Although the price of fuel at the Johnston County Airport has risen sharply in the past year, Forehand, owner of JNX Flight School, said he spends perhaps more time in the air now than ever before. Forehand attributes the increase in his flight time to a growing number of business travelers he says are turning to private flights to save time and money.

John Bullock, chairman of the Johnston Airport Authority, said the trend has more than made up for a slight dip in the number of recreational flights leaving the airport’s lone runway.

In terms of fuel sales, Bullock said, the airport is actually selling more gas now than it did one year ago.

That’s good news, added airport manager Ray Blackmon, especially since about 40 percent of the airport’s revenue comes from fuel sales. As of Friday, the cost being passed on to customers was $5.40 for a gallon of 100 low-level fuel and $5.53 per gallon for Jet-A fuel.

“With rising fuel costs, even though the number of gallons we buy remains the same, the rising prices keep taking more and more out of our budget,” Blackmon said. “Each time we get a new load of fuel, we raise or drop our prices based on what we had to pay for it.”

At Friday’s rates, fuel for a 5.5-hour flight in the Columbia 400 that Forehand most often flies would have cost a client about $530. (The plane holds 98 gallons of fuel, which it burns at a rate of about 18 gallons per hour.)

While the cost of an airline ticket from Raleigh to, say, Chicago on Friday might have been more or less than that, Forehand said business travelers find other benefits in private flights. (A Friday flight to Chicago on Delta would have cost $562; the same flight on Southwest cost $209.)

“I think one reason business flights have picked up is because of the frustration with commercial airlines,” he said. “It beats standing in a security line at the major airports for two hours, and there aren’t all the extra costs.

“Plus, a lot of people I fly are going to places airlines don’t serve.”

“A private flight is more cost-effective because it allows a client to maximize their time,” he added. “You have to ask yourself what your time is worth. Flying commercial might mean paying for an overnight stay and two or three meals. It might cost more to fly private, but you’re back home that day. You’re home to answer another phone call at the office instead of sitting on an airplane out of reach.”

“The price of fuel might cost a company $20 or $30 more per hour in operation costs, but the utility value of the plane outweighs that cost,” Forehand said.

Bullock said he expected that the trend toward private business flights could continue, even if the price of gasoline continues to fall.

“If you really think about it, even with higher fuel prices, nothing is going to get me to Georgia and back in a day quicker than a private jet,” he said. “It’s certainly not cheap, but from a business perspective, when you look at the price in terms of both the time and money invested, the cost is almost worth its weight in gold.”