Air-Taxi Service Doubles Revenue Growth

Concord, Mass.-based Linear Air, an air-taxi service that features Eclipse 500 very light jets, increased its revenue growth 104 percent from the first half of 2009 to the first half of this year, the company has announced. "In 2009, we took our lumps along with everyone else, and more than many, given the bankruptcy and reorganization of Eclipse Aviation," said CEO William Herp (in photo). "But so far this year, we have seen growing demand for business day trips and leisure travel." The company, which has just acquired its fifth Eclipse 500, is expanding into metropolitan New York with aircraft, crew and sales staff now based at Westchester County Airport in White Plains, N.Y. Linear Air has also announced a program under which it will manage aircraft and generate charter income for Eclipse 500 owners. The program requires no upfront cash outlay and no minimum monthly management fee and involves no markup on maintenance or other expenses.