Jimsair’s charter operations manager, Richard Cloward, will oversee San Diego County’s first VLJ - very light jet - for Kevin Kiernan when it arrives from the manufacturer next month. (photo/lambertphoto.com)

Coronado-based commercial real estate developer Kevin Kiernan travels for business a couple of days a week to projects in Arizona, Colorado, Texas and Nebraska. Kiernan could fly on one of the major airlines but finds the expense and hassle aren’t worth sacrificing time with his young family. Like many San Diego business people, Kiernan has explored his options in the growing field of corporate aviation. He’s flown by charter, and has fractional ownership of an aircraft through Jimsair Aviation Services at Lindbergh Field.

A corporate aircraft can land at a greater number of airports than a traditional airliner, making it easier for Kiernan to get to job sites that aren’t in major metropolitan areas. And, of course, the corporate craft operates on his schedule.

“From a time standpoint, it’s especially more economical the more you travel,” says Kiernan. “It comes down to how convenient and efficient it is.”

Kiernan has taken his appreciation for corporate aviation one step further. In December, he expects to be the proud recipient of a “microjet” — a class also known as “very light jet” or VLJ — from Albuquerque-based manufacturer Eclipse Aviation. It is expected to be the first VLJ delivery in San Diego.

The introduction of VLJs has generated a lot of buzz in the aviation industry because the quick little jets are priced well below the most inexpensive business aircraft on the market. The handful of VLJ manufacturers have waiting lists that number into the thousands. Kiernan, No. 26 on Eclipse’s list, will pay about $1 million for his E500, which he ordered about five years ago.

VLJs may be more than just a fun new way to get from point A to point B. They could revolutionize business travel. “The light jets have brought a new generation of much more affordable travel to the smaller companies,” says Kiernan. “It’s a whole new economic playing field.”

Jimsair will manage Kiernan’s VLJ on his behalf. Richard Cloward, manager of charter operations for Jimsair, says VLJs likely will be best for those who want to travel short distances quickly, albeit with a limited number of passengers. “Truth be told, the size will be a limiting factor,” says Cloward, noting the seating capacity is advertised as five to six, “But after the third, they’ll be sitting on top of each other. You aren’t going to see six people hop in and fly to Chicago.”

The Federal Aviation Administration, which is still in the process of certifying the various makes, predicts VLJs will contribute to a marked increase in hours flown by turbojets and turboprops, from 5 million hours in 2005 to nearly 12 million hours in 2017.

While VLJs are generating fresh buzz, corporate aviation is a fast-growing industry as “time-is-money” executives seek to bypass the ever-lengthening challenges and delays of commercial aviation.

Business travelers looking for a more personalized flying experience have a number of options. Aircraft can be purchased in whole or part, or chartered by the hour or the trip. The size of the plane and the caliber of amenities affect the cost.

At Jimsair, for instance, chartering a medium-sized jet ranges from $1,100 to $2,700 an hour. While that’s certainly more costly than a seat on Southwest Airlines, “I’ll have you in Cabo before you’re through the checkout line,” says Cloward.

Frank Milian, president and chief operating officer of Jet Source at Carlsbad’s McClellan-Palomar Airport, says chartered flights offer “far above first-class” services at rates that are sometimes comparable to last-minute fares on major airlines. Jet Source’s roundtrip fares to San Francisco can be $4,000 for a small jet and $12,000 on a larger aircraft, Milian says. A client can arrive at the airport five minutes before departure, and if the client’s meeting runs late, the plane waits, he says. Luxury accommodations can include specially ordered food served on expensive china and crystal by one or several flight attendants.

“It goes to the ability to be able to control your schedule,” says Milian. “There’s a lot of convenience and privacy. You can prepare or conduct a meeting on the plane. Technology has made things so much easier to do. There are faxes on the airplanes, and satellite telephones.”

Craig Foster, general manager of McClellan-Palomar’s recently completed Premier Jet Business Aviation Center, says the 200,000-square-foot complex houses a range of aviation services for the business traveler. He estimates charter flight rates range from $850 to $4,500 an hour, noting the inherent value is in time saved. “It’s still more expensive than first-class commercial, but if you’re flying to San Antonio, you don’t have to go to Dallas first,” Foster says.

It may not be cheap, says Schubach Aviation’s Henry Schubach, but chartering a private plane eliminates the long lines, delays and security hassles of flying commercially.

