LJ Aviation shows strong growth in turnkey management and charter.
In days gone by, whenever the Kilkeary boys heard the sound of a Bell 206 JetRanger approaching the family home, they'd grab a hose, run out to the driveway and prepare to wash the incoming aircraft. LJ
Aviation (LJA) Founder, President and CEO Ed Kilkeary, always at the JetRanger's controls during the early days of the business, took full advantage of this handy wash-and-go service as he jockeyed between flying jobs.
Still very much a family business, LJA has evolved from an original Learjet 25 and Bell 206 JetRanger fleet to the leading aircraft charter and management company in the Pittsburgh area with
a fleet of 15 aircraft. The company's name emerged from that 1st Learjet 25 partnership, LJ standing for Learjet.
Today sons Brad and Eddie are flying the aircraft, son Dan is director of sales and marketing and Ed's wife Mary Ann is director of charter sales. The family's FBO at LBE (Latrobe, PA) has become more than just a 1st
rate pilot family – it's also a 2nd home for the Kilkeary clan.
However, with today's 60 LJA staff members, including 27 full-time professional pilots, the business has evolved far beyond the mom-and-pop realm. LJA prides
itself on being able to offer attractive career advancement opportunities to a growing collection of pilots.
"We never anticipated our company would grow so large. It just kind of perpetuated itself. We came to work each day, we were fussy about how we kept and maintained our aircraft and we worked with a lot of great
people," says Ed Kilkeary, a 20,000 hr TT pilot who still logs 600 hours a year flying company aircraft. "Our fleet flew 7200 hours last year and we're privileged to work with a great team of professional pilots."
LJA's current flightline sports 2 Raytheon Hawker 800XPs, a Hawker 800A, 2 Hawker 700As, a Bombardier
Learjet 60, 2 Learjet 31As, a Cessna Citation VII, an IAI Westwind I, 2 King Air B100s, a King
Air B200, a Bell 206B and a Bell 407. Two Bombardier Continentals are on order for delivery in 2005, and delivery of a Learjet 45 is expected in the spring. While the
Kilkeary family owns its Westwind, the King Airs and the Bell 206, the remainder of the fleet are managed aircraft flying both Part 91 missions and Part 135 charter. When not piloting his own aircraft, Ed Kilkeary occasionally squeezes
in time to fly left seat aboard Arnold Palmer's LBE-based Cessna Citation X.
"We've experienced dramatic growth over the past couple of years," notes Chief Pilot Mark Urbane, who has 14,500 hrs TT on the Hawkers, Westwind and Citation VII. "With our 2 on-order Continentals, career
advancement opportunities for our pilots are the best they've ever been."
Fleet evolution
In the early 70s Ed Kilkeary was in the trucking business. He drives the rigs while Mary Ann handled bookkeeping. In 1974 Kilkeary, who had earned a helicopter rating in the military, was introduced to a coal industry businessman who
wanted to buy a helicopter. "I convinced him to buy a Bell 206 JetRanger," recalls Kilkeary. After the charter business began to wane, Kilkeary sold the charter contract to a local ABC television affiliate.
A Learjet 25 was added to the mix in 1980. Kilkeary discovered a charter niche in both organ transplant missions and in providing a 6-trip-per-week corporate shuttle service for a local manufacturer. LJA took out its
own charter certificate in 1986 and the fleet continued to grow with the addition of managed King Airs, a Falcon 10, the Westwind and assorted Learjets.
Ed Kilkeary has managed LJA's charter business shrewdly. In one instance the Kilkeary family managed to turn a 25-hr-a-year charter customer into a 600-hr-a-year managed charter client. "We bought a new Learjet
31A for Allegheny Energy 3 years ago and it quickly became a valuable working tool for them. Last year they flew the Learjet 31A 600 hrs. We also operate a Bell 407 for Allegheny's power line surveillance work, and it flew 860 hrs last
year."
Allegheny Energy Chairman, President and CEO Al Noia says the benefits of corporate aviation have exceeded his wildest expectations. "When we first heard about LJA we
were a small charter customer. Ed wanted us to buy a Learjet 31A and we took a leap of faith with him," recalls Noia, who now has a Continental on order. "We've discovered that corporate aircraft can be superb business tools
and we've had a couple of fabulous years growing our company in ways that would not have been possible without corporate aviation."
Building close client relationships has always paid off for the Kilkeary family. Over the years LJA has remained a personal, family-style, business. "Call
LJA at 3 am. You'll probably find my mother or father answering the phone at home and they'll usually pick up by the 2nd ring," Dan Kilkeary says.
Ed Kilkeary has been instrumental in helping his clients select their new corporate aircraft. "I have a lot of input in aircraft-buying decisions because most of the people I've sold aircraft to are 1st-time owners.
