Inside the world of…

Short-haul flights can be time-consuming and expensive. Air taxi services, like Ed Iacobucci’s DayJet, are here to relieve your stress.

In a nutshell

DayJet takes off this summer with air taxi service between five communities in Florida: Boca Raton, Gainesville, Lakeland, Pensacola and Tallahassee. Future growth targets other southeastern cities.

The market

Eighty percent of DayJet’s revenue will come from business travelers who currently drive 100- to 500-mile trips in areas underserved by commercial airlines. The company employs “ant farmer” complexity scientists who use computer modeling, à la Sim City (a popular computer simulation game), to determine which potential markets would use DayJet.

Résumé

Ed Iacobucci, DayJet CEO, began his technology career at IBM designing network management software, then left in 1989 to co-found software company Citrix Systems. The germ of a business idea sprouted in 1999 when Iacobucci purchased a Bombardier Learjet 60 aircraft to help manage his own heavy travel schedule as chairman of Citrix. After retiring from Citrix in 2000, Iacobucci and his wife, Nancy, used the plane to develop a charter service. They founded DayJet in 2002.

Time is money

How does it work? Make a reservation online and specify your time frame: What’s the earliest time you’re willing to depart, and what’s the latest time you can arrive at your destination? Fares will range $1–4 per mile, depending on your window of availability.

The challenges

The underlying algorithms behind DayJet are immensely complicated. As the company grows, figuring out how to build interlocking flight plans around thousands of passengers’ schedules could prove to be a staggering task—as is calculating individual flight pricing, which must happen quickly online. Not to worry: Iacobucci considers computer sophistication to be DayJet’s market strength. The company spent years developing systems to handle these scenarios, and even has two programmers, affectionately known as “the rocket scientists” (though they’re not), working round-the-clock on its algorithmic puzzles.

The business model

Unlike traditionally scheduled airlines, DayJet loses no money if weather forces cancellation of a flight. And when a DayJet flight doesn’t have any customers, it won’t fly. Iacobucci says he’ll make money on two or more passengers per flight, while losing money on one.

The plane

DayJet is banking on the new Eclipse 500. It’s a Very Light Jet (VLJ), a hot new type of aircraft. The interior of the plane is about the size of a minivan, but the jet reaches speeds of 425 miles per hour, and it’s the most fuel-efficient jet currently in production. DayJet’s VLJs will accommodate two pilots and three passengers. But be sure to use the ground facilities before takeoff—there are no restrooms on board, because all flights are short. Pilots are hired for personality, as well as experience and skill, since passengers and pilots share close quarters.