Ultimate Jet

Last updated

Ultimate Jet
Ultimate Air Shuttle Logo.svg
IATA ICAO Call sign
UEUJCULTIMATE
Founded2009;16 years ago (2009)
Commenced operationsJuly 2009 (2009-07) [1]
Ceased operationsApril 2025 [2]
Fleet size8
Parent company Ultimate Jet
Headquarters North Canton, Ohio, U.S.
Website www.flyuj.com

Ultimate Jet, formerly Ultimate Jet Charters, was a private jet charter airline based in North Canton, Ohio, United States. [3] It was the operating name of Ultimate Jetcharters LLC, [4] an FAR Part 135 air charter carrier. Ultimate Jet operated charter passenger flights with their fleet of Citation X and Embraer ERJ135 aircraft. Ultimate Jet previously operated public charter flights on a published schedule, serving key business routes from Cincinnati Municipal Lunken Airport that were reduced by Delta Air Lines and Comair. The airline suspended scheduled service operations from late 2020 to mid 2021 and again from December 16, 2021, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on business travel. [5]

Contents

History

Ultimate Air Shuttle Dornier 328Jet at the Purdue University Airport, next to a FedEx Boeing 727 Ultimate Air Shuttle Dornier 328Jet.JPG
Ultimate Air Shuttle Dornier 328Jet at the Purdue University Airport, next to a FedEx Boeing 727

Ultimate Air Shuttle started operations in 2009 shortly after the merger of Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines in an attempt to serve destinations on a time driven basis. The airline launched with flights to New York and soon expanded to Chicago in 2010. In 2012, Detroit and Washington, D.C., were added as destinations, but the Detroit route was discontinued later that year, and the Washington, D.C. route was switched to Charlotte in 2013. [6] [7]

On May 12, 2015, Ultimate Air Shuttle announced that it would start flying seasonal service to Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts; Westhampton Beach, New York; and from Morristown, New Jersey. [8] After a few months of service, the Westhampton Beach destination was cancelled due to a lack of demand.

The airline has expressed interest in future markets, such as Indianapolis, Memphis, and Nashville; however, they have yet to actually start. In October 2015, Ultimate began service to Cleveland, while additionally announcing that it would add flights to Chicago Executive Airport beginning in 2016. Also, flights to DeKalb-Peachtree Airport (Atlanta) and Nashville International Airport were indicated as the next cities with service to be added in the coming year. [9]

In May 2016, Ultimate Air Shuttle announced it would move its CVG flights to LUK in order to add an extra daily flight to Chicago-MDW and New York-MMU; however, planned flights to TEB have been delayed.

In January 2017, Ultimate Air Shuttle announced that it plans to launch flights from Lunken to DeKalb-Peachtree Airport (Atlanta).

Parent company Ultimate Jetcharters formerly operated flights for OneJet until that company suspended operations in August 2018; OneJet had attempted to acquire Ultimate Jetcharters and Ultimate Air Shuttle, but the deal fell through and Ultimate terminated the flights. [4] Ultimate Jetcharters later operated flights for Taos Air in the winter of 2018–2019, [10] [11] but Taos Air changed operators for the 2019–2020 winter season. [12]

In mid 2020, Ultimate Air Shuttle suspended scheduled service due to travel restrictions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Service was briefly resumed in the summer, but was suspended again from September until an unspecified date in early 2021 because business travel had not recovered adequately. [5] Operations were restored in the second half of 2021, but the airline announced it would suspend flights again from December 16 into 2022 due to the continuing effects that the pandemic had on business travel. [7]

In late 2022, Ultimate Jetcharters was subcontracted to fly 48 migrants from Florida to Martha's Vineyard, a sanctuary city where the migrants were told work was waiting for them. But, upon arrival, no jobs were available. [13] On October 16, 2023, Ultimate Air Shuttle filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The company is expected to remain operating and keep flying during the bankruptcy procedure. [14]

Destinations

Ultimate Air Shuttle suspended all scheduled shuttle services on December 16, 2021, due to the continued effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and restrictions on business travel. They continued to operate chartered flights. [15]

Ultimate Air Shuttle provided service to the following locations: [16] [17]

CityAirportIATA CodeDestinationsNotes
Flag of Georgia (U.S. state).svg Georgia
Atlanta DeKalb–Peachtree Airport PDKCharlotte (Suspended)
Cincinnati (Suspended)
Cleveland (Suspended)
Flag of Ohio.svg Ohio
Cincinnati Cincinnati Municipal Lunken Airport LUKAtlanta-Peachtree (Suspended)
Charlotte (Suspended)
Cleveland (Suspended)
Nashville (Suspended)
Focus City
Cleveland Cleveland Burke Lakefront Airport BKLAtlanta-Peachtree (Suspended)
Cincinnati (Suspended)
Nashville (Suspended)
Flag of North Carolina.svg North Carolina
Charlotte Charlotte Douglas International Airport CLTAtlanta-Peachtree (Suspended)
Cincinnati (Suspended)
Flag of Tennessee.svg Tennessee
Nashville Nashville International Airport BNACincinnati (Suspended)
Cleveland (Suspended)

