Corporate jets flock to the runways: business-aviation use is surging, for a variety of reasons, among them convenience, flexibility and efficiency. And increasingly, executives below the C-suite level are going along for a ride.

• Author: Sweeney, Paul
• Position: Travel management

Nothing but blue skies ahead for corporate aviation. At least that sounds like the tune that the business aviation industry is singing as aircraft sales and actual shipments of planes for business use are up sharply. At the same time, more miles are being logged for business travel on company aircraft, and the trade organizations of the business aviation industry report that their membership rolls are swelling.

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It doesn't take a rocket scientist to reckon that a good economy lies behind all the excitement. "People are flying more for business," says Pete Bunce, chief executive of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA), which includes such well known companies as Beech, Cessna and Gulfstream. "And [corporate] aviation gives you the ability to fly more efficiently."

Statistics help account for why everyone involved in the business aircraft industry--from the manufacturers to high-flying business people--are so upbeat these days. Paid-for shipments of business jets jumped 26.9 percent in 2005 compared with 2004, making it the second-best year ever for the industry, GAMA reports.

In dollar terms, the numbers tell an even sunnier story. Total billings worldwide for general aviation airplanes--pistons, turbo-props and business jets--came to $15.1 billion in 2005, compared with $11.9 billion in 2004, a 27.2 percent jump. (Jets accounted for about 88 percent of the total dollar sales last year.)

The rise in the popularity of business aviation hasn't taken place overnight; the field has experienced steady growth over last 15 years. Yet many of the underlying reasons for the business-flying phenomenon are not patently obvious. For example, industry experts say that the "hassle factor"--the desire by business people to circumvent long security lines and the demands that travelers empty their pockets and slip off their shoes before boarding a scheduled commercial airline flight--is not really a key driver.

Nor, say industry insiders, does the perceived pampering of top executives play a huge role. In the popular mind, CEOs and other high-powered executives are pictured boarding sleek corporate jets while the rest of the world is consigned to no-frills economy flights. Yet, industry experts assert, sound business decisions and hard economic logic lie behind businesses that are increasingly employing general aviation.

Typically, that means the use of company-owned, leased or chartered planes to whisk employees from...