Business jets in the ’burbs
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Posted Date: 01/03/2008
Issue: Executive & VIP Aviation International March 2008
Publication: Executive & VIP Aviation International
Deep in the leafy suburbs of Chicago there lies an airport that could not be more different from O’Hare or Midway Airports if it tried. Despite its status as reliever airport for O’Hare, on approaching the airport one is struck by how unobtrusive it is amongst its environs and how ripe it is for attention from the private jet set. That said, Chicago Executive Airport – located to the north-west of the city in the vicinity of Prospect Heights and the Village of Wheeling – is no stranger to the limelight. In the last few months the very first Eclipse 500 very light jet (VLJ) arrived at Chicago Executive Airport at the behest of the first operator of this type – North American Jet Charter Group (which won Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approval to be the first Part 135 VLJ operator flying this aircraft type).
Eclipse operations began in August 2007 under the company moniker “Q”, for Quintessential Traveler Service; a service that offers air limo transportation at half the traditional charter rate, according to North American Jet President, Ken Ross. Given the furore surrounding the launch of the Eclipse and the association of Bill Gates with this aircraft model, announcements such as these most definitely put the Chicago Executive Airport on the map. But this airport has a long and complex history that predates by decades the jet engine, let alone the VLJs. This is a history that impacts both positively and negatively on the airport’s operations – whatever its label.
A colourful past
Name changes are nothing new at this site. Known originally as Gauthier’s Flying Field and comprising just 40 acres with dirt runways in 1925, Chicago Executive Airport has now grown to more than 10 times its original size. It comprises three active runways and operates 24 hours a day, year round. The air traffic control tower is staffed by the FAA and operates daily between 6.00 weekdays (7.00 weekends) and 22.00. Chicago Executive Airport’s growth reflects the development of its neighbouring communities and, just like its O’Hare big brother, is subject to a modernisation programme. Much of the modernisation now vital at the site results from its heritage rather than an aggressive plan to reconfigure the airfield solely for traffic augmentation purposes.
In fact ownership changes are largely responsible for the call to modernise. In 1953, Priester Aviation Service acquired the airport and developed it extensively for 33 years, during which time, in 1967, the FAA commissioned an air traffic control tower and, in 1974, installed an instrument landing system. By 1986 the airport was in public hands: those of the City of Prospect Heights and the Village of Wheeling. Funding for the purchase was contributed by the FAA, the Illinois Department of Transportation and the municipalities.
Much improvement has been undertaken since the public acquisition, including the commissioning of a new air traffic control tower in 1997 and the construction of three new corporate hangars in the east quadrant of the airport in the same year. However, the big money is being spent on the modernisation of the airfield itself to raise the infrastructure to federal standards; this includes improving runways and building taxiways and aprons.
Chicago Executive Airport is managed under the guidance of the Chicago Executive Airport Board of Directors, an advisory board of members from each municipality who consider both current and long-term plans for the airport. Its mission is partly to further economic development of these outlying Chicago suburbs but also to add cachet to what is already a prosperous satellite of the city, both in terms of residential and corporate achievement.
On the horizon
The former Palwaukee Airport – so called because of its location between Palatine Road and Milwaukee Avenue – now has a much slicker name to live up to and much more opportunity to shine given the demise of Meigs Field and various other small general aviation airports in the vicinity. Dennis Rouleau is the Airport Manager and he explains that the brief is to become an international business jet airport with an international traffic reach as far as London. US Customs facilities have been put in place to assist with this ambition. However, first, concerns in the local community that airliner traffic would seek to land at the airport have had to be abated. “The name Chicago Executive Airport says it all,” comments Rouleau, adding that the very name of the airport points to business jets only; not scheduled airline traffic. He explains that around 50 companies in the surrounding community are regular users of the airport. These companies comprise not just your usual service and product oriented companies but also prestigious medical establishments with a high reputation for organ transplantation and the associated requirement for reliable and speedy transportation.
Revenues at Chicago Executive Airport comprise the lease and rental income from the facilities and fuel charges; there are no landing fees payable at the airport. “All the hangars are occupied,” says Rouleau, “and there are 100 aircraft on the hangarage waiting list.” Fractional ownership has been significantly responsible for the high demand for the space to stable these aircraft and everyone on site is very excited about the advent of the VLJs that will no doubt jostle with larger aircraft types for hangarage.
Rouleau has achieved a landing weight restriction hike from 77,000lb to 98,000lb but that is as far as the City Fathers are likely to go for the time being. However, the new weight limit does mean the ultra long-range Global Express XRS can land at the airport.
However, the key to the airport’s future lies very much in upgrading the airport’s facilities since private ownership terminated in 1986. Rouleau explains that prior to the two local communities taking the airport into public hands, the airport followed its own development plans that did not necessarily adhere to FAA guidelines. As a result, the taxiways have had to be moved and other airport infrastructure is being addressed; with much of the work – to the tune of $100 million – financially support by the FAA. Nevertheless, Rouleau is firmly of the belief that the airport provides vital support to local business, a life and death resource to medical establishments and a significant contribution to the aerial surveying community.
Clearance, slots and fees
Perhaps a comparison with O’Hare and Midway Airports is unreasonable given the difference in scope and purpose of the airports. But, in some ways, Chicago Executive Airport, compares favourably in terms of clearances, slots and fees. In keeping with comparable airports, Chicago Executive Airport is actually seeing the number of annual flight movements slip – largely attributable to the rise in fuel prices and the cost of insurance for flight schools. The incentives to land at this quiet, uncomplicated and accessible outpost when the skies over the city itself are so full appear obvious, but developing a high-tech, low emission and quiet clientele will be the key challenge for this airport team. Perhaps the answer lies very much in VLJ technology and the development of air taxi operations.
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