Flying for the Gold

Some Valley area private charter aircraft companies may see a burst of activity as clients consider flying to London for the upcoming 2012 Summer Olympic Games. Officials with Clay Lacy Aviation and Jet Edge International, both based at Van Nuys Airport, and Sun Air Jets, which has operations at Van Nuys Airport and Camarillo Airport, say they are fielding inquiries from potential charter clients. “We have a couple of clients who normally would not have flown (to London),” said Brian Kirkdoffer, president at Clay Lacy Aviation. “Those clients are sponsors who are in the business of the Olympics.” Jet Edge, which has both its own fleet of managed aircraft and access to aircraft through XOJet, has a number of aircraft heading to London, giving a good boost to the business, said President Bill Papariella. Sun Air Jets has received some inquiries on use of its high-end, long-distance planes. One potential client asked that a hold be placed on the planes for possible use during the Olympics, said President Steve Lassetter. Sun Air has a Gulfstream V and a Bombardier Global 5000 that are capable of flying to London nonstop. High profile sporting events such as the Super Bowl, the Kentucky Derby or major boxing matches tend to generate business for charter firms, area private charter aircraft companies said. For example, Clay Lacy has clients who own sports teams that will hire aircraft when their teams make it into the playoffs, Kirkdoffer said. A charter flight makes sense for a one-day sporting event because passengers can fly to the event and back on the same day or following an overnight stay, Lassetter said. But chartering a jet for the Olympics, which take place from July 27 to Aug. 12, is likely to be quite costly. “This is a leisure trip and probably not the best use of the airplane,” Lassetter said. – Mark R. Madler