A De Pere-based business will offer nonstop air service between Green Bay and Orlando, Fla., and Minneapolis this spring after years of refining the business plan and securing the capital to make the service a reality.The first flights offered by MetJet Inc. on chartered Sun County Airlines 737 aircraft are expected to begin May 25. Orlando service includes late-afternoon departures from Green Bay on Friday and Saturday. Return flights are morning departures Saturday and Sunday.

MetJet describes itself as a public tour operator, which was funded by local business leaders and individuals that are dedicated to providing affordable nonstop air service between under-serviced cities (primarily Green Bay) and key markets.MetJet founder and CEO Michael Heisman said the business plan was reworked, examined by industry experts and refined several times since he hatched the idea in 2003.

The plans we sat down with in 2003 are very different than what we’re implementing now,” he said. “(The year) 2007 is when the Green Bay plan started, and what we’re implementing is a very fine-tuned plan.Heisman said MetJet will be customer-service focused and will keep fares competitive with Milwaukee.Prices for the Green Bay-to-Orlando route were about $320 round-trip, he said.MetJet also is offering flights to Minneapolis on Saturdays and Sundays and from the Twin Cities Fridays and Saturdays. That service also starts May 25.

Sun County Airlines’ aircraft are based in Minneapolis.MetJet, 400 Reid St., Suite 1A, in De Pere, was incorporated in 2007 and has 20 employees.The company doesn’t intend to be an airline, rather a nonasset-based travel provider that charters flights from existing air carriers, and sell tickets to the public at prices comparable to flights out of Milwaukee and other larger cities.Heisman said he expects the business could see expansion into other markets.As we grow, we’ll commit to bringing new cities to Green Bay,he said.Austin Straubel International Airport Director Tom Miller said tour operators have been a staple in the industry over the years.

There are any number of independent charters that have operated in and out of here … that may operate once a month, but having a regularly scheduled charter service like this to a destination is new for us, he said.
MetJet began issuing shares and seeking investors in April. At that time, it said it was offering up 500,000 shares of the company. MetJet says it still has about 50,000 shares available for sale at $1 each. Shares are sold in 1,000-share increments, the company said. Share sales were authorized through the state of Wisconsin.Share owners are entitled to two round-trip tickets on MetJet annually for every 1,000 shares they own.Heisman, a former Schneider National employee who lives in De Pere, said the majority of investors are from the area  including 120 who are local business owners or executives.We want this to be for the people of northeast Wisconsin,Heisman said. All of the money we raise in Green Bay, we’re going to expand our service in Green Bay.