v

BUSINESS
A V I AT I O N

10

CHAPTER

Business Aviation

10

10.1

B U S I N E S S AV I AT I O N
Chapter 10

1 0 . 1 I NT RO DUC T IO N
Business Aviation (BA) is the subset of General Aviation (GA) that
serves corporate business aviation
needs. The facilities that support
Business Aviation provide a variety
of aviation-related services such as
aircraft fuelling, maintenance and
hangar facilities as well as special
services for passengers and flight
logistics support for aircrews.
The demand for BA facilities in
the Greater Toronto Area (GTA)
is currently significant, reflecting
the strong and diverse economy
of the GTA. Even the current
record fuel prices have not
dampened the demand for
BA services.
The focus of this chapter is to
assess what facilities may be
required to meet demand over
the Master Plan period.

1 0 . 2 D EF INIT IO N O F
B U S I N ESS AV IAT IO N
The following describes activity
which is currently associated with
the Area 8 and Area 10 Infield
area Fixed Base Operators (FBOs)
plus movements associated with
aircraft management or aircraft
sales related activities that occur in
the GTAA Three Bay Hangar or
elsewhere.

Chapter 10 > B U S I N E S S A V I AT I O N

There are a number of diverse

operations including:
corporate flight department
operations
aircraft charters
fractional ownership operations
aircraft management services
government/state and military
operations
air ambulance operations
aircraft maintenance
aircraft sales and acquisitions
aircraft fit-up activity
cargo/courier operations
smaller commuter type aircraft
unable to land at their designated airport in the GTA due to
poor meteorological conditions
at that airport
operations by private individuals.
For the purposes of the Master
Plan at Toronto Pearson, Business
Aviation will be defined as:
That sector of aviation which concerns the operation or use of aircraft
by companies for the carriage of
passengers or goods as an aid to the
conduct of their own business,
flown for purposes considered
not for public hire and piloted
by individuals having at the
minimum, a valid commercial pilots licence with an
instrument rating. This
definition will exclude
airline and non-airline

advanced booking or prepaid

regularly scheduled passenger or
scheduled cargo service.

10.3 HISTORICAL CO N T EX T
OF GENERAL AND
BUSINESS AV IATION AT
TO RONTO PEARSON
General Aviation was purposely
allocated to Area 8 away from the
terminal area in the 1950s due to
operational and safety concerns.
This area cannot be expanded as
it is located on land between the
approaches to the north-south
runways. Historically, activities
from this area included small scale
passenger transportation, cargo
operations, flight training, air
survey photography, sightseeing
tours and recreational flying. The
facilities in this area were built to
reflect these usages.

10.2

Area 8 Business Aviation Area

General Aviation activity peaked

in 1978 with 97,000 aircraft
movements representing 39 per
cent of total air traffic. Aircraft
weighing less than 2,000 kg
constituted 20 per cent of total
movements. This volume of
activity was incompatible with a
large international airport and so
was the mix of small aircraft with
many flight training operations
and large commercial aircraft.
By the mid-1980s, training flights
were officially banned at the
Airport due to runway and taxiway congestion and regulations
were instituted to exclude various
operations during peak demand
periods.
By 1988, runway capacity constraints and associated delays were
sufficiently severe to require the
introduction of flight registration
and slot scheduling. Aircraft were
no longer permitted to land without receiving prior permission and
only a limited number of noncarrier flights were allowed during
peak activity hours. In addition,

Chapter 10 > B U S I N E S S A V I AT I O N

minimum landing fees for

off-peak and peak periods were
introduced.
As a result of these changes, the
profile of General Aviation activity
at Toronto Pearson has changed
dramatically in terms of types of
aircraft and purpose of activity.
General Aviation declined from
39 per cent of total movements in
1978 to 12 per cent in 1992.
Today, General Aviation has
evolved primarily into Business
Aviation, and in 2006, accounted
for approximately 36,500 movements, or 8.7 per cent of the total
airport movements. Even though
the number of movements has
decreased, the size and weight of
the aircraft has increased.

1 0 .4 PROFILE OF
O P E RATIONS
In 2006, there were approximately
36,500 Business Aviation movements which had the following
characteristics:

