Ultimate Jet Explained

Airline:Ultimate Jet
Iata:UE
Icao:UJC
Callsign:ULTIMATE
Fleet Size:8
Commenced:[1]
Headquarters:North Canton, Ohio, U.S.
Parent:Ultimate Jet
Website:Official Website

Ultimate Jet, formerly Ultimate Jet Charters, is a private jet charter charter airline based in North Canton, Ohio[2] It is the operating name of Ultimate Jetcharters LLC,[3] an FAR Part 135 air charter carrier. Ultimate Jet currently operates chartered passenger flights with their growing 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 schedule 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.[4]

History

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.[5] [6]

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.[7] 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.[8]

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.[3] Ultimate Jetcharters later operated flights for Taos Air in the winter of 2018–2019,[9] [10] but Taos Air changed operators for the 2019–2020 winter season.[11]

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.[4] 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.[6]

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.[12] 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.[13]

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.[14]

Ultimate Air Shuttle provided service to the following locations:[15] [16]

CityAirportIATA CodeDestinationsNotes
Georgia
AtlantaDeKalb–Peachtree AirportPDKCharlotte (Suspended)----Cincinnati (Suspended)----Cleveland (Suspended)
Ohio
CincinnatiCincinnati Municipal Lunken AirportLUKAtlanta-Peachtree (Suspended) ----Charlotte (Suspended)----Cleveland (Suspended)----Nashville (Suspended)Hub Focus City
ClevelandCleveland Burke Lakefront AirportBKLAtlanta-Peachtree (Suspended)----Cincinnati (Suspended)----Nashville (Suspended)
North Carolina
CharlotteCharlotte Douglas International AirportCLTAtlanta-Peachtree (Suspended)----Cincinnati (Suspended)
Tennessee
NashvilleBNACincinnati (Suspended)----Cleveland (Suspended)

Former destinations

CityAirportIATA CodeDestinationsNotes
California
CarlsbadMcClellan-Palomar AirportCLDLos AngelesBranded as BizAir Shuttle
Los AngelesLos Angeles International AirportLAXCarlsbadBranded as BizAir Shuttle
Illinois
ChicagoChicago Midway International AirportMDWCincinnatiService was discontinuted
Indiana
ColumbusColumbus Municipal AirportBAKYpsilanti (MI)
Kentucky
HebronCVGMorristown
Massachusetts
Martha's VineyardMartha's Vineyard AirportMVYMorristown (seasonal)
NantucketNantucket Memorial AirportACKMorristown (seasonal)
Michigan
YpsilantiWillow Run AirportYIPColumbus (IN)
New Jersey
Morristown Municipal AirportMMUChicago-Midway----Cincinnati-Lunken----Currituck
New Mexico
TaosTaos Regional AirportTSMAustin----Dallas-LoveBranded as Taos Air
New York
Westhampton BeachFrancis S. Gabreski AirportFOKMorristownEnded due to low demand[17]
North Carolina
Currituck CountyCurrituck County Regional AirportONXManassas----Morristown[18]
Pennsylvania
PittsburghPittsburgh International AirportPITCurrituck
Virginia
ManassasManassas Regional AirportMNZCurrituck----Pittsburgh
Washington D.C.Washington Dulles International AirportIADCincinnati-Lunken[19]

Fleet

The Ultimate Air Shuttle fleet consists of the following aircraft:[20]

AircraftIn ServiceOrdersSeatsNotes
Embraer ERJ-1352030alight"center"
Cessna Citation X408

See also

Notes and References

  1. News: Charters lead Lunken resurgence. The Cincinnati Enquirer. 10 January 2011. Laura. Baverman. 2012-01-07.
  2. News: A legal way to bypass airport security lines. 9 February 2011. Brendan. Keefe. WCPO-TV. 2012-01-07. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20120615235058/http://www.wcpo.com/dpp/news/a-legal-way-to-bypass-airport-security-lines. 15 June 2012.
  3. News: Troubled start-up airline OneJet suspends flights . Josephs . Leslie . 30 April 2018 . CNBC. 26 April 2019.
  4. Web site: Flights To All Destinations Suspended Until Spring 2021. 2020-10-05. Ultimate Air Shuttle. en-US.
  5. Web site: Our History. Ultimate Air Shuttle. 6 October 2015.
  6. Web site: Wetterich . Chris . Airline suspending flights from Cincinnati . www.bizjournals.com . Cincinnati Business Courier . 6 April 2023 . en . Dec 6, 2021.
  7. Ultimate Air Shuttle Announces Three New East Coast Destinations . Ultimate Magazine . Ultimate Air Shuttle . 2 . 3 . 26 . May–June 2015 . 2015-08-11.
  8. Web site: Engel. Liz. Cleveland's ready, but where is Ultimate Air headed next?. WCPO. 8 October 2015. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20151009065239/http://www.wcpo.com/news/insider/clevelands-ready-but-where-is-ultimate-air-headed-next. 9 October 2015.
  9. Web site: Ultimate JetCharters is operating a Dornier 328JET in full Taos Air brand. worldairlinenews.com . 16 January 2019. 25 April 2019.
  10. Web site: Moya. Jesse. New charter flight service for Texas skiers generates buzz. taosnews.com . December 19, 2018 . The Taos News. 25 April 2019.
  11. News: Vitu . Teya . 11 October 2019 . Taos Air to resume flights between Austin, Dallas on Dec. 19 . . Santa Fe, New Mexico . 15 October 2019 .
  12. News: Florida migrant flight money went to company tied to DeSantis adviser . 2023-02-09 . Tampa Bay Times . en.
  13. Web site: Ultimate Jet plans to keep operating while reorganizing in bankruptcy court. October 16, 2023. October 16, 2023. The Business Journals. en.
  14. Web site: Ultimate Air Shuttle. 2021-12-14. Ultimate Air Shuttle.
  15. Web site: Destinations . Ultimate Air Shuttle.
  16. Web site: Seasonal Flights . Ultimate Air Shuttle.
  17. Web site: Burke airport gets scheduled charter service to Cincinnati. Grant. Alison. Dealer. The Plain. 2015-09-08. cleveland. en. 2020-04-29.
  18. Web site: Seasonal flights look to bring vacationers to OBX from East Coast cities. 2019-05-03. WTKR. en. 2020-04-29.
  19. Web site: Ultimate Air Shuttle to launch Cincinnati Lunken Field-Charlotte Service. en-US. 2020-04-29.
  20. Web site: Aircraft flying for Ultimate Air Shuttle (UE / UJC). 17 September 2017.