveler might be interested:

Say you are a business traveler who works in the White Plains high-tech corridor and you have a meeting in Columbus, Ohio. Flying commercial, you would leave a day early. “The next day, you have your meeting, but chances are you won’t be able to get back that day,” said Rick Adam, the chief executive of Adam Aircraft. “So that’s a three-day trip.”

As CEO of a company that makes the small planes, Mr. Adam clearly has an interest in making the connections sound particularly awful. But what’s the truth? How hard is it to get between these cities? And how much does it cost?

How about a last minute fare, leaving tomorrow?
Delta leave White Plains at 5:50am and gets you to Columbus at 9:33am (there’s a change of planes in Cincinnati). Total trip time: 3:43.
Coming back, Continental leaves Columbus at 5:00pm and gets to White Plains at 8:18pm (with a change of planes in Cleveland). Total trip time: 3:18.

The cost for this ticket, purchased less than 24 hours before departure: $535.20. Plus, you can earn miles on either Delta or Continental, since they are both in the SkyTeam alliance and allow for reciprocal earning.

Granted, all flights are on all-coach class regional jets, which are not the pinnacle of comfort. And if the meeting lasts longer, or starts earlier, then you’re stuck overnighting in Columbus. But will an air taxi always be ready and waiting for you to “hail”? How comfortable are these planes, considering they’re even smaller than RJs? And will you earn miles??

So how big is the market for microjet service? And at what price?

Adam Aircraft suggests that fares would be double or triple the cost of a commercial flight. From the operator’s perspective, the company estimates that the cost per seat per mile flown ranges between 46 and 69 cents (55 cents for the standard 7-person configuration), but they don’t indicate what they’re assuming fuel will cost. White Plains to Columbus is 489 miles each way — call it 1000 miles roundtrip. That means that the air taxi ticket would need to charge at least $550 for the operator to break even — assuming a full load of 7 passengers. If the plane isn’t full, then the fare has to be much, much higher.

The FAA is taking the planes seriously, but it’s not clear if they’re buying into the air taxi business model. Microjets could still end up widely adopted by recreational avation enthusiasts, and thus a concern for air traffic controllers, but the jury is out if they will be a viable business.

If air taxi service proves successful, we might someday see a major airline buy into the industry, perhaps complementing their regional/commuter service with a taxi service. Then, you might be able to earn some miles while you’re at it.

(photo: Adam Aircraft)
tags: travel | air travel | business travel | air taxi | microjets | very light jets