Airport Business - 23

COVER STORY
said there are a couple of strong trends
inf luencing airports - community
perception and the passenger and tenant
experience.
"One of the things that we're really
seeing is the rise of secondary community
GA airports, because if those airports
can offer commercial f lights to larger
destinations or connecting destinations,
the community has really started taking
advantage of those things. We're seeing
load factors increase at a lot of our GA
airports, especially those with essential air
service and commercial flights. It's one
of those things where if it's convenient,
people are going to use it. The ability to
cut out the whole driving three hours to
an airport if they don't have to, aspect of
travel," said Fuehne.
"We're also seeing a lot of emphasis on
the traveler's experience and the tenant
experience, as well," Fuehne continued.
"'What can you do for me, as a passenger
or as a tenant at the airport?' From a
passenger standpoint, it's 'do you have
restrooms after I go through security
or do I have to go back out through
security?' Things like that. And then for a
tenant, it's 'is there going to be somebody
manning fueling operations 24/7? Is there
somebody I can get a hold of 24/7?' It's
bringing airport management and
bringing the ability to serve all of your
passenger and tenants' needs."
At Falcon Field Airport in Mesa,
Arizona, asking tenants how the airport
could best serve them was the first

mission that Lynn Spencer, airport
has a $6 billion annual economic value
economic development program manager, and benefit to our region," said Spencer.
had when she joined the airport staff two
"Right now, the economy is very
years ago.
strong. Arizona was late to get into the
last recession, and we were late coming
"I interviewed the companies to find
out what was here, what was missing, and
out of it. But the economy here is very
started building momentum for what was
robust and the airport's economy is doing
happening here by spreading the word
extremely well," Nystrom added.
Of the companies that do business
about the different assets and kinds of
business we have. Our businesses include
at the airport, Nystrom said that MD
aeronautical aviation f light schools, Helicopters, a helicopter manufacturer
helicopter manufacturers and general
that evolved from a company started
aviation users. I interviewed pilots and
by Howard Hughes, and CAE Oxford
employees of the airport companies to Aviation Academy (CAE) are the largest
find out more about their supply chain, tenants.
their customers and who should be here,"
"Falcon Field is CAE's U.S. location.
Spencer recounted.
They contract with airlines, or in some
With 300,000 operations a year - a
cases with governments, to train pilots
number that airport director Corinne
from the ground up, and train them
specifically to go to work in the right seat
Nystrom expects to "easily exceed" in
2019 - MSC is among one of the busiest
of a commercial airline," said Nystrom.
general aviation airports in the United "We also have over 750 aircraft based
States. On the airport, there are over 100
here and a very large recreational general
businesses with over 1,400 employed at
aviation population here, in addition
MSC. In addition, Boeing has a through- to the hundred plus businesses that we
the-fence agreement with MSC and an
have. So, we have a lot of diversity here.
adjacent plant where they build their You can come to Falcon Field and have
anything done to your aircraft, whether
Apache helicopters, as well as perform
it's avionics, or engine work, or painting.
drone research and development, said
Nystrom.
It's one-stop shopping here at Falcon
"We just had an economic impact
Field."
MSC's growth was no accident. It has
study done. And it showed that our
annual benefit, direct and indirect, is $811
become an economic driver for the region
million annually. That does not include
through its own initiatives and tactical
Boeing, who has a through-the-fence
planning, all things that Fuehne says
agreement with us. When you include
airports looking for their own growth
should be doing.
Boeing's economic impact, the airport
Falcon Field lit up at night.
IVAN MARTINEZ PHOTOGRAPHY

OCTOBER 2019 \ AVIATIONPROS.COM / 23
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Airport Business

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