SATSair President and CEO Stephan Hanvey said Oct. 27 that although the company has ceased flying operations as of Oct. 23, it has not shut down.

"We know our business model works," Hanvey insisted. Although he declined to go into the reasons for the apparent temporary halt in the company's "air cab" operations, he acknowledged that the decline in the U.S. national economy has undoubtedly played a role. The timing of the announcement suggested that the decision was based on an eleventh-hour development.

In the past, Hanvey has expressed frustration at the difficulty he has experienced trying to convey the air taxi formula for success to the investment community. And until the surprise announcement of the shutdown of flight operations Oct. 23, SATSair, which is based in Greenville, S.C., had appeared to be a fortunate survivor in a tough business that toppled the likes of DayJet, a high-profile Florida-based air-taxi jet operator.

SATSair introduced a price increase this year that appeared to take hold as well as some cost-cutting measures that bode well for profitability. In 2008, it reported strong revenues and growth in the double digits as regional customers flocked to SATSair's alternative to airline travel. It had also introduced an automated data-gathering flight operations quality assurance system that constantly tracked aircraft and flight crew performance. It was one of the first and only operations to make such a move.

Joe Leader, president of the Atlanta, Ga.-based Air Taxi Association, professed consternation at the Oct. 23 developments and anxiously awaited further details.

"The SATSair suspension is very surprising," he said. "The model they pioneered with the Cirrus SR22 simply works as a profitable, productive business that matches planes, pilots and passengers. We've seen companies across American adding healthy SR22 capacity despite the economy."

Cirrus SR22 photo: Cirrus Design