danman71188

There are a couple of new companies that have originated in the Southeast that are called air -taxis. The 2 companies that I have heard about are called ImagineAir and SATSair. I was wondering if anyone knew anything about this new type of transportation.

Bobmrg

Air taxis per se have been around since the dawn of aviation. They operate under Part 135 of the Federal Aviation Administration. I have not researched the companies you mention, but since the advent of the Very Light Jet there have been companies popping up offering air taxi services in jets (because many people unaccountably don't believe that any airplane with a propeller is safe).

You can be sure that any company operating under Part 135 hase been subjected to very close scrutiny by the FAA; jet pilots of any stripe must jump through more hoops than other pilots. The sole question in my mind, having been involved in the industry for over 40 years, is the economic viability of the VLJ...is the market really large enough to support the number of VLJ operators? Even those people who think that jets are the be-all and end-all in flying want potties and flight attendants.

Bottom line: It is not a new type of transportation, just a new business model.

danman71188

Thanks Bobmrg. I would be using something like this as a substitute for charter companies that we fly with. The Imagineair website says that they fly Cirrus SR-22 planes and they are equipped with parachutes and they are going to be getting the Very Light Jets that you were talking about. I know its not a new type of transportation all together like you were saying, I was just referring to it like that because as far as we know we haven't been able to fly with a company of this sort anytime recently.

Bobmrg

Forgive me for not researching before posting. ImagineAir is a Very Light Jet operator subject to the economic conditions I mentioned in my first post. SATSair, according to their web page, flies prop planes.

I spent a goodly part of my young life flying piston aircraft for air taxi operators, so I know whereof I speak. The airlines are sucking up pilots and flight instructors at a prodigious rate, which means that (tarring all with the same brush) most Part 135 piston pilots are relatively inexperienced, with emphasis on the relatively. It takes only 250 hours of flight time and an FAA checkride to get a commercial pilot certificate, and some airlines are accepting applicants with not much more than that. Fortunately, from your point of view, insurance companies have flight time requirements far in excess of FAA standards, and while a low-time pilot can enter an airline's training program, he or she will have a heck of a time meeting insurance company standards for an air taxi job.

Air Taxi regulations do not permit a single-engine airplane to fly in instrument meteorological conditions with a single pilot...this is the provision mostly shrugged off by air taxi operators. It was my experience that when travellers were told that weather conditions required a (more expensive) multiengine airplane, their interest in air taxi transportation disappeared...but there was always an operator down the field who said "Doesn't look that bad to me." Think Buddy Holly and Patsy Cline.

danman71188

I see what you're saying. Its good that the pilots of these companies are required to have quite a bit of experience. Also, Imagineair flys both the VLJ's and the Cirrus. I guess they would use the prop planes for closer flights and of course the Jets for longer ones. I think I might give it a try for some of our business meetings since it does seem to be quite a bit cheaper.

Bobmrg

The Cirrus is an excellent aircraft for the purpose. It is what the FAA designates as a Technically Advanced Aircraft, with a full glass-cockpit of electronic displays. In a move that I personally disagree with, to instruct in a Cirrus a fully certified flight instructor must attend a factory school and be designated (not by the FAA, but by the insurer) as a Cirrus instructor.

You are still going to find passengers who have misgivings about prop planes, parachute or no parachute, and the restriction against flying single-pilot, single-engine into instrument meteorological conditions still applies.

danman71188

I understand completely. Thank you for your help Bobmrg. I guess my only other concern is if it is worth it. They appear to be just a little bit more expensive than airlines, but then again I can schedule a flight whenever I want. I was playing around Imagineair's website earlier and they seem flexible with reservations. I am just curious as to if it is a rip off or not.

Bobmrg

It's not a ripoff if they have to deadhead back to home base...an airliner can always count on some revenue on every leg. Air taxi (really charter) from Point A to Point B, dropping the pax off at point B and flying home empty is a high overhead operation.

There have been some dream-world startups based on the premise that airplanes are just like taxis and can pick up a passenger at any airport, but none have survived yet.