Businessmen launch charter air service

Bob Noble, Mark Burgess and Patrick McKee debuted charter air service OzAir on Aug. 10, offering flights on a Beechcraft King Air 90 twin-turboprop and a Cessna Citation I jet. OzAir, which operates under the banner of Burgess Aircraft Management LLC, offers the only Springfield-based jet charter service and joins Aviation Enterprises and Springfield Aircraft Charter & Sales in the local charter business.

OzAir originated when Noble, CEO of advertising agency Noble & Associates, looked into buying a corporate airplane. About a year ago, he contacted old friend Burgess, who has been a pilot for more than 30 years. Burgess suggested forming a partnership and launching a charter company to offset the cost of owning a plane.

Burgess and Noble contacted McKee, owner of Holloway Machine Co., and the investors were in place. Burgess is taking the lead on the endeavor, serving as pilot and managing partner.

“With the growth of the Branson market and the lack of qualified charter services in the whole Ozarks area, we saw the need,” said Noble, whose company uses charter flights several times a month.

Competition in the skies

OzAir, Aviation Enterprises and Springfield Aircraft Charter & Sales all operate from the Springfield-Branson National Airport’s General Aviation Terminal. Additionally, several charter companies operate near Springfield, such as Mizzou Aviation in Joplin and Executive Aviation Services in Fayetteville, Ark.

Melvin Humpreys, owner of 15-year-old Aviation Enterprises, operates a Cessna 172 single-prop. Humpreys flies clients mostly within a 500-mile radius, but he can broker a connection with a charter service based in Kansas City, St. Louis or another regional city if a jet or larger aircraft is needed for longer flights.

“The industry (is) a small community,” Humpreys said. “Everybody knows everybody.”

OzAir also has the ability to patch customers through to other carriers, but Noble said using their Springfield-based jet would cost customers 30 percent to 50 percent less than importing a jet from another city. OzAir’s Cessna jet also can carry passengers to most places in the continental United States without needing to stop for fuel.

Costs vary by company, largely due to the aircraft in use. A trip to St. Louis through Aviation Enterprises, for example, would take an hour and a half and cost $975. The same trip on OzAir’s jet, which has an hourly flying rate of $1,900, would take half an hour.

Nationally, there are more than 2,500 air charter operators using more than 300 types of aircraft, according to the National Business Aviation Association. Those operators can fly among the United States’ 5,000 public-use airports, more than 100 times the number of commercial hubs.

‘Time is precious’

Charter travel is all about customization and saving time.

“I personally have traveled more than 2 million miles on commercial aircraft,” said OzAir partner McKee. “It’s becoming more cumbersome (with) the security lines, the lost luggage (and) the inconvenience of cancelled flights.”

Avoiding such issues and having better control over flight times are appealing to businesspeople on the go. And there are other perks.

“If you tell us you like Diet Coke instead of Diet Pepsi, that’s what will be on the airplane,” Burgess said.

Customized service has made J.D. Edwards a loyal Aviation Enterprises customer. Edwards travels regularly for his company, Midwest Floor Restoration, which installs decorative concrete throughout the United States for companies such as Bass Pro Shops, Lowe’s and Bed Bath & Beyond.

A few weeks back, Edwards said he had an urgent need to fly to Indiana for business. Aviation Enterprises picked up Edwards at the airport in Bolivar, where he was bidding a job, and got him to Indiana and back home in just a few hours.

“Time is precious,” Edwards said. “It’s very handy and convenient, and it actually saves me money by utilizing that type of service because of the time factor.”

Plans to expand

Burgess, McKee and Noble have big plans for OzAir. While startup costs were undisclosed, the trio said they’re building an $800,000, 15,000-square-foot hangar that they’ll occupy by the end of the year. Morelock-Ross Builders is serving as general contractor.

OzAir bought the six-seat Cessna jet for an undisclosed amount, and is leasing the seven-seat prop King Air. The partners plan to add aircraft and employees, including maintenance and service crews, as demand warrants.

Burgess currently handles reservations and flies the planes with three other pilots – Bob Somerville, Collin Little and Dan Robbins.

SBJ.net Poll

Would you or your business use a local charter airplane service?

Vote at sbj.net/poll.[[In-content Ad]]