Supervisors expected to OK change at John Wayne

Paul Clinton

JOHN WAYNE AIRPORT -- Pan Western wants to pull up stakes.

The corporate carrier holds the lease agreement for Newport Jet Center

-- one of two corporate operators at John Wayne Airport.

The Orange County board of supervisors on Tuesday is set to consider

transferring the lease to Newport Beach FBO, who has agreed to a buyout

of Pan Western. Both fall under the category of “fixed-base operator,”

meaning all jet operations are handled in one place, unlike a commercial

airline.

The airport’s access plan, the result of the 1985 settlement agreement

imposing restrictions at John Wayne, permits only two fixed-base users.

John Wayne Director Alan Murphy will recommend the move, which isn’t

expected to have a significant effect on operations.

“It should be a seamless transition,” John Wayne spokeswoman Ann

McCarley said. “Everything will be the same including the names and the

individuals working there.”

The item has been placed on the consent portion of the supervisors’

agenda, an indication it has little opposition.

The county must approve all tenants at the carrier’s

88,413-square-foot facility on 6.153 acres of land. Newport Beach FBO has

agreed to pay $17,422 a month to rent office space, hangers, parking and

a fueling area.

The lease includes a newly constructed 0.172-acre underground fuel

storage parcel located at the southern end of the airport. The facility

is located at the northern corner of the intersection of Campus Drive and

Quail Street.

The county entered into a lease with Pan Western on Oct. 24, 1994.