OneJet Returning To Memphis Airport

OneJet, an airline that focuses on nonstop routes between small and medium-sized markets, is set to return to Memphis International Airport with routes to Pittsburgh and Kansas City, Missouri beginning March 27.

The weekday flights will be offered twice daily, and tickets go on sale Jan. 17 at onejet.com.

OneJet, which previously operated at MEM from June 2015 to April 2016, will use 30-seat ERJ135 aircraft for the flights. The routes to Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) and Kansas City International Airport (MCI) will feature OneJet Plus service, offering travelers enhanced amenities, including expanded legroom; complimentary high-speed Wi-Fi; streaming entertainment; and complimentary beer, wine and snacks. Travelers also will receive the same check-in conveniences that standard OneJet flights provide, including TSA Precheck access for eligible travelers and valet planeside baggage service.

“The return to Memphis and the introduction of these nonstop routes underscores the continued economic growth of the city as well as the consistent demand from some of our largest customers to offer improved connectivity to key regional destinations,” said OneJet CEO Matthew Maguire in a statement.

The Memphis-Pittsburgh schedule is:

• Depart PIT 6 a.m. EST; arrive 6:30 a.m. CST

• MEM to PIT: depart 9 a.m. CST; arrive 11:30 a.m. EST

• PIT to MEM: depart 5:20 p.m. EST; arrive 5:50 p.m. CST

• MEM to PIT: depart 8 p.m. CST; arrive 10:30 p.m. EST

The Memphis-Kansas City schedule is:

• MEM to MCI: depart 6:55 a.m. CST; arrive 8:15 a.m. CST

• MCI to MEM: depart 7:25 a.m. CST; arrive 8:35 a.m. CST

• MEM to MCI: depart 6:15 p.m. CST; arrive 7:25 p.m. CST

• MCI to MEM: depart 6:25 p.m. CST; arrive 7:35 p.m. CST

All flights are subject to customary Department of Transportation approvals.

– Daily News staff

ServiceMaster Names Chief Transformation Officer

Memphis-based ServiceMaster Global Holdings Inc. has named a new senior vice president and chief transformation officer.

Pratip Dastidar will lead company-wide initiatives to elevate the customer experience, simplify business processes and enhance productivity. He will report directly to ServiceMaster CEO Nik Varty.

“Bringing Pratip onboard reflects our continued commitment to make ServiceMaster a strong process-oriented, customer-focused organization,” Varty said in a statement. “While we will continue to invest in the required resources to grow our business profitably, we will use lean initiatives and digital capabilities to drive efficiency and process excellence to become an organization that relentlessly improves the customer experience and creates more value for customers and shareholders.”

Prior to joining ServiceMaster, Dastidar held executive roles in quality management and operational excellence for global businesses in the industrial, technology and digital sectors. Most recently, he led process innovation as part of operational scale-up at Salesforce, a cloud-based enterprise software firm.

Before that, he served as vice president of process transformation for HP, where he led optimization of end-to-end processes for the print and personal systems business. Dastidar also worked as a director at online retail giant Amazon, piloting last-mile delivery models that are part of the company’s Prime Now service.

– Daily News staff

Faropoint Sells Asset Near FedEx Headquarters

A 15,400-square-foot retail center around the corner from FedEx’s World Headquarters has been purchased by a California investor for $2.7 million.

Judith Obermeir of San Luis Obispo bought the center at 3315 Hacks Cross Road from Israeli investment firm Faropoint Ventures, which had purchased it in June 2016 for $2.2 million.

In a little more than a year, Faropoint was able to stabilize the property, which was 100 percent occupied at the time of closing, by leasing up the remaining vacant space.

NAI Saig Co. executive vice president Brian Califf and vice president Elliot Embry represented Faropoint in the leasing and disposition of the asset.

Faropoint has been busy in the Memphis market recently. In November, the company sold Trustmark Centre, 5350 Poplar Ave., for $19.3 million. Fresh off that sale, it paid a combined $19.3 million for the Lipscomb & Pitts Building, 2670 Union Ave. Extended, and Poplar Towers, 6263 Poplar Ave.

At the time, Califf said the acquisitions showed Faropoint’s commitment to the Memphis market, adding the company was “actively seeking new office and industrial deals to purchase by year end and into the first quarter of next year.”

– Patrick Lantrip

Tigers DB Carter Named All-American Freshman

For the second year in a row, the University of Memphis football team has a player on the USA Today Freshman All-American team, as defensive back T.J. Carter was named to the team. Kick returner Tony Pollard, who was named a Walter Camp and FWAA first-team All-America honoree earlier this week, was named a Freshman All-American by USA Today last season.

Carter, the American Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year, started all 12 Memphis games this season. He leads the team with five interceptions, which is a Memphis freshman record, ranks second in the conference and is tied for eighth in the country. A graduate of Stratford High School in Nashville, Carter also was named to the ESPN Freshman All-America team.

Carter, who’s also a second-team all-AAC honoree, has nine pass breakups, two fumble recoveries, including one on his first collegiate snap, and one forced fumble. He was named the Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week after Memphis’ comeback win at Houston in October. Memphis trailed 17-0 at the half and came back to win 42-38, as Carter forced a fumble and grabbed an interception in the final three minutes of the game to seal the victory.

– Don Wade

Le Bonheur Honored As A Top Children’s Hospital

Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital has been named a Top Children’s Hospital by The Leapfrog Group, an independent hospital watchdog organization.

The award is a highly competitive honor for American hospitals, and Le Bonheur is one of only two hospitals in Tennessee to be named on the 2017 list, with the other being Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt in Nashville.

To qualify, hospitals must submit a Leapfrog Hospital Survey, and the selection of Top Hospitals 2017 is based on surveys from nearly 1,900 hospitals.

– Andy Meek

Campus School to Hold Info Meeting, Registration

The University of Memphis Campus School will hold an informational meeting for prospective parents Jan. 12, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. in the Michael D. Rose Theatre on the U of M campus. The meeting will offer information on the school, enrollment procedures, a school tour and Q&A session for parents interested in enrolling their children for the 2018-2019 school year.

The Campus School will hold 2018-2019 registration Jan. 22-25 from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the school office, 535 Zach Curlin St. Registration also will be available Jan. 23 from 4 to 6 p.m. Registration is for new students and siblings of currently enrolled students.

– Don Wade

Memphis Asks Judge to Rule On Forrest Statue Removal

The city of Memphis is asking a court to overrule a commission’s decision that prevents the removal of a Confederate statue from a public park.

The city filed a petition in Davidson County Chancery Court on Monday. Officials are asking for judicial review of the Tennessee Historical Commission’s Oct. 13 denial of a request to remove a statue of Confederate-era leader Nathan Bedford Forrest from Health Sciences Park.

Forrest was a slave trader, Confederate general and Ku Klux Klan leader who became influential in the city’s growth after the Civil War.

Cities have tried to remove Confederate monuments following the racially motivated murders of nine people at a black church in South Carolina and a violent white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.

– The Associated Press