 | This article needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (November 2023) |
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| Founded | 2009; 15 years ago (2009) | ||||||
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| Commenced operations | July 2009 (2009-07) | ||||||
| Fleet size | 8 | ||||||
| Parent company | Ultimate Jet | ||||||
| Headquarters | North Canton, Ohio, U.S. | ||||||
| Website | Official Website | ||||||
Ultimate Jet, formerly Ultimate Jet Charters, is a private jet charter airline based in North Canton, Ohio It is the operating name of Ultimate Jetcharters LLC, 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.
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.
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. 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.
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. Ultimate Jetcharters later operated flights for Taos Air in the winter of 2018–2019, but Taos Air changed operators for the 2019–2020 winter season.
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. 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.
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. 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.
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.
Ultimate Air Shuttle provided service to the following locations:
| City | Airport | IATA Code | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Georgia
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| Atlanta | DeKalb–Peachtree Airport | PDK | Charlotte (Suspended)
Cincinnati (Suspended) Cleveland (Suspended) |
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 Ohio
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| Cincinnati | Cincinnati Municipal Lunken Airport | LUK | Atlanta-Peachtree (Suspended)
Charlotte (Suspended) Cleveland (Suspended) Nashville (Suspended) |
Focus City |
| Cleveland | Cleveland Burke Lakefront Airport | BKL | Atlanta-Peachtree (Suspended)
Cincinnati (Suspended) Nashville (Suspended) |
|
 North Carolina
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| Charlotte | Charlotte Douglas International Airport | CLT | Atlanta-Peachtree (Suspended)
Cincinnati (Suspended) |
|
 Tennessee
| ||||
| Nashville | Nashville International Airport | BNA | Cincinnati (Suspended)
Cleveland (Suspended) |
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Former destinations
| City | Airport | IATA Code | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 California
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| Carlsbad | McClellan-Palomar Airport | CLD | Los Angeles | Branded as BizAir Shuttle |
| Los Angeles | Los Angeles International Airport | LAX | Carlsbad | Branded as BizAir Shuttle |
 Illinois
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| Chicago | Chicago Midway International Airport | MDW | Cincinnati | Service was discontinuted |
 Indiana
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| Columbus | Columbus Municipal Airport | BAK | Ypsilanti (MI) | |
 Kentucky
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| Hebron | Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport | CVG | Morristown | |
 Massachusetts
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| Martha's Vineyard | Martha's Vineyard Airport | MVY | Morristown (seasonal) | |
| Nantucket | Nantucket Memorial Airport | ACK | Morristown (seasonal) | |
 Michigan
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| Ypsilanti | Willow Run Airport | YIP | Columbus (IN) | |
 New Jersey
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| New York City/Morristown | Morristown Municipal Airport | MMU | Chicago-Midway
Cincinnati-Lunken Currituck |
|
 New Mexico
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| Taos | Taos Regional Airport | TSM | Austin
Dallas-Love |
Branded as Taos Air |
 New York
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| Westhampton Beach | Francis S. Gabreski Airport | FOK | Morristown | Ended due to low demand |
| North Carolina
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| Currituck County | Currituck County Regional Airport | ONX | Manassas
Morristown |
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 Pennsylvania
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| Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh International Airport | PIT | Currituck | |
 Virginia
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| Manassas | Manassas Regional Airport | MNZ | Currituck
Pittsburgh |
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| Washington D.C. | Washington Dulles International Airport | IAD | Cincinnati-Lunken | |
Fleet
The Ultimate Air Shuttle fleet consists of the following aircraft:
| Aircraft | In Service | Orders | Seats | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Embraer ERJ-135 | 2 | 0 | 30 | |
| Cessna Citation X | 5 | 0 | 8 |
See also
References
- Baverman, Laura (January 10, 2011). "Charters lead Lunken resurgence". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved January 7, 2012.
- 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.
- ^ Josephs, Leslie (April 30, 2018). "Troubled start-up airline OneJet suspends flights". CNBC. Retrieved April 26, 2019.
- ^ "Flights To All Destinations Suspended Until Spring 2021". Ultimate Air Shuttle. Retrieved October 5, 2020.
- "Our History" (PDF). Ultimate Air Shuttle. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
- ^ Wetterich, Chris (December 6, 2021). "Airline suspending flights from Cincinnati". www.bizjournals.com. Cincinnati Business Courier. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
- "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.
- 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.
- "Ultimate JetCharters is operating a Dornier 328JET in full Taos Air brand". worldairlinenews.com. January 16, 2019. Retrieved April 25, 2019.
- Moya, Jesse (December 19, 2018). "New charter flight service for Texas skiers generates buzz". taosnews.com. The Taos News. Retrieved April 25, 2019.
- 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.
- "Florida migrant flight money went to company tied to DeSantis adviser". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved February 9, 2023.
- "Ultimate Jet plans to keep operating while reorganizing in bankruptcy court". The Business Journals. October 16, 2023. Retrieved October 16, 2023.
- "Ultimate Air Shuttle". Ultimate Air Shuttle. Retrieved December 14, 2021.
- "Destinations". Ultimate Air Shuttle.
- "Seasonal Flights". Ultimate Air Shuttle.
- Grant, Alison; Dealer, The Plain (September 8, 2015). "Burke airport gets scheduled charter service to Cincinnati". cleveland. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
- "Seasonal flights look to bring vacationers to OBX from East Coast cities". WTKR. May 3, 2019. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
- "Ultimate Air Shuttle to launch Cincinnati Lunken Field-Charlotte Service". Retrieved April 29, 2020.
- "Aircraft flying for Ultimate Air Shuttle (UE / UJC)". Retrieved September 17, 2017.
