Charter air service bringing people to Lake Tahoe
By Kathryn Reed
Skip driving, skip Reno, skip Sacramento. The fastest way to get to Lake Tahoe is via Gary Air.
Trish and Dave Guerrieri are flying clients in their Cessna 182 into Lake Tahoe Airport. The Bay Area couple, who have a second home in South Lake Tahoe, received clearance last week from the FAA for their charter service.
Gary Air charter service is flying into Lake Tahoe Airport. Photo/Provided
The Cessna carries two to three passengers – plus gear – including skis and snowboards.
For years, the South Bay couple has been acting as an air taxi broker. For the last five years they’ve been booking flights to Tahoe for other pilots as the broker.
“If our plane is not the right plane for the mission, we can still act as a broker to find people another operator who suits them best,” Guerrieri said.
It’s not just South Lake where the couple will fly to – it’s any airport. Regionally, that could be Truckee, Minden or Reno.
In the months they’ve been waiting for the FAA clearance, inquiries have been coming in from second homeowners and skiers. The Guerrieris anticipate creating a ride-sharing program for people who want to go to the same place but don’t want to charter the entire plane for themselves.
One thing they have over commercial airlines is no need to book two weeks in advance for the best rate. Their rates start at $250 person. Someone flying back and forth the same day will likely get the best rate.
From the website people can get quotes about fares.
The plane is based at Reid-Hillview Airport in San Jose. Having the plane near the population base is more economical than keeping it at the most popular destination.
Dave Guerrieri, who is the pilot, expects to fly mostly during the day – when it is safest with the optimal flying conditions.
It’s not just people recreating in Tahoe who the Guerrieris anticipate using their service. Their plane, they say, is ideal for shuttling the businessperson between multiple cities in a day. It also gets the Tahoe resident out of the basin and back again.
“I don’t think we will have an office in South Lake Tahoe. With everything so easy on the Internet, we don’t need to man an office (there),” Guerrieri said.
They aren’t worried about the ongoing recession impacting their business, saying they’ve seen the charter industry beginning to rebound in the Bay Area.
The couple brought their plane to the air show at Lake Tahoe Airport in August. They were also a sponsor of the Tour de Tahoe bike ride Sunday.
Details:
Email: info@GaryAir.us
Phone: (408) 729.4359
Prices: Start at $250/person from the South Bay to South Lake Tahoe
Not a lot of room for error in the mountains with such a small plane. Good luck to them.
General characteristics
Crew: 1
Capacity: 3 passengers
Length: 29 ft 0 in (8.84 m)
Wingspan: 36 ft 0 in (11.0 m)
Height: 9 ft 4 in (2.8 m)
Wing area: 174 sq ft (16.2 m²)
Airfoil: NACA 2412
Empty weight: 1,970 lb (894 kg)
Loaded weight: 3,110 lb (1,411 kg)
Useful load: 1,140 lb (517 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 3,100 lb (1406 kg)
Powerplant: 1× Lycoming IO-540-AB1A5 3-Bladed Constant Speed, 230 hp (172 kW)
Performance
Never exceed speed: 175 knots (201 mph, 324 km/h)
Maximum speed: 150 knots (173 mph, 278 km/h)
Cruise speed: 145 knots (167 mph, 269 km/h)
Stall speed: 49 knots (56 mph, 91 km/h)
Range: 930 nmi (1,070 mi, 1,722 km)
Service ceiling: 18,100 ft (5,517 m)
Rate of climb: 924 ft/min (4.7 m/s)
Wing loading: 17.8 lb/sq ft (87 kg/m²)
Power/mass: 0.074 hp/lb (122 W/kg)
lol……….A World Destination and we got a million dollar sink hole for money at the airport and then we got Search ,Rescue plane, for an air force…….I would say this not worth it.
“Never Survive’………Give us jets with cocktail severers with short dresses,plug in itunes,500 plus knots crusing speed on 10,000 torque powered Royce engines and someone might notice.
They reasphalted the runway for this,what a waste of Goverment Money for some stuffy, nose picking, mountain folks without customers.
Is this really for real or what?
Pardon me, if I burst your bubble….$$$$
Wonder what the difference will be with a dual proper?
This is free enterprise, which this country, U.S.A., stands for. h, what would you do if you had the money to do this?
Save my Money Lou ,I think I would do like all the rest did at the airport when psa,air cal,holiday flew in there ,Leave cause there’s no market here.
The only thing in town is foreclosures ,that should tell you something about airlines or in this case, a cardboard airplane at 250.00 a pop,that’s airway robbery,figures,Tahoe the pick pocket of vacation dreams people got wise to it and it shows.
There’s better destination to go to for cheaper ,that might be what holds this one horse town hostage..price gouging doesn’t work in a predawn depression.
h, save money, where, at the banks that pay .25, yes 25 cents, if you leave $100.00 there for a year.
Great idea, possibly a few more of these business will start up and we could go more places for a little more than you could with South West 2 week prior ticket rates. Elko for our Viking parents to see students football games, Disneyland. Maybe able to piggyback on a flight out of Tahoe after dropping tourists off here for a decent price too.
This little Cessna 182 is just the start for us. Gotta start somewhere, eh? In good weather, it has excellent price/performance. We have partnerships with other Air Taxi operators who can provide larger more capable aircraft for winter weather. For those who value their time, the local airport beats any other way of getting here or getting out of town for a quick trip for a ball game or concert in the San Francisco Bay Area or any other West Coast location.
Call us because we are committed to serving South Lake Tahoe as our focus. I have flown into TVL regularly for over 10 years and I’ve been a pilot for almost 30 including flying F-14’s for the U.S. Navy, so I have the experience to do it safely. If we bring up lots of people up who have significant discretionary spending ability, I see it as a win-win for my family business and the South Lake Community I love.
Hope to hear from you soon! See http://www.GaryAir.us for more information.
Dave Guerrieri