A new study shows the use of business jets and other small aircraft is more about companies trying to gain efficiency and improve the bottom line than about providing a luxurious perk to those at the top of the corporate ladder. The industry wants to dispel many misconceptions about how and why companies use general aviation.

While cases of corporate bigwigs using corporate planes to jet off to exotic locales tend to make the headlines, the reality is very different, according to the survey of passengers and flight crews. The study found just 22 percent of passengers on business aircraft were top-level executives, while 70 percent included mid-level managers, sales, technical and service staff. The average number of employees per company who flew on business aircraft during a six-month period before the survey was 85.

In addition to aircraft usage, another key point highlighted in the report follows the old real estate motto of location, location, location. Almost half of the flights made by business aircraft in the survey are to airports with little or no scheduled airline service. One-third were to smaller, secondary airports.

In other words, taking the corporate jet was the most efficient, if not the only, way to get there.

There are more than 5,000 public airports in the United States, but only about 600 have any kind of scheduled service. What’s more, most of the airlines fly in and out of just 70 major hub airports. The ability to utilize more of the airports not served by airlines benefits companies trying to save time by flying closer to their destinations. And it benefits the rest of us by reducing traffic — and therefore delays — at hub airports.