I didn't see this news till today (I've had some other things on my mind, yet they were somehow, in a way, related). I am surprised it took me more than a month to catch it. I tried to get work at this company. They required more pilots, software engineers and very experienced aviation maintenance and operations managers. I was not suitable for that. However, there was a tech writing position there. Of course, I'd be looking for a job right now (as I am, anyways) in Boca Raton. Better to be hunting with Orlando metro area as my base than Boca Raton.
The founder of DayJet is a former Microsoft exec who also founded Citrix Systems. Ed Iacobucci, will not be any worse for the wear, but there are a lot of people who were only recently hired to put this thing into action.The economy, though, may have only some part in it. Still, if you think things will get better, and not get worse before they get better, I suspect this is one piece of evidence to the contrary. Bravery in business is never said to be with much thanks until the truly hard part is over with. And, the hard part basically having only started in Oct. 2007, this one didn't get a chance to hit a stride.
I am really sad to see it go. The reality of a withdrawn economy is a tough thing to face, though. When you must get financing to survive, the noose is already there, it's just a question of whether anyone wants to replace it with a business necktie. In this climate, this business needed what you could call "true believer" money, or the investment of those who could believe in the concept succeeding someday, just not in the next five years seeing any of that money. I suppose much of that was already put into the company, and one can only hedge up a risky and cost-intense business for so long.
What a really sad thing to see. This was one of those truly nerd-intriguing companies, mixing originality, computer technology, travel and leading edge jets. What could be more on the edge of business and an industry changer unless they also drove you to your house or hotel in a Formula One car? But I am getting a little punchy about it.
A SNIPPET of a press release provided on Sept. 19, 2008:
Global Financial Crisis Grounds World’s First “Per-Seat, On-Demand” Jet Service
DayJet launched the world’s first “Per-Seat, On-Demand” jet service in October 2007 amidst much anticipation. At this time, DayJet was among the best capitalized pre-operational air carriers in U.S. history and the first 100% all-digital operator.
Since service launch, DayJet has built a growing membership base of more than 2,400 regional travelers. The company has flown over 9,000 segments totaling more than one million miles – all while achieving an industry-leading 95% on-time performance record and a 93% customer satisfaction rating. DayJet also grew its “Per-Seat, On-Demand” service network from five initial destinations to more than 60 communities across the Southeast – filling in the regional transportation gaps left from the airline’s drastic service reductions (especially to small and medium-sized communities).
It was a good go, and expanded rather impressively. On borrowed or invested money, of course, seeing as this is the kind of operation that cannot do well in bad economic times. I hope to see this idea and this company up and running again. Maybe not soon, but soon enough.
The family of Business Journal publications ran the following (taken from Phoenix B. J. site):
I can't help wondering if that receptionist at the FAU Research Park got canned or told off for saying anything. It was an odd (read: senseless and tactless) move by a journalist to cite and name the person in such a way, unless it was agreed to between her and her bosses. Because, in the real world, receptionists do not speak for companies and who their clients are to the press. The author ought to know that. I just hope he did, and she didn't catch ten piles of grief for talking to the journalist. Else, that guy belongs writing for the Inquirer (HQ is there in Boca)By press time, no federal bankruptcy filings were found for DayJet. Through company e-mail, a spokeswoman said DayJet could not comment beyond the Sept. 19 press release and she was “officially no longer with DayJet.” Other attempts for comment were unsuccessful; a Business Journal photographer, however, observed a person inside DayJet’s administrative offices at the Florida Atlantic University Research Park, where the company’s sign still adorned the building. The building’s landlord declined to discuss DayJet’s status. A receptionist at Avitat Boca Raton, the Boca Raton Airport facility where DayJet housed some planes, said DayJet was no longer a tenant.
Even before the company’s exit, signs of trouble were emerging. In May, the airline said it was pushing back expansion plans for 2008 and reducing staff by 39 percent.
DayJet was impacted by the larger economic downturn, said Daniel Petree, dean of the College of Business at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach.
“They launched about the time we were going into a softening of the business cycle, and probably their ideal business traveler was under some pressure to pull back on the amount of travel they do,” he said, but noted there wasn’t one overriding factor for the failure.
- Jon
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