Sun Air Jets
Camarillo Airport’s Exclusive
Executive Portal
by Sarah Daniels & David Wurth
Face it: traveling just isn’t fun anymore. Well, perhaps the destinations are still enjoyable, but for many people, flying has become more of a headache than it’s worth. But web 2.0 has only gone so far; there’s still a lot of business that needs a personal touch and has to be done face-to-face.
Unfortunately, we in the C-Suite don’t have the luxury of eschewing the airport. Flying is still an integral part of today’s business world. Even though we may seem privileged—shuffling into elite level lounges, pre-boarding as platinum members and often being bumped up to first class by cashing in a few frequent flier miles—it isn’t much better than the coach experience. There are still cancelled flights and cranky crew members, shoe removal and security scuffles, lukewarm lattes and long lines, bawling babies and battered baggage. When you take a commercial flight, you have to give in to the unpredictability of the airports and airlines.
“This is an environment where people don’t wait for
planes, planes wait for people.”
-Brian Counsil, General Counsel, Sun Air Jets
“The hub and spoke system works well for the airline but not the passenger,” says Steve Lassetter, president of Sun Air Jets. It is a pleasure not to be restricted to the airports that the airlines fly to and through. Although private planes used to be the exclusive territory of the upper crust, a bevy of Fortune 500s have recently opted for their own aeronautics.
When he served as the head of an LA Uptown company, the media businessman owner of Sun Air quickly realized that being based out of Camarillo, neither LAX nor BUR were really “local” airports. An hour-and-a-half drive home after a red-eye felt like torture. It didn’t require much of a decision to make the switch to charter private flights…but even the commute to Van Nuys Airport still felt excessive. With the help of Sun Air President Steve Lassetter and General Counsel Brian Council they succeeded in managing the construction of a nearby luxury FBO (a self sufficient private terminal) answering the prayers of local executives and jet owners. Within 6 years, Lassetter has increased his fleet—with the addition of a Gulfstream III, Bombardier Global 5000, three Raytheon Hawkers, a Falcon 50—and created a state-of-the-art FBO, audited and monitored by Wyvern Consulting and ARG/US, two of the aviation industry’s most respected independent auditing and consulting organizations.
Initially, Camarillo Airport appeared to be a great location to build a corporate jet facility to accommodate the business growth between Van Nuys and Santa Barbara Airports. Within the past few years the facility has grown substantially. Today, Sun Air Jets is a corporate aircraft service facility that provides an 82,000 sq. ft. of top-of-the-line corporate aircraft facility with plans for another 42,000 sq. ft. underway, on-base ExxonMobil Avitat fueling, courtesy shuttles, hassle-free concierge boarding, on-site car rentals and can even facilitate private jet sales. Its luxury terminal offers pilots a cushy crew lounge as well as advanced technology in a flight planning room (with a WSI weather feed). Executive travelers are well-kept with high-speed wireless Internet, multimedia conference rooms, quiet rooms with showers and a guest services concierge amidst a haven of leather couches and club chairs. Before heading off, jet crews make sure their guests are well taken care of with gourmet prep kitchens or world-class catering. It’s no wonder that The Aviation International News ranked Sun Air Jets among the top 25 FBOs in North America (of roughly 5,245 in the United States alone).
“Flying private is like having a time machine,” says Lassetter. When you’re a busy business person, every minute counts. It’s invaluable to have a place that’s within a stone’s throw of your house to eliminate the wasted time, hassle and stresses of flying commercial.
It may cost $30,000 to charter that Hawker 800xp for your executive staff from Camarillo to Connecticut but if you have eight executives on the flight, however, you’re looking at only $3,750 per person. For the C-Suite, that’s usually less than one day’s salary—far more affordable than most decision-makers realize. And having those executives in town for an extra day is certainly worth it to the company, even if they spend half of it on the golf course.
