By CHARLES R. McCAULEY
The Birmingham News
Published on: 05/30/07

Imagine Air Jet Services LLC is expanding its on-demand air taxi service, ImagineAir, from Atlanta to the Birmingham area and throughout the Southeast.

The 2½-year-old company already has made a few stops in the Birmingham area and plans to base an airplane in the area as it builds its fleet, said Haroon Qureshi, sales and marketing director.

The regional air travel provider says it offers service "to replace a road trip." Founded in November 2004, ImagineAir operated at smaller airports around Atlanta until April 10, when it announced and expansion to community airports across the Southeast.

The air taxi service is meant to give travelers a way to avoid the hassles of big airports by flying out of local airports nonstop to a community airport closest to their destination.

ImagineAir does not have a contract with the Birmingham Airport Authority to provide services. Qureshi said the air carrier stops at fixed based operations or airports that are nearest to the customers' destinations. It uses a FBO at Birmingham International Airport and serves the Bessemer and Shelby County airports, he said.

ImagineAir has three Cirrus SR22-GTS aircraft in operation and is adding two more. Quershi said it has ordered a fleet of Eclipse 500 Very Light Jets that are expected to be delivered in early 2008. The Cirrus, which cruises at more than 200 mph, can carry three passengers 400 miles. Eclipse 500s can seat five and travel 1,300 miles nonstop.

"We're adding more planes as we go and we're going to put one there," he said. "As long they're booked, the plane will be flying out of there."

The company's first flight into Alabama was April 24, when it flew a customer from Charlotte to Montgomery one day and back to Charlotte the next day, he said.

The cost of that service from Birmingham to Charlotte and back is $1,203, which can be split by three passengers. A round-trip flying out of Birmingham this morning on U.S. Airways would cost a passenger $752, plus taxes on fees, according to that airline's Web site.

Prices can be viewed and flights booked at ImagineAir's online reservations system at flyimagineair.com. Clients are charged only for the miles flown. Last-minute flights cost the same as one reserved months in advance, he said.

E-mail: cmccauley@bhamnews.com

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.