By KATHLEEN DAYTON
Charleston Regional Business Journal
Published on: 04/19/07
A new air taxi service has begun serving Charleston area airports with on-demand service to community airports across the Southeast.
ImagineAir, based in Lawrenceville, Ga., operates Cirrus SR22-GTS aircraft, which seat three passengers and cruise at more than 200 miles per hour. The Cirrus is also equipped with a parachute. ImagineAir will expand its fleet in 2008 to include Eclipse 500 very light jets, which seat five passengers and can fly 1,300 miles nonstop.
The Cirrus aircraft are used for short hops while the Eclipse jets can fly longer hauls, said ImagineAir spokesman Haroon Qureshi.
"We can get you up to Montreal or down to Belize," Qureshi said. "People are catching the buzz about air taxis."
ImagineAir is already making regular trips between Augusta, Ga., and Kiawah Island for one customer, Qureshi said. The company will serve all the Lowcountry's airports, including Charleston International.
"You just drive to the terminal, walk right up, hop on the plane, and 15 minutes later, you're in the air," Qureshi said. "And we're not going to take your toothpaste."
Trips can be booked by phone or online on the company's Web site. Price quotes received online are guaranteed and discounts are available for ImagineAir flight club members. There are no added costs for last-minute flights or for same-day travel. A one-way trip from Augusta, Ga., to Kiawah Island for an ImagineAir flight club member and two other passengers would cost a total of $447.
The on-demand air taxi service is geared toward business travelers who want to cut out long road trips, spend more time with their families or visit several destinations in a day. It is also designed for leisure travelers who want to spend more time at their destination.
"We want to change the way people think about travel," said Ben Hamilton, president of ImagineAir. "By the time you add up the expense of hotels, meals and lost productivity associated with most business travel, it makes good financial sense to take advantage of ImagineAir's affordable, efficient air service."
The Southeast is a good market for air taxis, Qureshi said, because there are less shuttle services available than in the North and cities are farther apart. Air taxis can also land at smaller airports that can't accommodate larger jets.
"People take advantage of our service to get to hard-to-reach places," he said. "In the South, there are hundreds of under-utilized airports. Right now, 90 percent of the population travels out of 20 airports, but 80 percent of the population lives within 20 miles of a regional airport."
ImagineAir currently flies mostly south of Washington, D.C., and as far west as St. Louis. The company plans to serve the entire East Coast by next year as well as Texas and the Caribbean.
Air taxi service has been growing and gaining in popularity following increased security measures at the nation's airports as well as with the Federal Aviation Administration's recent approval of very light jets.
Greenville-based SATSAir, which also serves the Lowcountry with Cirrus SR22 aircraft, recently expanded service to Florida and ordered an additional fleet of 100 aircraft worth $45 million.
ImagineAir and Let your Imagination Fly are trademarks of Imagine Air Jet Services, LLC. All other trademarks are registered trademarks are property of their respective owners.
