"Aircraft service provider looks to compete at Lynchburg, Va., airport"

Sunday, December 5, 2004

Aircraft service provider looks to compete at Lynchburg, Va., airport
The Lynchburg (VA) News & Advance


LYNCHBURG, Va. -- Passengers flying out of Lynchburg Regional Airport have
probably heard about fierce competition airlines have in the skies.

But a different struggle for dollars is going on the ground at the
city-owned airport just next to the main runway.

There, businesses called fixed-base operators are in charge of everything
from fueling private planes to aircraft maintenance to flight training.

Right now, the airport only has one -- Virginia Aviation.

Falwell Aviation has filed an application with the airport commission to
become a full service operator.

That's a move supporters say will mean lower fuel prices, more jobs and more
money for the city.

The current outfit isn't so sure, though.

David Falwell presented its application Monday to the airport commission
asking for a recommendation when the company brings its request to City
Council as early as January.

"It is not our intention to exclude any present or future (fixed-base
operators) at the airport," he said at the meeting.

Commission members tabled the vote until Dec. 7 because some had not had
time to review the proposal.

In order for the commission to give its recommendation -- and for council to
make the proposal official -- the bodies have to determine if Falwell
Aviation meets the "minimum operating standards" for running a fixed-base
operator set by the Federal Aviation Administration.

If a business meets those minimum standards, which include regular
maintenance services and charter flights, that company must be allowed
operate under federal law.

Both Airport Director Mark Courtney and City Manager Kimball Payne reviewed
the proposal and told the commission Falwell Aviation met the minimum
standards.

Virginia Aviation President Jim Lampman obtained a copy of the proposal
through a Freedom of Information Act request and told commission members
that Falwell Aviation simply didn't meet the standards and shouldn't be
allowed to be a fixed-base operator.

And Lampman plans to let the airport commission hear the reasons at the Dec.
7 meeting.

His major complaints regard a rent disparity and fuel services.

Lampman said he pays about 30 percent more to rent his buildings than
Falwell Aviation, which sublet a previous fixed-base operator's lease for
two hangars after it filed for bankruptcy.

The current operation grosses the city more than $100,000 a year in tax
revenue, according to David Falwell.

He said that could lead to unfair competition because Falwell Aviation's
operating costs will be lower.

"We need to have an even playing field at a public airport," he said.

The solution, Lampman said, is to compete again for the lease.

But Falwell Aviation general manager Kyle Falwell said the lease was
obtained fairly and there is no reason to bid on it again.

Lampman said he's also concerned about fuel competition. If Falwell
Aviation's operating costs are lower, then the business could sell fuel at
lower prices.

That, he says, is unfair also and could result in a profit loss.

"Fuel is the critical component of an FBO," he said.

Kyle Falwell said Virginia Aviation shouldn't be threatened by another
operator at the airport anyway.

"We don't want to target the same business," he said.

Courtney agreed.

While all fixed-base operators have to provide the same services under the
FAA's minimum operating standards, those companies don't have to be mutually
exclusive, he said.

One company could concentrate more on flight training or airplane sales
while the other could concentrate on charter flights or airplane rental.

"All (operator) services are not one dimensional," he said. "The can attract
a different class of customers.

The airport has an interest in fostering competition, because it gets 7
cents of every gallon of fuel sold, Courtney said.

Dueling fuel providers might mean lower prices, and therefore more gallons
sold.

That money would beef up the airport's operating budget.

If Falwell Aviation's proposal is denied by City Council and the company
could prove to the FAA that it does meet the minimum operating standards,
Lynchburg Regional Airport could lose federal funding.

The airport commission will vote whether to recommend the proposal Dec. 7 at
4 p.m.

If the commission denies the request, Falwell Aviation can still bring it
before City Council, which would likely be in January.


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