Jets accounted for 66.6% of

operations, 32% of operations
were propeller driven (primarily
turboprop), and helicopters
were 1.4%.
Movements by weight class
(maximum takeoff weight) were:
>50,000 kg 1.4% (commercial
sized jets e.g. Boeing 727, 737)
19,000 kg-50,000 kg 14.7%
(large and mid-size business jets
e.g. Bombardier BD-700 Global
Express, Bombardier Challenger
600 Series, Gulfstream IIV
series, Dassault Falcon 900)
12,000 kg-19,000 kg 21.3%
(mid-size business jets e.g.
Bombardier Challenger 300,
Dassault Falcon 20/50/200/2000,
Raytheon Hawker 800, Cessna
Citation 680/750)
5,670 kg-12,000 kg 44.4%
(small business jets and medium
turboprops e.g. Bombardier
Learjet Series, Cessna Citation
550/560/650, Israel Aerospace
Industries Westwind 1124,
Dassault Falcon 10, Raytheon
Hawker 400, Beechcraft 1900,
Beechcraft King Air 300)
3,500 kg-5,670 kg 14.6% (small
business jets and small turboprops
e.g. Cessna 208 Caravan,
Beechcraft King Air 100, Pilatus
PC-12, Cessna Citation 525,
Sikorsky S-76)
<3,500 kg 3.6% (piston aircraft
e.g. Piper PA 31-350 Chieftain,
Cessna 172, Beechcraft Baron 58)
By sector, domestic operations
accounted for 43.3% of operations, transborder 53.2%, and
international was 3.5%. Special
consideration has to be given to

10.3
with an integrated passenger
lounge and Hangar 8B), supported
by 15,800 m2 of apron and
80 parking spaces.
Landmark Aviation (formerly
Piedmont Hawthorne) is a Shell
products dealer. Landmark
Aviation currently operates four
hangars totaling 18,200 m2 (net
space) and two Fixed Base Operation (FBO) terminals (1,100 m2),
supported by 58,600 m2 of apron
and 717 parking spaces.

FBO Terminal (Area 8)

each of the respective operating

contexts in Canada and the
United States since there are
different patterns of aircraft
ownership and utilization.
Business Aviation operators have
access to six slots per hour in the
peak periods and can also utilize
slots not used by commercial
aviation operators. A peak period
charge applies as well.

1 0 . 5 D ESC RIP T IO N O F
C U R R ENT FAC IL IT IE S
Business Aviation facilities at
Toronto Pearson are located in
Area 8 of the Airport North area
and in the Area 10 Infield area (see
Figure 10-1). Currently there is
approximately 42,800 m2 of net
hangar space, 1,900 m2 of separate
FBO terminal space, and
102,700 m2 of apron space
devoted to Business Aviation use
combined in Area 8 and the
Infield including the interim use of
the GTAA Three Bay Hangar.
These tenants lease space and, in
turn, sublease some of their space

Chapter 10 > B U S I N E S S A V I AT I O N

to other tenants providing related

services and to aircraft owners for
storage and maintenance. Hangar
facilities vary greatly in size, age,
condition and in their capability to
accommodate aircraft. A summary
of the facilities is provided below.

Area 8
The Area 8 Business Aviation
facilities are illustrated in Figure
10-2 and described below.
Skycharter is an independent
Fixed Base Operator (FBO) selling
unbranded fuel. Skycharter
operates two hangars with a total
of 7,300 m2 net space, (Hangar 8A

Ineld FBO Terminal (left) and GTAA Three Bay Hangar (right)

Innotech/Execaire provides
aircraft management, maintenance, aircraft charters and sales
services, but does not sell fuel.
Innotech/Execaire currently
operates one hangar which has a
net area of 2,300 m2 and no apron
area (they have a right of way over
the Hangar 9 apron). There are
42 vehicle parking spaces.
Access to airside for all tenants in
Area 8 is served by Taxiway Kilo
(uncontrolled) and Taxiway Juliet
(controlled). Groundside access to
Area 8 is from Derry Road to
Vanguard Drive and Vedette Drive
which form a perimeter road on
three sides of Area 8.

10.4

There is one underground tank

farm located in Area 8 containing
seven tanks each with a capacity of
66,000 litres. These fuel tanks
serve the Skyservice and Landmark
Aviation FBOs. Skycharter has its

Chapter 10 > B U S I N E S S A V I AT I O N

own aboveground fuel tank which

is a single tank with a capacity of
68,000 litres. Fuel is bulk delivered
to the tanks by truck and then
delivered to the aircraft by truck
when required.

Area 10 Infield
The Infield Business Aviation
facilities described below are
illustrated in Figure 10-2.

10.5

Skyservice FBO is an Esso

products dealer. Skyservice
currently operates one hangar with
a net area of 8,400 m2 and
28,300 m2 of apron area. They
also lease the north bay of the
GTAA Three Bay Hangar of which
half is used for Business Aviation
activity (3,300 m2). Additionally,
they operate an FBO terminal
building which is 800 m2.
This facility has 210 vehicle
parking spaces.
Bombardier currently utilizes the
middle bay of the GTAA Three
Bay Hangar for aircraft sales
related activity (3,300 m2).

Chapter 10 > B U S I N E S S A V I AT I O N

Airside access for the Infield area

is through taxiway Echo (controlled). Groundside access to
the Infield area is from Britannia
Road East to Midfield Road.

