Salinas has an air charter service for the first time in 15 years, and it's just what airport officials were hoping for.

"We did better than OK" in signing a lease with Jet West, said Gary Petersen, Salinas Municipal Airport's general manager. "They wanted to be here."

Jet West has moved into the building that once housed Air Trails, which closed last year after the owner's death. Air Trails offered refueling and other services, but not charters. There was a charter service in Salinas until the mid-1990s, when that service was sold and the new owner moved it to Monterey.

When Air Trails closed, the airport sought a charter service, Petersen said, and Jet West was chosen last fall over one other bidder.

Jet West's planes include a Beechcraft Bonanza F33A, which seats three and the pilot, and an 11-seat King Air 200 XPR. The smaller plane rents for $375 an hour, the larger one $1,600 an hour.

"We're planning on attracting new business," said Ryan Gauger, Jet West's general manager in Salinas.