Blink Cofounders Peter Leiman and Cameron Ogden set June 12 to launch its new air taxi service which uses the Cessna Mustang, with 45 on order, offering flights at half the price of other private jets but 25 percent more than regular business-class airline tickets. Related Story The new carrier, using the DayJet per-seat, on-demand business model, was recently featured in the recent Forbes focus on aviation which said Blink, which its capitalized with a $30 million investment, is marketing itself as “a London taxi on wings.” As with DayJet it trades total flexibility for eliminating the dead-head costs charged by traditional charter models. While the cost is higher than scheduled services, it is banking, as is DayJet, on the increased convenience, efficiency and productivity its service represents to its customers including the requirements for an overnight stay and the hassle factor of commercial service and security screening.
Part of its plan is to offer companies the ability to book aircraft as regular corporate shuttles, providing a predictable, stead income stream for what it says could be a board room in the sky that could otherwise be too cost prohibitive without the very light jet where capital costs are 15 percent less and operating costs 30 percent lower, according to Forbes.
"We saw the power of the jets as a disruptive technology. We believe it had an ability to change the way people travel," Leiman told the magazine.
Noting that rising travel costs is already dampening business travel demand, Forbes cited British Airways’ analysis that short-haul business travel in declining, just the market that Blink and DayJet hope to attract. It also cited International Air Transportation Association figures that show sharp declines in both business and first-class bookings.