Select a base using actual passenger destinations, schedule, storage and aircraft requirements.
Map the recurring passenger itinerary
Build a month of expected trips with passenger origins, meeting locations, departure windows and overnight stays. Put Van Nuys and Burbank into a northern Los Angeles comparison, Hawthorne into a South Bay and Westside comparison, and Long Beach into a southern county comparison. These are planning groupings, not guaranteed transfer times. Obtain current ground-route estimates at the actual times the aircraft will be used.
Evaluate different rulebooks and planning horizons
Van Nuys distinguishes mandatory restrictions from its voluntary Quieter Nights program. Do not copy that rulebook to another field. Santa Monica needs a separate long-term review because the city plans closure at the end of 2028. A ten-year aircraft budget should show a potential base transition rather than assume an unchanged Santa Monica arrangement. Have the operator validate the exact aircraft's requirements at each candidate airport.
Compare costs over the same year
Request the same aircraft-specific storage, handling, fuel, access and after-hours information from each candidate provider. Add repositioning, crew logistics and realistic ground transport. Keep financing and aircraft reserves fixed across the airport scenarios so base selection drives the difference. Record the proposed delivery point separately from the home base, and obtain qualified California tax advice before arranging either.
Your next-step checklist
- Map at least one normal and one inconvenient departure window.
- Obtain written space and service proposals.
- Document aircraft-specific operating review.
- Include relocation where SMO is considered.
Sources & further reading
Primary sources support the relevant facts. Our planning questions and illustrative exercises are editorial analysis; they do not replace transaction-specific advice.
- Van Nuys Airport noise information · accessed 2026-10-28
- Santa Monica airport legal documents · accessed 2026-10-28