ImagineAir was an air taxi service headquartered in metro Atlanta, Georgia, operating the largest floating fleet of piston aircraft in the United States. With a service area that covered a majority of the southern and eastern US, the company operated an average of 5000 flights annually. ImagineAir was often noted for its young management; founders Aaron Sohacki and Benjamin Hamilton were 19 and 21 respectively when the company was founded, as well as its innovative online aircraft booking system, providing the familiarity of buying an airline seat on a charter. ImagineAir's business model was based on an industry study of the Small Aircraft Transportation System, developed by NASA. Implementing a uniform fleet of efficient aircraft and utilizing innovative, technology enabled strategies, ImagineAir claimed to bring down the cost of flying privately to historically affordable levels. ImagineAir was a founding member of the Air Taxi Association. In 2008, the company reported revenues of US$800,000. In 2015, it had grown to $2.8 million, securing a spot on that year's Inc. 500. ImagineAir operated a fleet of Cirrus SR22 aircraft and was one of the original depositors of the Eclipse 500very light jet before Eclipse fell into bankruptcy. The company suspended operations in May 2018.
History
ImagineAir was founded in November 2005 as ImagineAir Jet Services LLC by Paul Fischer, Aaron Sohacki and Benjamin Hamilton and headquartered at the Gwinnett County Airport near Atlanta, Georgia. From the beginning it was the intention of the company's founders to fly a network of the Eclipse 500 VLJs, however delivery delays led ImagineAir to begin operating with Cirrus SR22s. From 2007 through 2012 the company has reported steady quarter over quarter growth, tripling its number of Cirrus aircraft and establishing bases in Charleston, South Carolina and Raleigh, North Carolina. In March 2014, ImagineAir announced a merger with the Danbury, Connecticut-based operator Kavoo in an effort to become the first nationwide air taxi carrier. The merger widened ImagineAir's service area to include the entire east coast of the United States. In May 2018 ImagineAir suspended operations.
Fleet
ImagineAir operated a uniform fleet of Cirrus SR22 aircraft. The Cirrus SR22 is a single-engine, originally four and later five-seat, composite aircraft, built by Cirrus Aircraft. The aircraft is perhaps best known for being equipped with the Cirrus Airframe Parachute System, an emergency parachute capable of lowering the entire aircraft to the ground in an emergency.
