Private jets for the minivan set

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The pilot glances back from the cockpit of a Cessna Citation Mustang, flashes a grin and a thumbs up, and leans into the throttles. The Mustang leaps forward, its turbines launching it into the sky like a small fighter jet.

The Prairies below, golden with fall colour, stretch out in a panorama. A few moments later, the snow-dusted Rockies come into view.

The flight is an extravagance most only dream of, the thrill of selecting any destination on a map, then boarding a private jet to rocket there in quiet comfort on soft leather.

But Vancouver's Opus Aviation is on a mission to wrest this elite form of travel from the grasp of the superrich and deliver it to the growing numbers of well-to-do westerners enjoying the boom in oil and other resources.

"It's not just for the Lamborghini set," said Lee Coonfer, vice-president of communications for the Ledcor IP Holdings Ltd., which has leveraged its financial might as a $2-billion-a-year construction company to create Opus.

And just maybe, Opus hopes, it's also for the minivan set.

To make the point, Opus photographed its jets next to a battered 1994 Dodge Caravan that Mr. Coonfer borrowed from his grandmother. The picture will be used in a magazine ad to lure fliers.

Ledcor is aiming to build Opus into an air-taxi service that would connect Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary with a network of eight to 10 Mustangs.

In the meantime, for about $2,000 an hour, customers can charter one of the company's two jets to fly anywhere there's a landing strip. Recent flights took the jet to Phoenix, Ariz., Napa, Calif., and Tumbler Ridge and Fort Nelson, towns in northern British Columbia.

The price point is significantly more affordable than the $3,000 to $7,000 an hour it costs to rent most private jets, Opus argues.

"This is the most cost-effective way to fly by jet. No ands, ifs, or buts. It's going to introduce a whole new group of people to this type of flying. If you've got a small or medium business, this is now a functional choice," said Darryl Saunders, Opus director of sales and marketing.

Another selling point: none of the flight delays, random pat-downs or other time-wasting indignities now routine in commercial travel.

The Mustang's competitive leg up is its tiny size: 12 metres long, just a few metres longer than some stretch limousines. It has just four seats. It's classed as a "very light jet," a relatively new type of aircraft that is helping to rewrite the economics of private travel.

Opus is betting that a growing class of travellers is willing to pay about 30-per-cent more than the price of a business-class ticket to enjoy the luxuries and convenience of private travel.

Opus is Canada's first commercial operator of the aircraft; Vancouver's Blackcomb Aviation also recently began flying a Mustang, and private owners have purchased a number of the $3-million planes.

Alberta is already a major Canadian hub for private air travel - Calgary's international airport alone is home to some 50 business jets and a dozen charter operators - but it is a world typically reserved for top executives.

Opus is betting middle management now wants on board too.

"Alberta's definitely going to boom again with oil sands, and positioning these aircraft in this market, I think, is the right choice," Mr. Saunders said.

Across the aviation industry, the promise of very light jets has grown. Cessna has sold more than 300 Mustangs, which are the sole aircraft used by Blink, a fast-growing new European air taxi service that packages private travel with high-end sporting and cultural events. But the small new jets have also provided considerable disappointment. Florida-based DayJet, for example, launched with many of the same promises as Opus, but lasted less than a year, folding in 2008.

And Western Canada's biggest business charter operator doubts there will be much demand for a plane that, for all of its cost advantages, is slower, with a more cramped interior and far less range than other private jets. A Mustang can fly about 2,100 kilometres - not enough to reach either New York or San Diego from Western Canada without a stop.

"In our operation, it wouldn't work. We couldn't fly these airplanes far enough to meet the demands of our customers," said Ian Darnley, director of business development for Sunwest Aviation, which manages a fleet of 40 aircraft.

Besides, he warned, "aviation is a graveyard of companies that haven't made it, because the costs can be huge."

Yet analysts - and even competitors - say Opus has a substantial advantage in that it already has a major, reliable client in Ledcor. The company is also attempting innovative ways to fill its planes. It is inviting corporate executive assistants to take a tour through the aircraft, in hopes of making an impression on the people responsible for travel booking. It is paying to offset its emissions to make a more appealing carbon-neutral service.

And it has partnered with Vancouver's Jubilee Tours & Travel Ltd., which runs the popular Travel Best Bets website, to create and market high-end packages designed to appeal to families travelling to Disneyland or golfers flying to Oregon's exclusive Bandon Dunes Golf Resort.

"The Mustang coming into the marketplace makes it more affordable to more people," Jubilee president Claire Newell said. "It's a really great opportunity for people who are middle to upper income and want to do the once-in-a-lifetime splurges."