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Light Jets Likely to Shake Up Air Travel

By Dan Schlossberg
ConsumerAffairs.com

March 23, 2006
The light-rail technology that transformed the face of ground-based transit systems may soon do the same to aviation. Relatively inexpensive microjets are multiplying more quickly than rabbits in the Australian outback.

They cost just over $1 million apiece -- about half the cost of the cheapest corporate jets -- and have enormous potential for corporate and air taxi use

The first very light jet, the Eclipse 500, is expected to win FAA certification soon and begin flying by year's end. The FAA forecasts 100 to be flying by the end of 2006 but up to 500 per year jockeying for airspace until 2017, when nearly 5,000 of the new planes will be in service.

Commercial aviation -- already reeling from high fuel costs, crowded skies, and terrorism concerns -- is virtually certain to experience an impact.

Very light jets will compete with established carriers for business travelers who buy first-class tickets or purchase full-fare tickets at the last minute. The expected wave of new planes will also pose logistical problems on the ground and in the sky, delaying more flights and making life more difficult for air traffic controllers. Improving traffic control technology is vital to avoid gridlock, according to many experts.

According to the FAA, commercial carriers lost a combined $10.3 billion last year on top of a $6 billion loss in 2004. Discount and regional carriers also lost money last year ($2.5 billion).

The high cost of fuel is expected to keep carriers in the red again this year. Even projections that indicate one billion U.S. air passengers by the year 2015 don't do much for the immediate bottom line.

On the other hand, the advent of light-jet technology will permit better usage of small airports that have short runways and few crowding problems. Commercial jets require longer runways than the Eclipse 500, which needs only 2,200 feet to land safely. Of the 19,800 landing facilities in the U.S., fewer than 500 are used by commercial carriers.

Light jets will also help consumers by providing direct air taxi service that charge passengers much the way automobile taxis do: by the mile (possibly $1 to $3 per mile). Fractional jet ownership, where companies and individuals pay for blocks of flying time, is another possible use for light-jet aircraft.

No one doubts that light jets will make a heavy mark in the industry: the FAA estimates that the twin-engine craft will log 9.6 million flight hours by the year 2017.

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