I usually recommend that my clients buy new aircraft because of warranty considerations, the benefits of advanced avionics and RVSM qualifications. New aircraft pay off on the resale market and you'll have peace of mind knowing that
you have the best of everything."
Pilot Lifestyles
LJA looks for captains with 3500 hrs TT. For first officers (FOs), the company likes to see 2000 hrs TT but makes exceptions in special cases.
"We look for quality flight time but we're also looking for people with the right personality and team spirit," Urbanek says. "Working here is a great opportunity for pilots looking to fly new equipment
to interesting destinations."
Annual starting pay for a new-hire FO is $20,000. But based on performance this increases, to annual rate of about $26,000 after a 6-month evaluation. A newly promoted King Air captain can expect to earn $40,000 while
Learjet and Hawker captains typically start at $55,000 and $60,000 respectively. Top pay scale is currently in the neighborhood of $95,000.
"If someone is devoted, takes initiative and wants to work, their pay can grow tremendously," advises Assistant Chief Pilot Richard Constantine, who joined LJA 3
years ago and now flies the Learjet and Hawker series. "We have one FO making $40,000 and he's been here only 2 years. We feel that the long-term career opportunities we can offer our pilots are worthwhile and attractive."
Since the nature of charter work is on-demand, all LJA pilots must maintain high availability with their company cell phones at the ready. Pilots are guaranteed
every 2nd weekend off and RONs are typically less than 7 a month. Job benefits include full hearth coverage, 401K and profit sharing benefits. All pilots are trained at FlightSafety Intl and can benefit from the low cost of living in
the Latrobe area. Some live in the Pittsburgh area – they just have to be available within 1 hr.
Pilot turnover is low and LJA pilots enjoy the company's varied fleet, according to Brad Kilkeary, who began flying with the company in 1995 with 450 hrs TT and now has logged around 4800 hrs TT.
"We have wonderful new aircraft to fly and they're always well maintained and well prepped," he says. "I enjoy flying the Hawkers and the Learjet and I'm interested in earning my helicopter license."
Mary Ann Kilkeary's team of 7 dispatchers uses BART scheduling software to orchestrate dispatch and scheduling functions.
"The secret to smooth operations is attention to detail and trying to make life as easy as possible for our pilots," she says. "Our goal is to provide the best customer service possible and we always try
to go beyond client expectations."
Maintenance and line service
Director of Maintenance David Lyle, with his team of 10 supports the LJA fleet. All engines, except the King Air Pratt and Whitney Canada turboprops, are on hourly MSP contracts.
Fleet utilization is relatively high with the Bell 407 achieving close to 900 hrs a year and the turboprops and jets running between 500 and 600 hrs a year. The highest time fixed-wing aircraft is the 1979 Westwind I, which has accrued
around 7500 hrs TT.
"We try to limit ourselves to flightline maintenance, basic inspections and engine changes," Lyle says. "Product support has been quite good from all the airframe manufacturers we deal with. We're now
operating 30 Honeywell engines, so we're considering becoming a Honeywell service center at some point."
To help contain operating costs LJA has its own 24,000-gal fuel farm at LBE. Jet A price away from base has been approximately $2.50 a gallon over recent months.
Line Service Manager Clarence Boring is in charge of ramp activities, including the greeting and fueling of transient visitors at LJA's FBO – a Texaco dealership
that opened 2 years ago. Amenities of the 24-hr facility include a fireplace lounge, conference room, WSI weather equipped flightplanning room and a catering staging area. Internet access and crew cars, as well as assorted catering options
and maintenance support, are available to transient crews.
Future directions
LJA is a RVSM certifying its Hawker 800XPs in order to better support international operations. As the Bombardier Continental arrivals are still a few years off, the company
is looking at acquiring larger-cabin, longer range, managed aircraft for the interim period. "I have a long wish list which includes the Challenger 604, Global Express and Gulfstream IVSP," Ed Kilkeary says. "We're hoping
to add 1 or 2 long-haul aircraft this year in addition to a Learjet 45 we plan to put on line in April 2002."
LJA plans to continue hiring pilots and mechanics. While the company is constructing a new hanger and expanding its fleet, its fundamental objective remains – maintaining
the personal service levels that have built a successful company.
"Here at LJA, we're more concerned about maintaining the quality of our services and operations than we are about growing bigger," Ed Kilkeary says.
For the Kilkeary children and grandchildren, corporate aviation has become a way of life.
"Flying has been a dream for all of us," says Ed Kilkeary Jr who pilots the Citation VII and the Hawkers. "While we don't have the grandchildren washing aircraft anymore, we all spend a lot of time together
and we usually end up celebrating more family get-togethers at the FBO than we do at our homes."
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