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Booming Economy in NWA Fuels Area’s Private AviationLock Icon

5 min read

Summer Fallen took over as head of the Fayetteville Executive Airport at Drake Field four years ago with a background in finance and accounting.

It doesn’t take a numbers guru to know that things are adding up for the airport, which also runs the fixed-base operations (FBO) at the facility. Fallen said the airport has felt the positive effects of a strong economy in northwest Arkansas.

“For the first time in a very long time, Drake Field is at capacity,” said Fallen, the airport services manager. “All facilities on our airfield are leased. We also have a lengthy waiting list. With the economy being the way it is, that portion of the market that has always wanted to have their own airplane — now they can afford to do so. You have seen that flood the market.”

Fallen said the airport has plenty of room to expand and several people or companies with ground leases at Drake Field are in the process of breaking ground to build new hangars and create more space. The revenue generated from leasing represents approximately a quarter of the airport’s revenue, but a full house means more flights, which translates to more fuel.

Fallen said Fayetteville Aviation Services, Drake Field’s FBO, which the city took over in 2013, sold slightly more than 544,000 gallons of fuel in 2018, generating more than $2 million in revenue. Those numbers were increases from 2017, when the FBO sold 420,000 gallons and generated $1.54 million in revenue.

The strong economy and depth of businesses in northwest Arkansas have helped the private aviation business. Jett Aircraft started a charter service last year as private business travel continued to increase.

Nationwide, private jet flights exceeded 3 million in 2017 and 2018 and are expected to surpass that threshold again this year. In business-centric northwest Arkansas, private flights are a well-used asset, and not just by the major Fortune 500 companies.

Fallen said many private travelers are small-business owners or private groups, not just CEOs of the billion-dollar companies.

“Flying is now just a normal part of travel,” Fallen said. “People, especially in the private community, do want the full experience. We have great facilities; we are a full-service FBO. We try to capture all aspects of the market. We are not a corporate-based airport and we’re not a general aviation-based airport. We just want to provide all services to all.”

Destination Airport
In Bentonville, the airport recently opened the Fieldhouse, a two-story, 22,000-SF multiuse center that houses Thaden Field’s FBO, Summit Aviation, as well as a flying club and a restaurant named after Louise Thaden, a flying pioneer born in Bentonville. The Fieldhouse is the centerpiece of the plan to make Thaden Field a destination itself. Summit Aviation General Manager Brad Elliott said visitors can kayak, canoe and fish Lake Bentonville, on which the Fieldhouse is located.

“We opened up this side of the field to the public,” Elliott said. “We are attracting a ton of public folks into the aviation world, where typically you have chain-link fences and barbed wire to keep you away. We are looking to do the complete opposite and introduce it to the public.”

Elliott said Rogers’ Carter Field is built for the corporate jets with a longer runway, and Bentonville is chasing a new kind of tourism market. Elliott said there are 100 grass airstrips in Arkansas that provide access to natural getaways such as Gaston’s White River Resort.

“We have seen some corporate activity through here; it is typically local and regional folks that are flying short hops,” Elliott said. “We’re making this more of a destination site. We are really targeting the tourism side and making this a gateway to the backcountry of Arkansas. Our goal this year is to promote flying out to the places with grass strips. The public hasn’t been exposed to that.”

Elliott said when the Fieldhouse opened in October, the field’s flight school had 110 students. Since then that number has swelled to 150 and there is a lengthy wait list.

Adding more pilots to the pipeline is a critical issue in aviation. Much like other industries, such as trucking, which is experiencing a driver shortage, pilots are going to be needed as the industry continues to grow.

A 2018 report showed that 40,000 new business jet pilots will be needed by 2028. On the commercial side, the report said, more than 100,000 will need to be added.

More Affordable Convenience
Mark Rockwell, a pilot and principal with Jett Aircraft at Drake Field, said the charter company has seen a 250% jump in flights from a year ago.

Jett operates a Learjet 45 that can fly from Drake Field to Bakersfield, California, in less than three hours. The convenience of a private jet for business travelers is its ability to fly to airports not normally served by the commercial airlines.

“This is the first high-end charter company we have had,” Fallen said. “It’s something we thought was important. One of the reasons northwest Arkansas continues to grow and boom is because of corporations, and the corporate nature is time is money. We knew charter aircraft would be a market that would be highly sought after.”

Rockwell said a private jet service can fly company executives to a facility that isn’t located near an airport frequently serviced by commercial airlines. The private jet then can make another trip the same day to another non-major site.

“The companies we are flying may not be going to a major city,” Rockwell said. “If we take, for example, a poultry company to their plant, [it is not] going to be in Atlanta. That is where we have an advantage, going to the off-the-hub locations.”

Drake Field has certification that allows jets with more than 31 passengers to use the runway — pretty important since the University of Arkansas’ athletic teams use Drake Field.

Rockwell said he recently flew a group of eight on a nonbusiness trip to Augusta, Georgia, for a golf tournament. Fallen said when people think of the expense of a private jet, they forget that the cost isn’t as steep if divided by the number of people in a group.

Plus, Fallen said, there is the time savings and convenience of having a flight existing just for you.

“People automatically assume they can’t afford it,” Fallen said. “With a private charter you want to leave at 4:30, you pull up at 4:25 and you go to your destination.”

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