day jet

Ever since the The Jetsons, the powers that be have been promising us flying cars. Now, for better or worse, the closest thing may be at hand. And it's a mixed blessing that's sure to draw the ire of environmentalists, while making the get-me-there-fast-crowd soar with pleasure.

Introducing Day Jet, a company that calls itself the first on-demand jet service. Flying ultra small but luxurious Eclipse 500 aircraft that fly 425 MPH, the three-seater crafts are meant for the business traveller on mid-range, regional hops. According to the DayJet website, the "interior is about the size of a mini-van, with the comfort and design of a luxury auto…without the rush hour traffic".

Also according to the website, it's soft on the environment, too. It extolls the low noise emissions of the plane, and something called a low smoke number (SN) "of less than five, that's 10 times less than the regulatory limit."

Noticably missing from the website is any reference to the carbon footprint of taking these planes versus taking commercial jetliners, an issue that is likely to be raised within the context of global warming, high energy prices, etc.

DayJets are currently running in Florida, with expansion soon to other regions on tap.




DALLAS, Sept. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- This holiday season the gift is truly in the giving. Bombardier Flexjet, the fractional business jet ownership program of Bombardier Aerospace, and Jet Solutions LLC, the air carrier operating Flexjet 25 flights under FAA Part 135, are announcing a special edition Flexjet 25 jet card. For each Flexjet 25 jet card sold between September 15 and December 15, 2007 one hour of flight on a Bombardier aircraft will be donated to Angel Flight South Central.

Angel Flight South Central offers free air transportation for medical and humanitarian purposes. Aiming to remove the transportation burden for patients in need, Angel Flight South Central provides flight to specialized health care facilities or distant destinations across the country due to family, community or national crisis.

"This is a special partnership. Angel Flight South Central relies on the exact service that Flexjet 25 provides -- we exist to get patients to destinations in a safe and efficient manner, and doing that well, every time, is critical. We've had the pleasure of working with Flexjet for several years, and to have this increased level of commitment to our program is an honor," remarked Jerry Dorre, Executive Director, Angel Flight South Central.

Each jet card will be presented in a custom made Smythson of Bond Street for Flexjet 25 leather card case, giving special designation to this extraordinary gift. Purchasers of the jet card can select the luxurious card case in either red or green, and literature explaining the gift of airtime to Angel Flight South Central will accompany each purchase.

The Flexjet 25 jet card program made its debut last year. It is the first in the jet card category to offer the most flexible, value-based pricing structure, which allows us to provide the highest level of customer service, for which the Flexjet brand is known. This year, it is with great pleasure that Flexjet and Jet Solutions LLC commit to Angel Flight South Central. We believe our clients will see the value in giving back and we hope that we can make a true impact by offering our services to some very deserving families," remarked Sylvain Levesque, Vice-President, marketing, Flexjet.

The Flexjet 25 jet card was introduced in 2006, demonstrating a commitment to provide the ultimate flexibility for customers. The Flexjet 25 jet card offers customers the greatest choice, flexibility and benefits amongst jet cards. Card owners have access to Bombardier's elite aircraft, and can choose from four different price levels for each aircraft based on a preset number of travel days per year -- ranging from an unrestricted 365-day jet card to a 355-day, 325-day or 275-day jet card.



TEHRAN (AFP) ― Iran unveiled on Thursday a new home-grown fighter jet amid growing tensions with the United States, saying the plane could "blind the eyes" of its enemies.

State television showed pictures of two "Saegheh" (Thunder) fighters -- said by Iran to be similar to the American F-18 -- taking off in tandem and then landing for a ceremony at Tehran's Mehrabad airport.

"This fighter plane has been researched, designed and built with indigenous means and this new generation of fighter plane is entering industrial production," Defence Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar said, according to the state-run IRNA news agency.

"Our forces like a thunderbolt will blind the eyes of the enemies of our land," he added. "And in the battlefield of defending our land, just like a thunderbolt, they will set ablaze the enemies' camp."

The short clips on state television showed the planes painted in blue and yellow and with the double tail-fins characteristic of the F-18. The legend "Air Force" was written in Latin letters in italics on the side.

Najjar said the jets would stage another fly-past on Saturday at the annual military parade in Tehran marking the start of the week commemorating Iran's 1980-1988 war with Iraq known as the "sacred defence".

Iran's showing off of the planes comes a day after a top air force commander said the military has drawn up a plan under which its fighters could bomb Israel if the Jewish state launched an attack on Iran.

The United States and its ally Israel have never ruled out using military strikes to punish Iran for its defiance in the nuclear standoff, and US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said on Sunday that "all options are on the table."

The Iranian air force has been hit hard by the US trade embargo, which means the country must work intensely to find spare parts to keep its fleet in the air.

Many of Iran's planes are of American origin and were bought in a massive arms-buying spree by the pro-US shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who was ousted by the Islamic revolution in 1979.

Some Western military experts have said the Saegheh is a derivative of the US F-5, a plane whose design dates back to the 1960s and was bought by the shah.

In August, it showed off for the first time another home-built jet, called "Azarakhsh".
DayJet? is based on one simple principle: Your time is valuable.
All of it.

You have someplace important to be � and it's not sitting in traffic, waiting at an airport, or spending another night away from home. We know what regional business travel is like. That's why we set out to change it with the world's first per-seat, on-demand jet service.

DayJet gives you back control of your work, travel, and personal time. When you DayJet, you tell us when to fly, based on your schedule, not ours. You pay only for the seat(s) you need. You travel direct to more places regionally for business and still