Agenda Item AGENDA STAFF REPORT ASR Control 25-000086
MEETING DATE:	03/11/25
legal entity taking action:	Board of Supervisors
board of supervisors district(s):	5
SUBMITTING Agency/Department:	John Wayne Airport (Approved)
Department contact person(s):	Charlene V. Reynolds (949) 252-5183
	Evanna Barbic (949) 252-5232

Subject: Approve Commuter Airline Operating License with Delux Public Charter, LLC

ceo CONCUR

County Counsel Review

Clerk of the Board

Concur

Approved Agreement to Form

Discussion

3 Votes Board Majority

Budgeted: Yes

Current Year Cost: N/A

Annual Cost: N/A

Staffing Impact:

# of Positions:

Sole Source: No

Current Fiscal Year Revenue: See Financial Impact Section

Funding Source: N/A	County Audit in last 3 years: No
Levine Act Review Completed: Yes

Prior Board Action: 7/23/2024 #7, 6/5/2018 #S29A

RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):

Approve and execute the Commuter Airline Operating License with Delux Public Charter, LLC dba JSX Air, for a one-year term effective March 25, 2025, through March 24, 2026, and authorize the Airport Director to extend the term of this License for a one-year period.

Authorize the Airport Director or designee to make minor modifications and amendments to the Commuter Airline Operating License with Delux Public Charter, LLC dba JSX Air that do not materially alter the terms or financial obligations to the County and perform all activities under the terms of the license.

SUMMARY:

Approval of the Commuter Airline Operating License with Delux Public Charter, LLC dba JSX Air will enable the company to provide regularly scheduled air service from Jay’s Air Center, LLC’s leasehold at the Southwest Limited-Service Fixed Base Operator.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

On June 5, 2018, the Board of Supervisors (Board) approved Delux Public Charter, LLC dba JetSuiteX Air (Delux), a Commuter Airline Operating License (License), enabling the first regularly scheduled commercial operation at a location other than the Thomas F. Riley Terminal at John Wayne Airport (JWA). Since that time, Delux has been operating from ACI Jet’s Fixed-Base Operator (FBO) leasehold.

On July 23, 2024, the Board authorized the Airport Director to allocate 95,070 passengers to Delux for operations out ACI Jet’s FBO leasehold, for the 2025 plan year.

Delux Public Charter, LLC, now operating as JSX Air (JSX Air), proposes to temporarily relocate its operations from ACI Jet to Jay’s Air Center, LLC (Jay’s) Southwest Limited-Service FBO leasehold. The License is needed to facilitate the temporary relocation. This request is in accordance with Section 8.1.7 of the Phase 2 Commercial Airline Access Plan and Regulations.

JWA is seeking approval from the Board for a License with JSX Air. The proposed License would have a one-year term, beginning March 25, 2025, and ending March 24, 2026, with an option for a one-year extension, at the Airport Director’s discretion, from March 25, 2026, to March 24, 2027.

To assess the impact of this relocation, JSX Air has completed traffic and parking studies, while JWA has also conducted its own study to validate the findings. These analyses were designed to evaluate and address potential changes in traffic and parking conditions resulting from the proposed move of JSX Air’s operations to Jay’s leasehold. The studies show no short-term or long-term impacts.

The License is being presented for Board approval less than 30 days before the effective date due to their sublease with ACI Jet terminating on March 31, 2025.

Compliance with CEQA: This project is a necessarily included element of the project considered in Final Environmental Impact Report (EIR) No. 617 - John Wayne Airport Settlement Agreement Amendment Project and Final EIR No. 627 - John Wayne Airport General Aviation Improvement Program, certified by the Board of Supervisors on September 30, 2014, and June 25, 2019, respectively, which adequately addressed the effects of the proposed project. No substantial changes have been made in the project, no substantial changes have occurred in the circumstances under which the project is being undertaken, and no new information of substantial importance to the project which was not known or could not have been known when Final EIR No. 617 and Final EIR No. 627 were certified and the Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Programs were adopted; has become known; therefore no further environmental review is required.

FINANCIAL IMPACT:

Revenues for the Commuter Airline Operating License are included in Fund 280, Airport Operating Fund, FY 2024-25 Budget, and will be included in the budgeting process for future years.

In accordance with JSX Air’s capacity allocation, the estimated annual revenues range between $500,000 to $600,000.

STAFFING IMPACT:

N/A

ATTACHMENT(S):

Attachment A – Commuter Airline Operating License with Delux Public Charter, LLC dba JSX Air
Attachment B – Map of Jay’s FBO
Attachment C – Section 8.1.7 of the Phase 2 Commercial Airline Access Plan and Regulation