Former destinations

CityAirportIATA CodeDestinationsNotes
Flag of California.svg California
Carlsbad McClellan-Palomar Airport CLDLos AngelesBranded as BizAir Shuttle
Los Angeles Los Angeles International Airport LAXCarlsbadBranded as BizAir Shuttle
Flag of Illinois.svg Illinois
Chicago Chicago Midway International Airport MDWCincinnatiService was discontinuted
Flag of Indiana.svg Indiana
Columbus Columbus Municipal Airport BAKYpsilanti (MI)
Flag of Kentucky.svg Kentucky
Hebron Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport CVGMorristown
Flag of Massachusetts.svg Massachusetts
Martha's Vineyard Martha's Vineyard Airport MVYMorristown (seasonal)
Nantucket Nantucket Memorial Airport ACKMorristown (seasonal)
Flag of Michigan.svg Michigan
Ypsilanti Willow Run Airport YIPColumbus (IN)
Flag of New Jersey.svg New Jersey
New York City/Morristown Morristown Municipal Airport MMUChicago-Midway
Cincinnati-Lunken
Currituck
Flag of New Mexico.svg New Mexico
Taos Taos Regional Airport TSMAustin
Dallas-Love
Branded as Taos Air
Flag of New York.svg New York
Westhampton Beach Francis S. Gabreski Airport FOKMorristownEnded due to low demand [18]
Flag of North Carolina.svg North Carolina
Currituck County Currituck County Regional Airport ONXManassas
Morristown
[19]
Flag of Pennsylvania.svg Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh International Airport PITCurrituck
Flag of Virginia.svg Virginia
Manassas Manassas Regional Airport MNZCurrituck
Pittsburgh
Washington D.C. Washington Dulles International Airport IADCincinnati-Lunken [20]

Fleet

The Ultimate Air Shuttle fleet consists of the following aircraft: [21]

AircraftIn ServiceOrdersSeatsNotes
Embraer ERJ-135 2030
Cessna Citation X 508

See also

References

  1. Baverman, Laura (January 10, 2011). "Charters lead Lunken resurgence". The Cincinnati Enquirer . Retrieved January 7, 2012.
  2. https://www.ch-aviation.com/news/154502-uss-ultimate-jet-surrenders-part-135-certificate
  3. Keefe, Brendan (February 9, 2011). "A legal way to bypass airport security lines". WCPO-TV . Archived from the original on June 15, 2012. Retrieved January 7, 2012.
  4. 1 2 Josephs, Leslie (April 30, 2018). "Troubled start-up airline OneJet suspends flights". CNBC . Retrieved April 26, 2019.
  5. 1 2 "Flights To All Destinations Suspended Until Spring 2021". Ultimate Air Shuttle. Retrieved October 5, 2020.
  6. "Our History" (PDF). Ultimate Air Shuttle. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
  7. 1 2 Wetterich, Chris (December 6, 2021). "Airline suspending flights from Cincinnati". www.bizjournals.com. Cincinnati Business Courier. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
  8. "Ultimate Air Shuttle Announces Three New East Coast Destinations" (PDF). Ultimate Magazine. 2 (3). Ultimate Air Shuttle: 26. May–June 2015. Retrieved August 11, 2015.
  9. Engel, Liz. "Cleveland's ready, but where is Ultimate Air headed next?". WCPO. Archived from the original on October 9, 2015. Retrieved October 8, 2015.
  10. "Ultimate JetCharters is operating a Dornier 328JET in full Taos Air brand". worldairlinenews.com. January 16, 2019. Retrieved April 25, 2019.
  11. Moya, Jesse (December 19, 2018). "New charter flight service for Texas skiers generates buzz". taosnews.com. The Taos News . Retrieved April 25, 2019.
  12. Vitu, Teya (October 11, 2019). "Taos Air to resume flights between Austin, Dallas on Dec. 19". The Santa Fe New Mexican . Santa Fe, New Mexico. Retrieved October 15, 2019.
  13. "Florida migrant flight money went to company tied to DeSantis adviser". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved February 9, 2023.
  14. "Ultimate Jet plans to keep operating while reorganizing in bankruptcy court". The Business Journals. October 16, 2023. Retrieved October 16, 2023.
  15. "Ultimate Air Shuttle". Ultimate Air Shuttle. Retrieved December 14, 2021.
  16. "Destinations". Ultimate Air Shuttle.
  17. "Seasonal Flights". Ultimate Air Shuttle.
  18. Grant, Alison; Dealer, The Plain (September 8, 2015). "Burke airport gets scheduled charter service to Cincinnati". cleveland. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  19. "Seasonal flights look to bring vacationers to OBX from East Coast cities". WTKR. May 3, 2019. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  20. "Ultimate Air Shuttle to launch Cincinnati Lunken Field-Charlotte Service" . Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  21. "Aircraft flying for Ultimate Air Shuttle (UE / UJC)" . Retrieved September 17, 2017.