Flyin’ high

‘Tis the season when Kona International Airport’s tarmac welcomes an array private jets that ferry the rich and sometimes famous to Hawaii Island.

Thirteen privately owned or chartered jets graced the airport’s southern end Friday ringing in the Christmas week when West Hawaii often sees an influx of travelers arriving via noncommercial airlines, said Department of Transportation spokeswoman Caroline Sluyter. Through Dec. 28, the department anticipated 49 more private or chartered jets will land in Kona.

For the year, Sluyter said arrivals for the planes are down slightly from 2011 with 1,018 flights projected to arrive by year’s end. In 2011, she said, some 1,187 flights landed. In 2010, there were 1,048.

“It’s actually not that different when you look over the years,” she said, noting that 2009 saw the fewest flights arrive at 980. “It’s actually kind of creeping up from then.”

One of the jets, a Legacy 600, bears four aces on its tail and is registered to Executive Wealth Management in Las Vegas. Another, for which a registry number was not visible, was a cream color adorned with metallic gold stripes.

It is difficult to determine who owns or charters the planes because the aircraft is often registered to personal air travel services organizations, holding companies or trusts, including this year: Wilmington Trust Co. of Delaware; SCB Falcom LLC of Arizona; FS 50 LLC of Washington state; Shorenstein Properties LLC of California; Jordan Aviation of California; and EWA West LLC of California.

However, one of the planes on the tarmac Friday was registered to Stuart M. Sloan of Seattle, according to Federal Aviation Administration registry records.

According to Forbes, Sloan serves serve as director for multiple companies including clothing retailer J. Crew Group Inc., intellectual property investment and advisory firm Pendrell Corp., and Fortune 500 company Anixter International Inc., which supplies communications and security products and electrical and electronic components. He is also the founder of private investments firm Sloan Capital Companies.

About 3 percent of the approximately 15,000 business aircraft registered in the U.S. are flown by Fortune 500 companies, while the remaining 97 percent are operated by a broad cross-section of organizations, including governments, universities, charitable organizations and other businesses, according to the National Business Aviation Association’s 2012 Business Aviation Fact Book.

Landing in Kona requires private and charter jets to hire a fixed base operator, which in Kona comprises only Air Service Hawaii and Bradley Pacific Aviation, Sluyter said. The state then bills the operator to collect landing fees and support charges, which were recently combined, but not increased, she said.

Each overseas flight landing at the airport pays $3.58 per 1,000 pounds, Sluyter said. Interisland flights pay $1.15 per 1,000 pounds. The rates are set by law, she said.

Considering the Legacy 600, which weighs approximately 30,000 pounds empty and 49,064 at full capacity, according to the plane’s specifications, that means state fees total $107.46 to $175.74. If it were flown interisland, the bill would range from $34.56 to $56.52.

No frills or extra services are provided by the state, Sluyter said. Both of the fixed base operators provide the VIP treatment, including lei greetings, tropical drinks, gourmet catering, red carpet, limousine service, as well as discreet arrivals and departures. They also coordinate ground support, parking and fueling.

Bradley Pacific Aviation General Manager Shaen Tarter said during the holidays the Kona base can see business levels that are more than double the normal busy day. He was unable, however, to provide an exact figure for either.

“The holiday season makes what would be a solid business one that is very good,” said Tarter, who oversees operations at six Bradley Pacific Aviation bases in the state.