July 22, 2024
Florida-based VeriJet, which flew its first flight in October, is now expanding to California. It is also offering its first jet card. The Cirrus SF50 Vision Jet operator officially opens for business in the Golden State with a static display at Hawthorne Airport this Friday. An event in Napa follows.
The California service area offering one-way pricing – no repositioning fees – is within 500 nautical miles of Santa Maria Airport (SMX). Its Florida one-way rate service area extends 600 nautical miles from Orlando International Airport (MCO).
Also new will be VeriJet’s first jet card offering. The company already offered a fixed-hourly rate of $3,000 with a 60-minute minimum. However, customers had to pay for flights on a trip-by-trip basis. With its jet card, they won’t have to worry about last-minute wires or credit card fees.
The new jet card program is as available. That means availability isn’t guaranteed. However, members get favorable booking and cancelation terms.
There are no peak days with all three levels, and there is no restriction on how far in advance you can book flights, says Richard Kane, founder and CEO. The program is non-refundable.
VeriJet also offers a seven-year lease option with guaranteed monthly payments and access to its growing fleet. Kane says much of its early growth is being fueled by customers buying aircraft and putting them into the fleet.
The Vision Jet is a very light jet that retails for around $3 million. It has up to 28 different configurations for three to five passengers and the option of one or two pilots. The airplane has gained notoriety for having both the Cirrus-trademark emergency parachute and a state-of-the-art safe-return button. The latter enables passengers to land the plane with a touch of a button should a single pilot become incapacitated.
The aircraft doesn’t have a lavatory, but that speaks to the fact that its ideal mission is short flights. Its cruising speed is about 350 miles per hour. The cabin is roomy, with oversize windows, and is akin to riding in an SUV. Its flexible configuration can be changed during a stop and an FBO. By removing seats, you can add baggage capacity. That makes it ideal for skiing, fishing, and hunting trips, as well as business meetings where you need to bring products or presentations that can’t be checked or won’t fit in the overhead bin.
A marketing brochure pegs a flight from Santa Monica Airport to Las Vegas at 51 minutes. Founders Club members would pay $2,675, including FET. To San Francisco is timed at 70 minutes, while Aspen would run 142 minutes, according to VeriJet.
The company is also rolling out exclusive experiences for members of its top-tier Founders Card. The trips will include board members, including Erik Lindberg, grandson of Charles Lindberg. Itineraries feature U.S. National Parks, Northern Lights, and delivery flights to Europe. Kane, himself, holds seven world speed records.
To date, VeriJet has nine SF50s on certificate and 10 in the pipeline. Another eight are expected to join the fleet by the first quarter of 2022.
More information about its event schedule is available at events@verijet.com.
As of June, SEC filings show VeriJet raised $12.6 million. Plans call for expansion into the Northeast U.S. and to Europe. Kane also serves as Chairman and CTO of Coastal Aviation Technologies, a provider of scheduling optimization software for Part 135 charter operators.
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