Aviation Battle Over Rise In Corporate Jet Travel

Aug. 2 - KGO (KGO) -- There's a battle brewing in the aviation industry. It pits the big commercial airlines against the operators of private business jets over who should pay to improve and maintain the nation's air traffic control system.

There's one sure way to beat the crowded ticket counters, frustrating delays and cattle car seating on commercial airlines -- skip the big boys and take your own private aircraft.

Jim Markel runs Sonoma County's Apex Aviation which manages and maintains business aircraft.

James Markel, Apex Aviation: "I do think we're in one of those cycles where the airlines are having a rough time and private aviation is doing quite well."

Ron Wilson, ABC7 Aviation Expert: "We're seeing on the monthly statistics that commercial aviation is dropping, but general aviation is going up by four or five percent."

And that's just at SFO. Private aviation is growing at about six to seven percent nationwide. Why? Because businesses want greater control.

Ed Bolen, National Business Aviation Association: "A lot of companies look to business aviation if they try to do multiple site visits in a single day. If they want to discuss proprietary information en route it can be a great alternative."

They pay for the privilege. We compared the cost of a trip from San Francisco to Chicago on a private jet and in a first class commercial seat. A cut rate fare at a charter site called Onesky.com was $26,480 roundtrip for a five-person jet. The most expensive first class fare for the same trip on United Airlines was just under $5,000. A sign that businesses have more money to spend.

Ed Bolen, National Business Aviation Association: "It's been growing as the economy has rebounded and the last couple of years we're really getting back to those pre-9/11 days."

But not everybody is happy. Not only do America's airlines worry about losing business to corporate jet operators, they worry about the disparity in user fees used to keep the air traffic control system running. Airlines pay 90-percent of the costs, but operate 75-percent of the flights. They want the corporate jet sector to pick up a larger share.

John Heimlich, Air Transport Association: "If you are using FAA controlled airspace then you should contribute basically in some proportion to the number of flights you have."

Ed Bolen, National Business Aviation Association: "The cost of the system is driven by the airlines. This reminds me a bit of when you go to a restaurant and someone orders the most expensive items on the menu and then says, "let's divide it up evenly."

Whoever funds it, extra money will be needed to upgrade the air traffic control system to handle the next generation of business jet, aimed at mid-sized companies with mid-sized budgets.

Eclipse Aviation is building a contender in what the industry is calling the "very light jet" category. The costs will be lower because the jets are basic, seating five to seven people with advanced avionics and a price tag of one to two million dollars. That's less than one tenth the price of some traditional business jets.

Ed Bolen, National Business Aviation Association: "It will bring down the price point of business aviation."

John Heimlich, Air Transport Association: "These very light jets are a concern to us because they will not only use the same airspace that the major airliners do, but they will likely travel at lower speeds."

That's not expected to affect sales. By some estimates, 5,000 planes like this could be flying by 2016. Another burden on an air traffic control system that's still using 40-year-old technology to handle 21st century skies.

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