6/13/2010

By TIM UNRUH

Salina Journal

An encouraging buzz is back at Salina Municipal Airport, but remains far short of the roar that once rang bigger profits for two aviation businesses.

More jets and aircraft in general are being noticed lately at the airport in southwest Salina, making "America's Fuel Stop" a busier place after a dismal, multiyear lull. The dip in business was thanks to a financial crisis that gutted corporate flying, a staple among the airport's two fixed base operators.

"I never felt like we were in danger of closing, but cash flow got tough for a while," said Greg Lust, president of America Jet, 2010 Rogers Court. Lust and his wife, Tammie, of Salina, co-own the FBO.

"Over the last winter, December and January, we were down about 45 percent in fuel sales," he said. "Since then, it's picked up considerably."

Thanks in a small part to better sales, America Jet is planning a "grand reopening" and open house Saturday. The main impetus is to show off its remodeled and upgraded building that America Jet leases from the Salina Airport Authority, Lust said. The airport authority spent $265,000 on the project.

"Our open house is also to show appreciation for the support we've received from the Salina aviation community and to thank the airport authority for the remodeling," he said.

Flower Aviation of Salina, 2035 Beechcraft, lost more than half of its business in the economic downturn, said Doug Livergood, of Salina, the general manager. He has worked for the Pueblo, Colo.-based company 20 years.

"This year, I'm having more really good days. During all of last year, I hardly had any," Livergood said.

'A slight uptick'

Back in January, he started noticing "a slight uptick" in business. Traffic has improved, Livergood said, but it's still only half of the business posted in 2007, when up to 460 jets a month were served by Flower.

"The economy, as a whole, is turning back around," Lust said.

America Jet and Flower Aviation of Salina refuel airplanes and offer food and ground services to the flying public. America Jet also services and maintains aircrafts, stores and rents airplanes, and offers flight lessons.

The drop in fuel sales is evident in the airport authority's tracking of fuel flow at the airfield.

Dispensed fuel at the airport flirted with 5 million gallons a year during the early 2000s -- 4.695 million gallons in 2002. By comparison, the fuel flowage in 2009 dipped to 2.481 million gallons.

Those numbers are important to the airport authority, which assesses a fee of 6.89 cents a gallon delivered at the airport. The airport authority brought in more than $110,000 less in fuel fees during 2009 than in 2002. The bulk of that drop in fuel was from the FBOs.

Little corporate flying

Corporate fliers cut way back, Livergood said.

"There probably was less disposable income. They weren't flying at all," he said. "There were days when it was just me and my assistant manager here."

At peak times, Flower Aviation of Salina had up to six employees working several shifts around the clock.

"I didn't lay anybody off. We cut back through attrition," Livergood said.

America Jet, which employs about 17 people, didn't let any workers go during the downturn, Lust said.

"We've got great customer loyalty because we maintain quality customer service," he said. "We do have great employees."

Having a contract to refuel military aircraft that come here for training at the Smoky Hill Air National Guard weapons range did soften the blow over the past two years, Lust said.

But negative comments by President Barack Obama about automotive executives flying in corporate jets didn't help.

"He kind of missed the point. Those jets are business tools, not just perks for the bigwigs," Lust said.

"Of course, when oil went to $140 a barrel, fuel prices were double what they are now. That definitely had an impact on jet traffic," Lust said.

Auto industry rebound

He's noticed a turnaround during the first half of this year, thanks in part to a rebound in the automotive industry and a decrease in oil and fuel prices.

"A lot of auto parts are shipped by cargo planes," Lust said.

Livergood started seeing more freighter planes stopping on their way to Arizona and beyond, likely picking up parts and other products.

Not as many celebrities are stopping at Flower Aviation, but there are more owner-operators of airplanes landing for fuel.

"The gentleman that owns the business is onboard. I haven't had this much freight business in more than two years," Livergood said. "These are both good signs."

Comparing last month to May 2009, Flower's business is up 25 percent.

But there is a long road back to the good times.

"It's been rough for about two years, but we'd been preparing for this for quite a while," Livergood said. "If a business isn't flexible during a recession, they're probably not going to last."

Fuel efficiency hurts sales

Lust isn't sure how much fuel sales can recover.

"I don't know that we'll ever get back to where we were. The increased fuel efficiency of aircraft is allowing some to go nonstop from coast to coast," he said. "Consequently, we're looking for other opportunities to increase our revenue. Growing our shop is one possibility."

Another is in general aviation, Lust said, "getting more people interested in flying and storing their planes on the airfield. The interest in learning to fly seems to be increasing."

Airport operations -- takeoffs and landings and fuel sales -- are just part of the indicators of better times, said Tim Rogers, airport authority executive director.

"It's a good sign," he said. To be nearing construction of a new freight distribution-and-sort facility is an "encouraging sign that the economy has improved to the point that the project can proceed, and produce additional jobs in the community," Rogers said.

The airport authority is working on bringing a new lease of a unit in the Salina Development Center to a tenant that will add "a small number of jobs," he said, among signs of a better economy from existing businesses.

Low unemployment rate

"The outlook for Salina and Saline County has always been good," Rogers said.

Salina's unemployment rate -- 5.5 percent last month -- is low relative to the rest of Kansas, which was 6.3 percent in April, said Dennis Lauver, president and CEO of the Salina Area Chamber of Commerce.

As he peers into the future, Rogers expects local employers to create jobs "at a fairly quick pace," based on recruiting trips, most recently in Oklahoma and Texas.

"Our strategic plan overall continues to be well-received by companies that view Salina and Saline County as a good location to consider for projects that will be coming online in 2011 and 2012," Rogers said.

n Reporter Tim Unruh can be reached at 822-1419 or by e-mail at tunruh@salina.com.

FACTOID: A fly-in pancake breakfast and open house will be at 7 a.m. to noon Saturday at America Jet, 2010 Rogers Court. Free all-you-can-eat pancakes continues until 9 a.m. The public is welcome.

A CF-18 fighter jet, Alpha Jet and other military aircraft will be on static display. Discovery Flights in a Cessna 172 are offered for $15 a person. Tethered hot-air balloon rides are pending.

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