James B. Taylor III, 81; International Marketer Known as ‘Mr. Biz Jet’
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James B. Taylor III, 81, a pioneer in the international marketing of corporate aircraft known to some as Mr. Biz Jet, died Jan. 17 at a hospital in Bridgeport, Conn., of complications from liver cancer.
Beginning in the 1960s, Taylor initiated factory-direct selling of corporate jets and focused on customer requirements.
He enhanced sales with direct-mail campaigns and gave business jets names instead of numbers.
He offered innovative packages to customers, such as a jet plane plus training for two pilots and two mechanics and a year of maintenance.
Taylor was credited with marketing three major business jets -- the Dassault Falcon, the Cessna Citation and the Canadair Challenger -- and, as president and chief executive, turning around the fortunes of troubled Gates Learjet.
The New York native was a Navy test pilot and carrier-based fighter pilot during World War II. After the war, he briefly flew a commercial DC-3 before moving into sales.
Taylor was chosen for the Aviation Week & Space Technology Laureates Hall of Fame, now housed at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum in Washington, and has been nominated for the National Aviation Hall of Fame.
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