CAA: GA News, "Plane fate: Charter business soars, but flight schools suffer"

["Stephen Irwin" <stepheni@xxxxxxxxx>]

Sunday, September 23, 2001

Plane fate: Charter business soars, but flight schools suffer
By Clint Swett
The Sacramento (CA) Bee


In the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Bruce Watts' air charter
business is soaring, but for nearly 11 days Gen Hakamata's flight school
couldn't get off the ground.

Those are two contrasting faces of the general aviation industry as it deals
with the fallout from tough new restrictions on airlines and private
aviation.

For Watts, owner of Woodland Aviation at the Yolo County Airport, there was
an immediate surge in business after the tragedies on the East Coast.

As the Federal Aviation Administration cleared charter operators to fly two
days after the attack, Watts had planes in the air and his fleet of jets and
turbo props combined to fly a total of eight trips to the East Coast over
the course of several days.

"We were picking up stranded people and taking people back there for
memorial services," Watts said.

Though business slowed last week, Watts said he expects a long-term increase
in charters as deep-pocketed individuals and businesses avoid commercial
airlines either because of a fear of further terrorist activity, or because
of the time-consuming hassles of dealing with increased airport security.

Current clients, he said, already have told him they expect to charter more
often, and new potential customers are calling each day.

Passengers pay a premium for the convenience of flying charter. Unlike
commercial carriers, passengers rent the plane instead of purchasing a seat.
Costs can range from about double a full fare commercial ticket to more than
$30,000 to charter a nine-passenger jet to the East Coast and back.

While Watts' planes were back in the air, Hakamata, president and chief
flight instructor at Sky Walk, a flight school based at Sacramento Executive
Airport, was not so fortunate. Even as the FAA eased restrictions on most
general aviation activities, all flight schools across the nation were
grounded until the FAA suddenly lifted its restrictions late Friday
afternoon.

The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association estimates that the shutdown cost
flight schools $15 million a day. And Sky Walk felt that pinch. "We were
losing a couple of thousand dollars a day," Hakamata said Friday just
minutes after the FAA lifted most of its flight-training restrictions.

While almost all of Sky Walk's revenue had dried up, its expenses didn't.
The company was still responsible for bank and insurance payments on its
fleet of eight aircraft, rent on its office and tie-down space at Executive
Airport. It also paid four full-time instructors a retainer, whether they
were teaching or not.

"I'm glad we can operate again," Hakamata said. "It will be tough to
recover."

Neither Watts nor Hakamata is unusual in his situation. Across the nation,
air charter operators report heightened interest in their offerings, though
in some cases it hasn't translated to increased business.

"We've had a lot of calls, but nothing's come to fruition," said Laura
Arrol, charter service coordinator for Pacific Jet Charter in Rancho
Murieta.

One operator seeing both sides of the situation is Atkin Air in Lincoln.
Niki Atkin, who owns the company with her husband, Kent, said charter
business is up about 15 percent, but Atkin Air still suffered because its
flight-training operations were shut down.

"We have a student base of over 100," Atkin said, and they were all
grounded. "Financially it's just disastrous. It disables your cash flow."

At Bridgeford Flying Service in Napa, charters were up 70 percent last week
and business remains brisk, but those gains were being offset by the
grounding of its flight school and a steep drop in the sale of aviation
fuel, said Mark Willey, Bridgeford's chief executive officer.

The FAA didn't say exactly why flight schools were closed until late Friday
other than to confirm the decision was "security" related.

The terrorists who hijacked the four airlines on Sept. 11 are thought to
have been trained at United States flight schools. Local flight schools say
they've been contacted by federal agents inquiring about current and former
students.

Greg Guster, a flight instructor at Sky Walk, had been teaching about six
hours a day, six days a week before the terrorist attack. But for 11 days
his income dried up.

"Fortunately, my other half makes a decent wage," he said of his fiancée.
Wasting no time getting back to work, Guster already had lessons scheduled
for Friday evening.

But he also wonders about his long-term career prospects. With about 400
flight hours under his belt, he's teaching flying as a way to build up the
1,200 hours he needs to land a flying job with an airline. But with the huge
number of airline industry layoffs, there will be plenty of qualified pilots
in line ahead of him.

"Luckily I have at least a year to go before I have enough hours. A lot can
happen in a year," he said.

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