Mel Holmes

A gradual shift in service is taking place at Grey Eagle Aviation, which offers air taxi and charter services to Mexico and the western United States, and guided air tours, airplane rentals and flight instruction at McClellan-Palomar Airport.

Prompted by a growing need for air charter service to a town where Americans have access to master-planned communities and 18-hole championship golf courses, Grey Eagle began offering air taxi service to San Felipe, Mexico, in September.

Although its nine-passenger Cessna Caravan first landed in San Felipe with seats to spare, the service has begun to catch on with vacationers, dignitaries and business executives.

It's been a bumpy ride during the company's eight-year history, said Mel Holmes, president of Grey Eagle Aviation, but it has been financially smoother since the addition of the San Felipe service.