Few advances in aviation technology have generated the keen interest the very light jets (VLJs) have with pundits labeling them the microchip of aviation and detractors charging they will blacken the skies. As with most such controversies, the reality lies somewhere in the middle and AviationToday, RAN’s sister publication, launched AviationToday’s VLJ Report to keep track of it all.
The parallels between regionals and the emerging VLJ market are numerous. Many of the same trends that made the regionals successful are in evidence today, namely the growing frustration of the business trip which eats up time like a pacman on steroids and the inability to get there from here. VLJs – whether they are owned by private pilots or flown by the newly emerging per-seat, on-demand operators such as DayJet – offer what the regionals offered decades ago – the out-and-back-in-one-day business trip, something that can rarely be done either in today’s commercial aviation market or by driving.
They also offer access to many points that no longer have, or have inadequate, air service – local point-to-point routes that connect communities of interest as never before. All these were hallmarks for success in the early, post-deregulation days of the regional airline industry. VLJs, won’t replace commercial airlines but they certainly will supplement such service, much to the benefit of business travelers now faced with hours- and days-long windshield time. For those weary road-warriors, these aircraft promise to make them far more productive and while the costs will be higher than a car, saving on hotels and time in traffic jams for about the same cost as a full-fare business seat, makes the case. Indeed, one of the last frontiers for improving productivity remains in the time it takes to get there from here and back. Related Story
VLJs offer everything from a hot new ride to a new paradigm in business transportation, which if you can believe the press coverage lately, will be a barn burner. Indeed, reporters have been all over the VLJ story wistfully hoping they fulfill the promise of relief from the current travel slog using commercial transport. Now all they have to do is retrain their corporate travel departments and, if that happens, watch out regionals! But that will take time.
Even so, if VLJ air taxi services do not take off , it will not be for lack of publicity. Major stories have appeared in the Wall Street Journal and the Christian Science Monitor. The Today Show did a piece in its lead hour on the launch of DayJet’s Florida services. In addition, business traveler columnists, including The New York Times’ Joe Sharkey, have featured the alternate air transportation services; Sharkey a number of times.
While this launch issue will be a baseline review of this emerging industry, in coming weeks, AviationToday’s VLJ Report will provide domestic and international coverage for OEMs, operators, pilots, regulators, MROs, analysts, consultants, and any other type of aviation insider with an interest in business jets in general and VLJs in particular.
The launch of this e-letter is timed to the NBAA convention with its first issue already emailed to subscribers.
With issue of AviationToday’s VLJ Report, Access Intelligence will duplicate the success of one of its oldest publications – Commuter/Regional Airline News (C/R News – now Regional Aviation News) – the first publication to focus on the burgeoning regional airline industry in the post-deregulation period. That publication is now in its 27th year. AviationToday’s VLJ Report joins the company’s stable of top aviation publications including Aircraft Value News, Air Safety Week, Avionics, Aviation Maintenance, Rotor & Wing, and Regional Aviation News.
As the founding editor of AviationToday’s VLJ Report, I already have several publication launches to my credit, including C/R News and its sister publication C/R News International. The opportunity to repeat those successes was too good to pass up, especially since my experience covering the evolution of the regional airline industry brings important insights into how the VLJ will be integrated in the national air transportation system. (See related story GAO Reins in VLJ Forecasts)
After nurturing C/R News to become the bible of its industry, I gained bylines in the top industry publications including some of our toughest competitors – Aviation Week and Space Technology, Airports, Jane’s Airports, Interavia, Air Transport World, Airline Business, and Flight International. In addition, I authored Time Flies…The History of SkyWest Airlines, which not only chronicled the 30-plus years of one of the nation’s most dynamic airlines, but provided an eyewitness account of the post-deregulation history of the regional airline industry. I have even spent time as an aviation pundit for major metropolitan dailies and national magazines and served as a guest speaker and analyst on aviation trends.
My checkered career also included managing U.S. communications for Embraer and, as a crisis management expert, represented ATR during its 1994 crash, flight restrictions and return to service. Finally, I also represented the Federal Aviation Administration specializing in the emerging communications, satellite and navigation branch as well as its regulation and certification branch.
My partner in crime is AviationToday Publisher/Editorial Director John Persinos who, with his decades of aviation experience, is about to launch a new video newscast on www.aviationtoday.com. John served as editor in chief of Rotor & Wing magazine. He earned his aviation stripes at the very-aviation-oriented Orlando (Fla.) Sentinel. He worked on several national magazines with significant implications for the VLJ market such as Inc and Venture; in addition to Campaigns & Elections. John also served as a press secretary to U.S. Rep. (now Senator) Byron Dorgan (D-ND).
John is the recipient of numerous journalism awards, including the Royal Aeronautical Society's prestigious Aerospace Journalist of the Year Award in 2001, in the category of "Best General Aviation Submission," for his work on Rotor & Wing. He has co-authored a book, Boston: In a Class by Itself. He also wrote a book on the media, The Confessions of an Ink-Stained Wretch.