It might take Vegas to re launch the taxi revolution
September 12:Biggin Hill has hosted the annual Very Light Jet conference over the last 5 years. At its inception this was a glamorous event, with dot com promise of the disruptive and dramatic entry of taxi jets into the business aviation world. Almost all the aspiring start up operators who presented then are now out of business, with only the best funded (like Blink) and the best operated (like Globair) still limping along. Hubris exposed, their VLJ podium has now been rebranded as ‘Business Aircraft Europe’. That allows many of their detractors to attend – that is, their more traditional jet charter competitors, who are hardly thriving but at least they didn’t announce a revolution in air travel on CNN.
Not all is dead or dying in the air taxi business however. A more recent start up in the US, Jet Suite, was founded by seasoned pros of the aviation world like Jet Blue founder David Neelemen. They operate the much praised Phenom 100 (with hindsight a better choice than Blink and Globair’s Mustangs). Jetsuite now operates across the US, Canada and Mexico, has tied up with Singapore Airlines to link low cost jets to first class airline passengers, and its most recent boost has come from the founder of Zappos (online shoes), Tony Hsieh. He says that his $7m investment is primarily an investment in the revitalization of downtown Las Vegas, which with JetSuite is now a short and hassle-free hop from Silicon Valley.