Story ID: 
New Association Supports Air-taxi Endeavors
By: AIN Staff
Caption: The Air Taxi Association was officially launched today as a way to bring together companies that operate principally VLJs on a per-seat, on-demand basis, t
Word Count: 148
The Air Taxi Association was officially launched today as a way to bring together companies that operate principally VLJs on a per-seat, on-demand basis, though at least one operator is using piston-driven Cirrus SR22s for the job. The eight founding members include familiar names such as budding Eclipse 500 operator DayJet, as well as some lesser-known start-ups such as Atlanta’s Imagine Air and Switzerland’s Jetbird. Joe Leader, who wrote a Ph.D. dissertation on the subject of air taxis, will serve as president of the group, while DayJet’s Bruce Holmes (formerly with NASA) will serve as the group’s chairman. According to its Web site, the association will also be producing an air-taxi ratings guide based on the flight experience of each company’s customers, though it will “not engage in any form of lobbying or government regulatory work.”