Forget about Napa.
Santa Barbara County is becoming more of a wine destination, attracting enthusiasts from every pocket of California, and even visitors from out of state.
Patricia Kerrigan, a former airline industry consultant and long-time resident of the county, found a niche market and established Wine Country Airlines, which could be making flights out of the Lompoc Airport as early as December.
“If you wanted to get somewhere [on the Central Coast], you pretty much had to get in your car and drive,” Kerrigan said.
This is currently the case with flying into Los Angeles. And to get anywhere along the Central Coast from LAX, a person has to either drive or take a shuttle, tacking on extra time and cost. That person could also fly to local airports, such as Santa Maria or Santa Barbara, but those flights can be pricey.
Kerrigan’s currently in the process of negotiating a contract for leasing two Cessna 208B Grand Caravans; the flights would be a simple hop, skip, and a jump to locations around the state. The nine-person propeller aircraft will start flying point-to-point services from Lompoc to Bakersfield and Long Beach. When business picks up, Kerrigan is considering adding service to Sacramento or perhaps Carlsbad.
And the cost?
Flights would start at $200 per passenger for round-trip flights. Factor in gas, drive time, and even the stress of being on the road, and a couple of hundred bones may seem like more than a deal. Because it’s fairly close to LAX, Kerrigan thinks her flights could serve as a connecting flights to longer flights elsewhere, or could taxi passengers taking cruise liners out of the nearby port in Santa Barbara.
Kerrigan has more than 30 years of airline industry experience. She was instrumental in launching Mokulele Airlines in Hawaii, serving as its CEO several years ago. Besides her new venture, she provides contracting services. Kerrigan is also the CEO of DASH Aviation, which makes customized software for the airline industry. Kerrigan worked with out-going Lompoc Mayor John Linn to get a lease at the airport.
Kerrigan will be offering wine tour packages in conjunction with local businesses. But she said the flights could also be convenient for personnel from oil companies or fire fighters traveling to train at Allan Hancock College’s new safety training complex. Other area businesses could also benefit, she said, including the Chumash Casino Resort and those in the local skydiving industry.
Flights could take anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour depending on where the plane’s coming from, and a typical route would take travelers along the coastline. The small Cessnas would fly lower than larger commercial airliners, which Kerrigan thinks would provide more to look at than just clouds and make the scenery below more eye-catching. But, she warns, flight amenities would be pretty much non-existent due to the flights’ short lengths.
If all goes well with construction, the lease for Lompoc Airport’s terminal would begin Dec. 1. Kerrigan is currently working on getting the reservation portal up and running, which should take about a month. More information on Wine Country Airlines can be found by calling 805-733-1000, 877-203-8414 or 415-602-5711.
Staff Writer David Minsky wrote this week’s Biz Spotlight. Information should be sent to the Sun via fax, email, or mail.
This article appears in Nov 13-20, 2014.