The Gulfstream G450 touched down at Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport on Thursday morning as rain gently dropped from the clouds and temperatures rose toward the 40s. Sleek and white, the multi-million-dollar private jet was almost unnoticeable — at least, until the thunderous sound of its turbines washed across the airfield.
Crossing the 2,400-acre property, the iconic oval windows of the plane — six on each side — provided little view of what or who was inside before it parked and its passengers disembarked outside the Yellowstone Jet Center.
Quickly, they walked across the tarmac and vanished inside.
An obvious symbol of wealth, excess and convenience, the presence of private jets has grown over the years as development — be it million-dollar homes or new hangars at the airport — continues. And despite being but one piece of a much larger industry, the G450’s arrival in Bozeman is a representation of that continued growth as new companies and owners move in and the airport expands.
“Seeing the constant growth (at the airport), it’s something… that I haven’t seen in a lot of other airports in a town that you wouldn’t expect to have that much corporate jet activity,” said Kurt Belcher, the chief executive officer of STA Jets, a plane management company based in Orange County, California, that will soon begin chartering flights in and out of the area.
“There’s a tremendous influx of corporate jet activity… that’s why we want to make sure we’re there to be of service,” he said.
Since the pandemic, private jet usage has jumped nearly 20%, according to a study by the progressive think tank, the Institute for Policy Studies. With a global fleet of around 23,000, it’s estimated that the majority are located in the U.S., many of them stationed in Texas, Florida, and California.
Since 2001, the number of private jets has increased by 133%, the study found.
And even in Gallatin Valley, with real estate hotspots like Bozeman and Big Sky, the growth has continued alongside overall traffic increases at the airport’s main terminals.
“We’ve seen a very busy 2023,” said Brian Sprenger, the chief executive officer of Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport. “Passenger levels are probably going to be up about 8 to 10% compared to the previous record set last year — we’re going to see the total number of passengers exceeding 2.4 million.”
Private and corporate planes over 12,500 pounds — which includes most private jets such as the G450 — had a 3.1% uptick since 2022, amounting to 6,718 landings in 2023, according to Sprenger.
From 2021 to 2022, the uptick was 6.5%.
A lesser-known area of the airport for the general public, the private aviation sector still makes up a significant number of total landings. In 2023, there have only been about 1,000 more commercial flights. However, neither commercial nor larger private jets compare to the 34,144 landings by small aircraft (under 12,500 lbs.) which include those of the flight schools and private owners.
The G450, which has an estimated value of $15 million, will be managed by Belcher and STA Jets which is in the process of setting up the management side of their business in Bozeman.
The company, one of many that operate at the airport, helps private owners make sure their planes are taken care of and available when needed.
Altogether, Belcher says STA — which has other locations across the country — will have three jets stationed in Bozeman that they’ll charter out to other individuals for around $8,500 per hour.
With a flying speed just slightly faster than a commercial plane albeit at a higher altitude, the G450 will offer wealthy clients obvious benefits.
According to the data provided by Belcher, if one were to fly from Bozeman to San Francisco, an 800-mile trip, or from Bozeman to New York, an 1,800-mile trip, they could expect to pay $12,000 to $25,000.
Founded in 2002, Belcher took over the helm of STA Jets in 2009. After being encouraged by some friends to visit, he found his way to Montana and invested in the Lone Mountain Ranch.
Then, about four years ago, he and his wife purchased property in Bozeman, where they live part-time.
Although STA will soon begin their plane management side of the business, they’ve operated in Montana since around 2017. Known as a “fly-away state,” Belcher says the majority of the sales they oversee occur in Montana because owners can forego sales tax.
“We sold (the G450) for clients, so we’re coming to Bozeman to do the closing — that’s a scenario where we are using the state laws for sales tax to do the closing,” Belcher said. “(Montana is) what’s called a fly-away state, meaning you can close the airplane there and fly away and you don’t have to worry about the sales tax on the aircraft acquisition.”
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Inside the cabin of the G450, dark wood paneling contrasts the light tan leather seats. It’s quiet and peaceful and the light carpets show no sign of wear, despite the plane’s decade of service.
With room for 12, including a two-seater couch, it’s the epitome of luxury so long as one has the means, which for many isn’t the case.
According to the Institute for Policy Studies, the average owner of a private jet, which can cost upwards of $75 million, has around $190 million in personal wealth. Often, notable public figures such as Elon Musk or Taylor Swift will surface in the media for the usage of private jets, and both of them being among the top flyers in the country.
In 2022, Musk took 171 flights according to the Robb Report, or almost one every two days — just one more than Swift. Both received backlash for the exorbitant number of emissions produced by their travels.
The Institute for Public Studies reported that “1% of people are believed to be responsible for about half of all aviation carbon emissions.”
“The target clientele is your top 1% or 10%,” Belcher said. “We’re not creating the demand, the demand is there, we’re just coming in and making it easier to facilitate that demand by having local representation.”
In one of the seats, Capt. Jim Cira goes over post-flight paperwork after piloting the plane into Bozeman. A pilot of nearly 30 years, including a stint in the commercial airline industry, Cira explained that what sets private aviation apart are the responsibilities for ensuring the individual happiness of his clients.
“As opposed to just sitting up front operating the aircraft, we’re responsible for the service side of the business as well,” he said. “We make sure that all their needs are cared for… anything that the passengers ask us to do…for the most part, we don’t have a problem accommodating.”
At the end of the day, those who have the means to fly private do so for convenience and discretion.
“We have all kinds of people that don’t necessarily want to disclose what they’re doing, where they’re going,” he said. “That’s what we sell here at STA Jets, we sell convenience, discretion. Luxury, there’s not too much that that we can’t provide, we can arrange pretty much everything.”
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