Originally published in The Star Ledger on June 18, 2008
By Joseph R. Perone
William Herp decided to start an air taxi service after one exasperating business trip traveling to Parsippany from Lexington, Mass.
So, three years ago, he started Linear Air, a Concord, Mass., air taxi service, according to his company’s website, linearair.com. The company will start serving Teterboro Airport July 1, he said yesterday.
Herp said three passengers on one of his small jets would pay roughly $8,400 to fly round trip to Charlottesville, Va., or about half what it would cost on a typical business jet. He said a commercial flight for three people would cost more than $4,000.
“Business travelers are looking for alternatives,” he said. “And there are a lot of places commercial airlines aren’t going to be serving because they are cutting flights.”
Linear Air offers point-to-point service with three-passenger Eclipse E500 business jets or eight-passenger Cessna Grand Caravan turboprops.
Those planes might be fine for some people, but there is still no easy way to get to Parsippany during rush hour.