1 0 .6 INDUSTRY TRENDS
A number of important changes
are currently occurring in the
Business Aviation industry:
There is a general tendency
toward the use of progressively
larger business aircraft which will
have implications for space
requirements at airports even if
the number of movements were
to remain static.

The certification of the first Very

Light Jet (VLJ) aircraft models
has just recently occurred and the
first aircraft are being delivered.
VLJs are a whole new class of aircraft that are relatively inexpensive yet have high performance
characteristics. This type of
aircraft could be more accessible
to individual owners and could
facilitate the air taxi business, so
it could potentially stimulate the
Business Aviation industry. At
the time of writing, two VLJ
aircraft models have been certified and at least ten more are
pending certification over the
next few years. However, it will
take several years before enough
aircraft models are certified,
manufactured and sold before
any trend will be visible. Debate
exists about how prolific these
aircraft will be, who will use
them and how. Information
gathered in support of this plan
suggests that this type of aircraft
will have a limited presence at
Toronto Pearson.
Business Aviation aircraft
currently incorporate advanced
technologies in aircraft airframes,
engines/engine management
systems, and avionics which all
provide for the following:
greater fuel efficiency

FBO Hangar

10.6
There are potential changes in
air navigation technology such
as the use of GPS based navigation which may allow for greater
capacity of the airspace system
facilitating a greater accommodation of aircraft operations.
With consolidation in the FBO
industry, there is a tendency
towards fewer independent
operations and more chain
operations which allows aircraft
operators to make multi-airport
arrangements with FBOs for the
provision of services.

10.7 F O RECA ST OF
DEMAND

reduced noise and pollution

emissions
increased range and payload
greater ease of operation
facilitation of more efficient use of
airspace when combined with
new air navigation system
equipment.
New models of ownership/
charter of business aircraft (such
as fractional ownership and block
charter cards) facilitate easier
acquisition/use and higher utilization of aircraft, and supports
more proliferation of aircraft
movements.
Due to a thriving economy, the
ability to more easily acquire
access to business aircraft and the
perceived greater convenience of
using business aircraft, the

Chapter 10 > B U S I N E S S A V I AT I O N

number of businesses considering

the use of business aircraft as an
alternative to scheduled
commercial travel is increasing.
There is currently a very strong
market for new and used
business aircraft.

Fuelling Facility

Business Aviation is recognized to

be vital to the economy of the
Greater Toronto Area and is
expected to continue to require
facilities within the region which
facilitate access to Toronto. The
use of other existing airports in
the GTA may not be feasible
alternatives to accommodate
Business Aviation due to factors
such as:
Toronto City Centre Airport
currently cannot serve jet aircraft.

10.7

FBO Hangar

Buttonville Airport has insufficient runway length for

certain jets.
Other GA airports in the region
are on the periphery of the GTA
and lack facilities and suitable
runways for jet aircraft.
Additionally, there are some uncertainties at the current time that
complicate forecasting:
The future of a potential new
airport at Pickering has not yet
been determined, therefore it is
unknown how much Business
Aviation demand would be
directed to Pickering if the
airport is built.
The impact of the proliferation
of VLJs on the industry has yet
to be determined.
The impact on demand from the
United States due to proposed
airspace management finance
reforms there is unknown. These
reforms threaten to add more
costs onto the Business Aviation
industry if they are implemented.
Since more than half of Business

Chapter 10 > B U S I N E S S A V I AT I O N

Aviation activity at Toronto

Pearson is to/from the U.S.
(transborder), any major change
in the operating environment in
the U.S. will likely have a significant impact on demand for BA
facilities with access to Toronto.
Fuel prices have risen dramatically recently as a result of
various factors and it is unknown
at what point any further
dramatic increases would
dampen demand.
Below are forecast levels of
demand presented in five year
increments throughout the Master
Plan period:
Business Aviation
Movement Forecasts
Year
Movements
2010
39,500
2015
43,500
2020
48,000
2025
53,000
2030
59,000
The forecast level of demand
reflects an average annual growth
of 2% in movements per year
from the current baseline over the
Master Plan period.

The forecasts take into consideration the following assumptions:

Business Aviation aircraft weights
and sizes are expected to gradually increase over time requiring
more land area for a given
number of movements than has
occurred in the past.
A strong relationship between
Business Aviation activity and
macroeconomic factors has been
identified and the forecasts are
based on a relationship to
these factors.
The continued operation of the
existing General Aviation airports
in the region.
The operating environment at
Toronto Pearson remains stable
with respect to availability of
slots, fees, ability to conduct
night operations and noise
restrictions.

10.8 FUTURE
REQUIREMENTS
Business Aviation forecast
demand, for those activities that
fall within the definition provided
in Section 10.2, could be accommodated at Toronto Pearson
throughout the Master Plan
period through the combined use
of a redeveloped Area 8 and
existing facilities in the Infield.
The Infield area is, however, constrained for further expansion of
Business Aviation facilities.