SE Reg'l Maintenance Facility to Service DayJet Fleet

DayJet and the Gainesville Regional Airport have announced that DayJet's first Southeast DayBase and maintenance facility will be located in Gainesville, Florida - in the center of the company's launch region. The Gainesville Regional Airport's role as a DayBase complements its previously announced status as one of the first five DayPorts in DayJet's "Per-Seat, On-Demand" jet service network.

The Gainesville DayBase will be home of DayJet's aircraft fleet, flight operations and maintenance personnel serving North Florida. DayJet pilots and aircraft will return home to the Gainesville DayBase each day, allowing for proactive daily light maintenance on DayJet's fleet of Eclipse 500 very light jet (VLJ) aircraft. The company will operate a second DayBase at a location to be named later.

Gainesville Regional Airport will also serve as DayJet's Southeast Regional Maintenance Facility where all heavy aircraft maintenance and inspections will occur, including work on the Eclipse 500's Pratt & Whitney Canada PW610F engines. These "heavy check" maintenance operations will be performed at Eclipse Aviation's Gainesville Factory Service Center - a new 61,000 square foot facility currently under construction and scheduled for completion in early 2007.

"Gainesville Regional Airport is an ideal location for our first DayBase and plays a critical role in providing reliable 'Per-Seat, On-Demand' jet service to Florida and the entire southeast region," said Mark Reed, DayJet vice president of maintenance operations.

"Historically, on-demand operators have no control over where aircraft will be at the end of the day, making proactive daily maintenance all but impossible," Reed continued. "The combination of our real-time operations system, high employee quality-of-life philosophy and innovative DayBase structure make DayJet the first on-demand operator to create a maintenance program where every aircraft receives proactive light maintenance every single day."

At the end of each service day, DayJet pilots and aircraft will return to their assigned DayBase. Upon arrival, each flight crew will debrief the maintenance team on the status of the aircraft and any minor systems that may need to be adjusted. Overnight proactive light maintenance will be performed daily: the aircraft is cleaned, tires checked, brakes inspected and consumables replaced. The aircraft will be returned into service by the next morning shift.

DayJet's proprietary optimization technology plays a critical role in its maintenance strategy, including optimal routing of aircraft from DayBases to the Southeast Regional Maintenance Facility where "heavy check" scheduled service is performed. With innovative "smoothing algorithms" DayJet's real-time operations system determines which aircraft need scheduled service and optimizes fleet availability, balancing passenger demand with maintenance requirements.

"Aircraft and passengers are not the only beneficiaries of DayJet's innovative service model," explained Don Osmundson, DayJet vice president of flight operations. "Another breakthrough benefit of this structure is improved pilot quality of life, which allows DayJet pilots to return to their home DayBase every night. For professional pilots, this means that only weather or mechanical disruptions should keep them away from home base overnight - they will not be scheduled for shifts that take them from city to city for days. Improving pilot quality-of-life means happier employees, safer operating conditions and the highest customer service."

When fully operational, the Gainesville DayBase will be staffed by approximately 60 DayJet employees, while Eclipse aviation will hire up to 160 employees at its Gainesville facility. In addition to DayJet's direct economic impact via fuel, rent and employee payroll, regional travelers coming to Gainesville and Alachua County will consume related goods and services like car rentals, taxis and food. Taken together, these activities are projected to generate an average annual economic impact of more than $26 million for the Gainesville community in the first three years of DayJet operation.

"DayJet will not only provide a fast, affordable and direct mode of transportation linking Gainesville to other important Southeast cities, but it also serves as a powerful engine for economic growth," said Gainesville Regional Airport CEO Rick Crider. "The high-skill, high-wage jobs DayJet brings to East Gainesville are a good fit for our tech-savvy and educationally-rich community. We hope that this is just the first of many new business activities that will be attracted to East Gainesville when DayJet service begins. As DayJet service develops, the area around the Gainesville Regional Airport will become an increasingly attractive place for new businesses--particularly those high-tech and biotech businesses that rely on air transportation for their connection to the world."

FMI: www.dayjet.com, www.flygainesville.com