• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

DayJet Attracts Top Industry Talent to Fill Senior Aviation Management Positions

Posted on: Monday, 14 November 2005, 09:00 CST

DayJet(TM) Corporation today announced the appointment of two industry veterans to key senior aviation management posts. Don Osmundson, a commercial airline veteran with 35 years of experience, most recently with Comair, joins DayJet as vice president of flight operations. Mark Reed takes up post as DayJet's vice president of maintenance operations, bringing more than 20 years of aviation maintenance experience, most recently from NetJets, where he was vice president of maintenance operations.

"Don Osmundson and Mark Reed bring to DayJet more than five decades of expertise from one of the nation's largest regional airlines and the industry's number one on-demand provider. Together their related skills, commitment, and imagination will play a critical role in shaping DayJet's culture, raising the bar of service excellence in delivering the world's first 'Per-Seat, On-Demand' jet service," said DayJet President and CEO Ed Iacobucci. "DayJet continues to attract the creativity and imagination of aviation experts around the country -- pioneers looking to create something completely new that will change the way Americans travel."

Decades of Experience Dedicated to Flight Safety & Performance

A veteran aviator with a distinguished career, Osmundson has spent more than 20 years as a pilot with airline, corporate and freight operators including Continental and Frontier and nearly a dozen years as vice president of flight operations for major and regional airlines including Continental and Comair.

As vice president of flight operations, Osmundson will be responsible for the overall safety and performance track record of DayJet's "Per-Seat, On-Demand" business jet services. In this capacity, Osmundson will be charged with recruiting and training flight crews, establishing and executing the highest flight and safety standards, and ensuring compliance with FAA Part 135 on-demand requirements across DayJet's rapid-growth air operations.

"I joined DayJet because its 'Per-Seat, On-Demand' service model is the first truly new idea in business transportation I have seen in decades," Osmundson said. "The intersection of innovative VLJ aircraft like the Eclipse 500 and DayJet's breakthrough real-time operations technology makes it possible to provide business professionals with a new regional travel option that is custom-made, on-demand, and offers superior travel efficiency."

As Comair's vice president of flight operations for eight years, Osmundson was responsible for 175 regional jets, 2,000 pilots and 200 support personnel. He played a vital role improving Comair's flight operations as it transitioned from turbo-prop to regional jet operations, championing new technology to speed flight operations, developing management tools to better guide the airline's growth, and instilling a strong training discipline.

After nine years as a Frontier Airlines line pilot, Osmundson joined Continental Airlines in 1987, where he was an instructor pilot, assistant chief pilot and chief pilot. In 1993 he became Continental's vice president of flight operations where he oversaw a corps of 4,000 pilots, 300 support personnel and managed forecasting, budgeting, pilot training, FAA compliance, and operational safety activities.

A Skilled Maintenance Manager of Fast-Growing Fleets

A seasoned manager with large-scale on-demand maintenance experience, Reed joins DayJet after eight years at Berkshire Hathaway's NetJets, Inc., the world's largest on-demand fractional jet operator. As NetJets' vice president of maintenance operations, Reed managed the maintenance of more than 375 aircraft across 14 separate aircraft categories, oversaw 320 employees and a $300 million budget as the company increased its fleet size an average of 15 percent annually over six years.

As vice president of maintenance, Reed will be responsible for the airworthiness of all aircraft in accordance with manufacturer guidelines and FAA regulations, while implementing DayJet's technology-supported policies and procedures to improve the efficiency and reliability of the DayJet fleet of Eclipse 500 very light jets (VLJ). He will recruit and train a team of maintenance professionals to manage aircraft scheduling compliance, engineering and powerplant planning programs for the expansive DayJet fleet.

"I couldn't be more excited about this new segment of business aviation," said Reed. "New technologies and forward thinking have gone into the development of the remarkable Eclipse 500 jet, and that same technology-centered creativity is at the very heart of the DayJet culture. With this new approach to aviation problem solving and close collaboration between DayJet, Eclipse Aviation and Pratt & Whitney Canada, we are developing a new maintenance program optimized for peak efficiency."

Prior to NetJets, Reed spent nine years at Gulfstream Aerospace in management roles that included field service and technical operations. A veteran with seven years of service in the United States Air Force, Reed held the position of flight engineer scheduler where he managed, trained, and evaluated 75 flight engineers at McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey.

About DayJet Corporation

DayJet Corporation is the pioneer of a new type of regional travel: "Per-Seat, On-Demand" business jet service tailored to the passenger's individual schedule and priced at a modest premium to full-fare coach airfares. Headquartered in Delray Beach, Florida, DayJet has developed this new industry's first real-time operations system. Combined with the speed and efficiency of new-generation small jet aircraft, DayJet has created the next major advance in regional business travel. For more information visit http://www.dayjet.com.

DayJet Corporation's proposed "Per-Seat, On-Demand" service and any statements made in connection therewith are subject to the receipt of operating authority from the Federal Aviation Administration and the Department of Transportation under Title 49 of United States Code.

DayJet(TM) and It's About Time(TM) are trademarks of DayJet Corporation. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are property of their respective owners.

Source: Business Wire

More News in this Category