Charter aircraft company expands to Waterloo region

Aircraft charter company NovaJet has announced it isopening a base at the Region of Waterloo International Airport.

As part of the expansion, NovaJet announced on its website it has added a Learjet 45XR business jet to its fleet, with pilots and maintenance staff to support the new location.

The eight-seat midsize business jet is currently available for essential travel only, the company said, but availability will be extended to regular private jet clientele once pandemic-related restrictions are lifted.

Even as the COVID-19 pandemic has reducedtravel overall, one airline industry expert says it's not a surprise that the company wants to set up in the region.

York University professor Fred Lazar says the pandemic, and people's desire to avoid travel on large commercial flights, has accelerated growth in a business aircraftsector that was already poised to pick up steam.

"The costs and prices of private travel have declined," said Lazar, an associate professor of economics at the Schulich School of Business.

"They're becoming competitive with business class or first class travel. And then second,it's much more convenient."

Charter jets offer convenience

Lazar said he thought about using a charter jet himself for a ski trip to Wyoming. He saidthe cost to fly his group would not have been significantly more expensive than flying on a regular airline.

Plus, they could fly direct.

"I'm definitely not in the sort of one per cent," he said.

Part of the reason companies like NovaJet might be attracted to the airport is the tech sector in the region, Lazar said, and the expectation that there will be a significant demand for business travel between the Waterloo region and tech centres such as San Francisco.

The Waterloo airport has a number of attractive qualities, including a lack of delays relative to larger airports like Toronto Pearson, Lazar said. The airport's proximity to affluent areas in the western part of the Greater Toronto Area, and the ability to accommodate any of the current business jets on the market, also make a difference.