Page 14 - January 2022

Starting with one Beechcraft King Air 350 (which it still owns and operates) Advanced Air now owns or manages eight King Air 350 models. Of the Los Angeles-based company’s 10,000 hours flown in the past year, about 4,000 were flown in King Air aircraft; half via scheduled service and half private and semi-private charter.
has about 2,000 hours in it). He said they look for aircraft with G1000 avionics or an aircraft that makes sense to upgrade to the G1000.
“The King Air 350 off the shelf pretty much covers everything you need,” Stockton said. “We’ve found that the sweet spot is looking for serial numbers around 560 and above; the air conditioning system has been upgraded and there is a quieter cabin with no maintenance issues around the sound dampening system.”
What’s Next
Adding a third corporate owned and eighth overall King Air to their fleet will help Advanced Air keep up with growing demand in both private charter and semi- private scheduled service. Stockton said they are seeing business returning to pre-COVID numbers and better, in some cases.
“It’s been fascinating to watch what’s happening,” Stockton said. “Airlines are coming back with higher prices and less frequency in certain areas. Business travel hasn’t yet scaled back up so it’ll be interesting to see when and how that comes back. Overall, we are seeing customers who now feel they can justify the price of chartering or customers who maybe didn’t realize this was an option and now they are hearing about
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private aviation and semi-private options and realizing it’s feasible and makes sense.”
In December, Stockton said the company is close to launching a program under the Advanced Airlines umbrella that will make it more accessible to book private and semi-private charter flights. Their program will use a proprietary algorithm to optimize the private flying experience. His vision is that you’ll be able to crowdfund to meet a minimum passenger number to make the charter cost-effective, buy empty seats or sell empty seats on platforms like Expedia and Travelocity.
“We’re rolling out a tool that will change how you search, book and save on your next charter flight,” he said.
Advanced Air’s home base is within its own FBO at Hawthorne Municipal Airport. Stockton oversees the Jet Center Los Angeles and is the managing partner of the many properties the Advanced Air partnership has at HHR, including the airport’s long-term property lease.
In recent years, they’ve recruited new tenants from Santa Monica Airport, scheduled to close at the end of 2028, and built more than 200,000 square feet of hangar space.
The transformation of what was once a sleepy airport with no new construction since the 1970s into what Stockton calls the Los Angeles area’s premier aviation destination will take center stage next month.
SoFi Stadium, home of the NFL’s LA Rams and LA Chargers, is hosting Super Bowl LVI scheduled for Feb. 13. The sports and entertainment complex that opened in fall 2020 in Inglewood is 2 miles from HHR and Stockton said it has increased flights at the Jet Center by 30% on game days.
Stockton said investments in facilities combined with the airport’s convenient location, 4,884-foot runway and lack of noise restrictions make it a popular option in the LA basin. He anticipates at least 100 airplanes coming in the weekend of the Super Bowl, with departures around the clock.
The airport and the Jet Center have been planning for a year for a safe event and will use the experience to help prepare for LA’s hosting of the 2028 Summer Olympics. Stockton is looking forward to showcasing the capabilities of the company his partners and team have grown over the past 17 years.
“Building Advanced Air into the aviation entity it is today has been one of the most fulfilling experiences of my life,” Stockton said. “What started as a pipedream has become more than I ever imagined. I can only see us continuing to soar from here.” KA
JANUARY 2022