JetDuluth takes off with 'premium' charter air service

Business travelers have another air option with the region’s second jet charter service.

A silent group of area investors has financed the launch of Jet Duluth. Based at Duluth International Airport, the carrier was scheduled to begin service April 7 with a single aircraft, a Cessna Citation II.

Captain Matt Ferrari, director of operations, wouldn’t disclose the identity of Jet Duluth’s backers, nor their financial commitment. But he estimated the airplane’s value alone at $2 million.

“This is a very substantial investment,” he said.

Jet Duluth will go head-to-head with Grand Rapids-based Northern Air Transport, which flies two newer Cessna Citation CJs, and a turbo-prop. Northern Air bases one of its jets in St. Paul.

Jet Duluth is operating from the hangar it built early this year on land leased from the airport authority. The company will add aircraft and personnel as business volume warrants, Ferrari said.

“We hope to become the choice of local corporations for travel. We want to be their travel department,” he said. In late March, several companies were “very close” to making commitments, he said.

Jet Duluth also enters a market served by two scheduled carriers — Northwest and American Eagle — jet charter competitors in Eau Claire and prop charter operations in Eveleth and Rice Lake.

Ferrari said his target is a narrow segment of air travelers, some using scheduled carriers, charter services, or both.

“We’re not selling seats, but a block of time on a whole airplane,” he said.

The jet service can accommodate up to eight passengers, and the plane’s 1,500-mile, non-stop range reaches virtually any commercial or general aviation airport in the United States, Canada and northern Mexico.

It also offers premium on-board service, including laptop computer ports, a movie screen, DVD and CD players, a satellite radio system, even an aircraft radio channel that allows passengers to listen to crew communications.

“We’re like a car service, versus a cab or bus,” he said. “Our mission is to be a tool for your business trip, offering secure meeting space en route, or a tailored mode of travel for leisure.”

Mike Gorham, Northern Air’s president, said he doesn’t feel threatened by Jet Duluth. “Our Citations are newer and more expensive, but our operating costs are lower. We’re going to be very competitive with their costs. To some extent, there’s a rising tide that can lift all boats. There’s plenty of business for both of us.”

As with everything else in aviation, the service is expensive. But it can compare favorably with scheduled fares for a party of three or more, depending on both frequency and the destination. Ferrari said companies should weigh the cost against time savings, and the ability to make multiple stops that hub-and-spoke system scheduled carriers can’t provide.

Northern Air offers a rate to casual business travelers that includes a daily rate plus a per-mile charge and all landing fees.

Frequent flying customers willing to pay an upfront $25,000 “reservation” charge, get a 10 percent discount on the daily rate that translates to substantial savings beyond about 75,000 miles, Gorham said.

At Jet Duluth, price is a function of the destination, time of day and week, congestion at the destination airport, the customer’s annual commitment of flying hours and even climate, which affects fuel consumption.

To help set its rates, Jet Duluth subscribes to Navpak, a software program that guides operational decisions. It’s similar to the maintenance tracking software that Duluth-based Sinex Aviation Technologies has developed for scheduled carriers, he said.

Jet Duluth has two pilots and a mechanic. Ferrari flew Boeing 727s for Champion, a domestic and international charters operator in the Twin Cities. A second pilot flew first for TWA, then for its new owner American Airlines before joining the charter service.

Both Ferrari and James Imberg, Jet Duluth’s third employee, also are FAA-certified mechanics. The pair worked at Northwest Airline’s airframe maintenance base in Duluth.

Is the Duluth/Superior/Iron Range market big enough to support another jet charters?

“We did our homework on this deal,” Ferrari said. “We think Duluth is overlooked, but it’s on our radar.”