Henry Schubach, founder and president of Schubach Aviation at McClellan-Palomar Airport, says more business executives are opting for private planes as flying commercial become more arduous. He points to long layovers, lengthy lines, lost luggage and ever-changing security restrictions, such as recent limits on the quantities of liquids like shampoo and mouthwash packed in carry-on luggage. “The product that the airlines sell is a different commodity than it used to be,” says Schubach. “Now, it’s just a seat.”

At the same time, Schubach doesn’t endorse the notion that private flights are an “affordable” way to fly. “What we sell is very expensive. I have to laugh at people who say it’s comparable to first-class. It’s not,” he says. “Private jets are not that bad for highly paid people. It can be very productive. The phone doesn’t ring, no one knocks on the door. It can be a good work environment, very comfortable.”

Even leisure travel for the busy executive can sometimes be better accomplished on a private craft, Schubach says. “Somebody who has got six days to vacation doesn’t want to spend a day on each end traveling,” he says. “What we sell is time.”

San Diego is home to a number of aviation companies, from those like Schubach with large fleets of planes in various sizes, to smaller, more specialized operations like Great Circle Aviation.

Led by pilot James Linlor, Carlsbad-based Great Circle bills itself as an air taxi that can take you from any Southern California airport to anywhere in the western United States. A one-day roundtrip flight with Great Circle Aviation to Los Angeles or Palm Springs runs about $1,100, while roundtrip to Silicon Valley is about $2,500.

James Linlor of Great Circle Aviation says flights in his ‘air taxi’ to Los Angeles are cost-effective for busy executives who can work while he glides over congested freeways. (photo/lambertphoto.com)

Linlor says he can customize flights for those who want to, for example, fly to four different cities in one day. Demand for business trips has increased in the last couple of years, he says, particularly as executives grow weary of airline security measures. Even flying charter to Los Angeles — versus driving there — can be justified if you factor in the cost of fuel and time-consuming traffic jams for an executive whose time is worth at least $35 an hour, he says.

Robert Levine, general manager of Magellan Aviation, has been watching the business aviation market closely as he shepherds the multimillion-dollar renovation of the company’s facilities at McClellan-Palomar Airport. As a fixed-base operator, Magellan offers services to corporate aircraft customers, from fuel to hangar space.

Levine says businesspeople are taking travel into their own hands. Record numbers of aircraft are being sold, he says, and the introduction of VLJs can only serve to bolster that market.

“For people who can afford it, they find it useful to use a private jet for their business. The number of meetings they’re able to attend in a single day is quite remarkable,” Linlor says. “With VLJs, even small businesses will be able to use corporate aviation in this way.”

Jets are not the only way to go. Montgomery Field-based Corporate Helicopters charters flights for about $800 to $1,250 an hour, depending on the size of the helicopter. Ivor Shier, the company’s president, says helicopters are able to travel shorter distances more economically, and can circle for passengers to get a better view of the ground below. And helicopter pads are abundant.

Jets aren’t the only way to go. Corporate Helicopters’ JetRanger offers landing flexibility for shorter trips.

Typical clients, Shier says, include “real estate developers, executives with larger corporations. Anyone who has to get somewhere in a hurry.”

Peter Drinkwater, who oversees San Diego County’s eight-airport system, says he’s seeing an increase in local air travel.

“There’s more flying going on,” says Drinkwater. “Some of it is flight training, but some of it is more business flights.”

Greater demand at county airports has prompted facility renovations, greater staffing requirements, and even the implementation of U.S. Customs services at McClellan-Palomar, slated for 2007.

“The reason customs is going in is because businesses have asked for it, and they’ll pay for it,” Drinkwater says. “There’s enough flying going on internationally for us to make it a pay-for service.”

Drinkwater has heard several VLJs will be based at both McClellan-Palomar Airport and Gillespie Field in El Cajon. Manufacturers of the light jets are taking extraordinary efforts to ensure pilots are well trained, and that those pilots have OnStar-like services while in the air, he says. If VLJs turn out to be as safe, fast and affordable as predicted, Drinkwater expects businesses will be “flying the wings off.”

It comes down to businesses wanting to get where they need to go quickly, in a way that doesn’t hurt the bottom line, says Drinkwater. And there is a certain “prestige factor” when stepping off a corporate aircraft, he says.

“As the world changes, people want to operate faster. You need that face-to-face time in business,” says Drinkwater. “And if they can make it make sense economically to fly this way, why not.”