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Dayjet Eclipse 500 VLJs According to AINonline, air-taxi operator DayJet grounded its entire Eclipse 500 very light jet fleet this afternoon due to “economic reasons.”

The exact reason for the grounding is still unknown. However, in May the company was forced to significantly scale back its operations after it failed to secure an expected round of funding. It’s not clear yet if DayJet plans to resume operations.

DayJet, which serves the southeastern U.S., was one of the first air-taxi services. When it launched, the company was touted as a potentially revolutionary force in the aviation industry. The shuttering of DayJet comes on the heels of a Congressional probe into alleged certification irregularities of the the Eclipse 500, the only aircraft model in the DayJet fleet.

Are we witnessing the death of the VLJ dream? Sound off in the comments and share your opinion.

5 Comments

A Guest said:

The best headline i have seen so far. Kudos. Only thing better is the spin.

Max said:

To quote Teddy Roosevelt: "It is not the critic who counts, nor the man who points out where the strong man stumbled, or where a doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man in the arena whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs, and who comes up short again and again, who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause. The man who at best knows the triumph of high achievement and who at worst, if he fails, fails while daring greatly, so that his place will never be with those cold timid souls who never knew victory or defeat."

A Nother Guest said:

"Are we witnessing the death of the VLJ dream?" That depends on how you define "VLJ dream". If you mean the two-headed VLJ porno Fantasy promoted at great expense by Eclipse & DayJet, then yes. Sub-million dollar jets with cruise missile engines being built by the thousands, and sub-dollar-per-mile operating costs leading to a new air transport system, were dead before they even got out of the gate. But the VLJ / Air-taxi reality is still a dream fulfilled for those with more sensible expectations. Cessna - with Embraer hot on its heels - has provided a sound product with lower costs than were otherwise available. SATSair has demonstrated that air-taxi works in a modern and comfortable aircraft, and that a propeller is not a major psychological obstacle that needs to be overcome with customers. What will be interesting to see is what happens with the single engine jets. Will purchase & operating costs make them viable for a "low cost" air-taxi model? Which of the candidates will actually make it to market? One thing we know is that as a result of Eclipse's certification shenanigans, no new manufacturer can expect to get rubber-stamped through ( or around ) *that* process any time soon. As regards Eclipse, well - the less that is said, the better. An epic failure at so many levels. Following the Inspector General's testimony from the past week, it'll be a wonder if anybody dares to climb in one of them ever again. My wild guess is that by 2015, Cessna, Embraer & Cirrus will be the players left standing in the VLJ market.