Corporate Air Expands Local Operations, Eyes New Market

Jun 7, 2011 11:25 AM

Corporate Air LLC, a charter management company based in Pittsburgh, Penn., is spreading its wings—and its footprint. With a headquarters, FBO and eight hangars at the Allegheny County Airport (AGC), the organization also operates aircraft out of two hangars at Pittsburgh International Airport and another facility at Washington/Dulles International Airport (IAD) near Washington, D.C. The company is emerging from a corporate travel glut with new clients and new expansion plans.

Over the past year, Corporate Air has purchased nine new aircraft for corporate clients, totaling $225 million. Today, Corporate Air operates a fleet of 20 aircraft, but in the next year or two expects that number to increase to 25, said Mike Vargo, director of sales and marketing. In the past year, Corporate Air added a second hangar for a corporate client at Pittsburgh International Airport, hired eight pilots, two mechanics, two cleaners, line service personnel and an administrative employee.

“When you operate a company composed of 100 personnel and you’re adding another 10 to 15, that’s significant growth these days,” said Vargo, who also said the company was still looking to hire at least two pilots and several mechanics.

Despite the increasingly menacing price of jet fuel, Vargo said the company’s revenue during the first quarter was up over a year ago, with total flight hours 30 percent higher. At this time two years ago, Corporate Air and other charter firms in the region were laying off employees, citing dramatic decreases in business travel resulting from the recession in general and from the inflated stigma of private jets.

“Unfortunately, corporations and businesses were keeping their heads down, afraid to utilize their aviation assets - aircraft that are irrefutably valuable business tools,” Vargo said. “Now, things are turning around. The economy in general is turning around.”

A couple of years ago, Corporate Air began seeking more business in Washington, D.C., having secured several key clients in the area. It’s been expanding in that region ever since.

“To us, it was an incredibly underserved market,” Vargo said. “There are countless company headquarters but not many quality charter management companies to handle all of the aircraft.”

In the not-so-distant future, Corporate Air hopes to establish more bases on the East Coast, according to Vargo, who mentioned New York City, Boston, Philadelphia and Florida as potential targets. Corporate Air is also seeing a significant uptick in international travel, especially to the “BRIC” countries—Brazil, Russia, India and China.

“When a multinational corporation or individual traveler finds a private aviation company with a robust fleet of large-cabin aircraft and professionally-trained flight crews that possess vast international experience, they’ve found an invaluable partner.” That, according to Vargo, is exactly what they find so attractive about Corporate Air.

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