Naysayers had predicted that the influx of small and affordable jets called VLJs — Very Light Jets — would darken the skies by now and wreak havoc on a crowded airspace system.

That forecast has so far proven untrue, but no one in business could have predicted the rise of oil prices and the weakening dollar since the inception of these aircraft. The marketplace has proven resilient, and the original design of these aircraft has morphed somewhat.

The VLJ phenomenon evolved and produced new classes of aircraft — the light jet, medium light jet and a new class designated personal jets.

This progression has also seen significant changes in the field of providers, with Brazilian manufacturer Embraer offering two new aircraft in addition to its airliner and corporate offerings.

Cirrus and Piper have developed personal-jet prototypes. Likewise, some failures have occurred, including Adam aircraft and, more recently, German manufacturer Grob, which has ceased production of its flagship.

Perhaps the best-known name in VLJs was Eclipse, which is suffering from problems with manufacturing and long-term financing. Former Chairman Vern Raburn was asked to step down by his board to ensure new financing .

Additionally, the company has laid off 650 workers, or about 38 percent of the workforce, with significantly reduced output. A successful outcome appears in doubt.

The company has teamed with DayJet, based in Boca Raton, which recently discontinued operations and parked all but one of its 28 aircraft. The marketing effort on both efforts over-promised and under-delivered.

Florida has always been perceived as a prime location for an intrastate air service, but history has proven otherwise. In the 1950s, Mackey Airlines launched the first service to and from numerous Florida cities, with fleeting success. Since then, a dozen efforts to renew business travel by air have failed.

This latest failure by another well-financed and ambitious management team reinforces the precarious market that exists here. Travel by car within Florida appears to be the most cost-effective solution.

But the future is bright, according to the industry and those willing to invest considerable sums to provide niche aircraft.

Indeed, at this year's National Business Aviation Association convention, there was no shortage of manufacturers or buyers: Record orders were placed with Cessna, Piper, Cirrus, Embraer and others, some of whom have yet to build prototypes.

This confidence indicates that demand is abundant in the United States. But VLJ sales outside the United States, with the exception of Russia and a very few in Western Europe, have not materialized. Significant roadblocks exist outside U.S. airspace to new designs and the regulatory agencies are slow to adapt to these smaller aircraft operating in their systems.

For example, the Europeans refuse to allow commercial flights with a single pilot or on a single-engine aircraft. Both Piper and Cirrus designs have only one engine, possibly restricting their geographical viability.

As these new aircraft enter the marketplace, there will be continued opposition from the airline lobby, which will cite safety and congestion concerns and further delays in a system that is strained to capacity in some instances. But that strain is being felt almost exclusively at the major hub airports where commercial flights dominate — e.g. Kennedy, LaGuardia and Los Angeles — and has not affected the smaller fields and regional airports that were built and intended solely for smaller aircraft.

The Federal Aviation Administration has begun plans for upgrading the airspace system with new satellite and ground technology called NextGen.

This equipment will allow for much more traffic than is currently handled, yet the bottlenecks will remain at the big airports.

The end result is that small aircraft will flourish. The Air Transport Association, which lobbies for commercial airline interests, is vigorously trying to get corporate and business aviation to pay more for their use of airspace.

Twice already in 2008, Congress has rejected that idea. Legislators are expected to finalize the payment for NextGen by spring, and everyone involved awaits an important outcome.

The safety record of corporate aviation equals or exceeds the major airlines in every valid metric and, given the number of aircraft entering the marketplace every year, it is clear that commerce requires reliable air transport.

VLJs, light jets and others will continue to grow, adapt and integrate into the mainstream of commerce. While we will never see the commercial airlines go away, they may or will have to adjust and modify their business plans to compete in this new marketplace.