CONCORD, Mass.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Linear Air, the premier air-taxi service that is revolutionizing personal air transportation, has announced the anticipated first flight of their Eclipse 500 Very Light Jet (VLJ) for mid-September. This flight will mark the first customer trip for a VLJ in the Northeast by the Concord, MA based air-taxi service, headed by President and CEO Bill Herp.
The Eclipse 500, manufactured by Albuquerque, New Mexico based Eclipse Aviation Corporation, is the first of a new class of aircraft called Very Light Jets, or VLJ’s. The cutting edge technology on board this revolutionary aircraft cuts the cost of personal jet travel in half, making private air travel accessible to millions more than currently in existence. The Eclipse 500 cruises at over 400 miles per hour, accommodates 4 passengers with 2 pilots, and has a range of over 1,000 miles.
By adding this jet to their fleet, Linear Air strives to make private jet travel more accessible to a wide-range of businesspeople, with prices not far above commercial airlines’ first-class or last- minute fares. Over the next two years, Linear Air’s VLJ fleet will grow to 30, allowing the company to expand its existing propjet service within point-to-point 500-mile regional networks around major metropolitan areas.
“We could not be more excited to be the first air-taxi service in the Northeast to offer service on this revolutionary jet,” says Bill Herp, President and CEO of Linear Air. “The fact is, this VLJ and the additional fleet we’ve ordered will make a seamless transition into our current business model allowing customers immediate access to cutting-edge aviation.”
Currently, Linear Air operates the largest on-demand fleet of executive Cessna Grand Caravan propjets in the U.S. With the addition of this first VLJ and another three by the end of the year for a total of four in 2007, Linear Air will continue to provide customers the ability to set a custom schedule with attractive fares, convenience and flexibility, now with additional speed and efficiency – a “car service with wings” type experience.
Linear Air is planning a launch event with its first customer aboard the VLJ later this month. Local dignitaries, officials from the Massachusetts Port Authority and Hanscom Field Airport (a Linear Air base of operations), will join Herp to celebrate this historic occasion.
About Linear Air
Linear Air, based in Concord, MA, is a premier air-taxi service that is transforming the air travel industry. Linear Air provides short-hop personal air travel to executives and families with outstanding customer service, flexibility and convenience at attractive fares.Linear Air has aircraft based at Hanscom Field outside Boston, MA, Westchester County Airport in White Plains, NY, Manassas Regional Airport in Manassas, VA and seasonally in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The company provides on-demand air taxi service to more than 500 cities in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Canada and Caribbean. On summer weekends, the company offers per- seat scheduled charter service to Nantucket from Hanscom Field outside Boston and Teterboro Airport outside New York City, and from the Manassas Regional Airport in Manassas, VA near DC to the Dare County Regional Airport in Manteo, NC in the Carolina Outer Banks.
Linear Air maintains a Gold safety rating from ARG/US, the leading independent safety auditor in the aviation industry. For more information about Linear Air or to book a flight, please visit www.linearair.com or call 781-860-9696 or 1-877-2-LINEAR.
