06/23/2005ExpressJet preps for airport changes; purchases a piece of Wing Aviation By:Burton Speakman , Courier staff
Growth is expected to force major changes over the next five to 10 years at the Lone Star Executive Airport in Conroe.
[url="http://bannerads.zwire.com/bannerads/bannerad.asp?ADLOCATION=4000&PAG=791&BRD=1574&LOCALPCT=50&AREA=501&VERT=6699&NAREA=470&barnd=6012"]http://bannerads.zwire.com/bannerads/bannerad.asp?ADLOCATION=4000&PAG=791&BRD=1574&LOCALPCT=50&AREA=501&VERT=6699&NAREA=470&barnd=6012[/url] By 2010, we should be looking more like Hobby (Airport in Houston) than the old Montgomery County Airport," said John Wing, chairman and CEO of Wing Aviation, which is based at the local airport.
There is enough demand in this area and north Houston to create that type of situation, he said.
The company is planning for these changes along with its recent deal with ExpressJet, which purchased a non-controlling interest in Wing Aviation.
The next step for expansion for both the company and airport is a new air traffic control tower and longer runways, Wing said.
A number of companies won't come into an airport that is uncontrolled, said Brian Wing, company president.
"There will immediately be an increase in business when the tower is complete," he said.
The airport will become the top option for private aircraft for the northern part of Houston because Bush Intercontinental Airport is making it more difficult and expensive for private owners to use that facility, Brian Wing said.
The company also anticipates that growing demand will make Lonestar Executive Airport a commercial airport in five to 10 years, John Wing said.
It most likely will serve as a regional location, with flights to Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, New Orleans and other nearby regional locations, Brian Wing said.
The Federal Aviation Administration will fund the tower project, said County Judge Alan B. Sadler. The project is imminent, but a timetable has not been set, he said.
Montgomery County and Sadler continue to step up and add needed facilities, John Wing said.
These expansions will mean additional tax revenue for the county from fuel pumped at the airport, Bran Wing said.
The partnership with ExpressJet will allow Wing Aviation and Lonestar Executive Airport to expand current facilities.
"We will be able to superimpose their technology onto what we're already doing in the private jet world," John Wing said.
This will give Wing Aviation the ability to offer better quality and reliability to customers and do it cheaper, he said.
ExpressJet operates as Continental Express, ExpressJet Services LLC, a third-party maintenance provider, and JetX Aviation Limited, a European startup company offering regional jet service to European carriers.
"Through this partnership, our goal is to become the lowest-cost, highest-quality provider of private aviation services," said Jim Ream, president and CEO of ExpressJet.
"The Wing Aviation team provides excellent leadership and a developed private aviation business that is second to none. We intend to combine our economies of scale with Wing Aviation's exceptional quality and service to maximize the benefits for both companies," he said.
This is the company's first effort in private air travel, said spokeswoman Kristy Nichols.
Entering the private aviation industry has been part of ExpressJet's strategic options for quite sometime, she said.
The arrangement allows ExpressJet to continue working in its specialty of efficiencies and economies of scale while avoiding some of the pressures from the current airline industry, Nichols said.
"It's also a chance to diversify from our largest partner, Continental Airlines," she said. "There have been preliminary discussions of future plans, but nothing has come forward to the public yet."
Wing Aviation is a full-service aviation company that offers aircraft charter and management, maintenance, avionics installations and aircraft painting. It is the largest employer at the Lonestar Executive Airport and occupies a 90,000-square-foot facility.
Growth is expected to force major changes over the next five to 10 years at the Lone Star Executive Airport in Conroe.
[url="http://bannerads.zwire.com/bannerads/bannerad.asp?ADLOCATION=4000&PAG=791&BRD=1574&LOCALPCT=50&AREA=501&VERT=6699&NAREA=470&barnd=6012"]http://bannerads.zwire.com/bannerads/bannerad.asp?ADLOCATION=4000&PAG=791&BRD=1574&LOCALPCT=50&AREA=501&VERT=6699&NAREA=470&barnd=6012[/url] By 2010, we should be looking more like Hobby (Airport in Houston) than the old Montgomery County Airport," said John Wing, chairman and CEO of Wing Aviation, which is based at the local airport.
There is enough demand in this area and north Houston to create that type of situation, he said.
The company is planning for these changes along with its recent deal with ExpressJet, which purchased a non-controlling interest in Wing Aviation.
The next step for expansion for both the company and airport is a new air traffic control tower and longer runways, Wing said.
A number of companies won't come into an airport that is uncontrolled, said Brian Wing, company president.
"There will immediately be an increase in business when the tower is complete," he said.
The airport will become the top option for private aircraft for the northern part of Houston because Bush Intercontinental Airport is making it more difficult and expensive for private owners to use that facility, Brian Wing said.
The company also anticipates that growing demand will make Lonestar Executive Airport a commercial airport in five to 10 years, John Wing said.
It most likely will serve as a regional location, with flights to Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, New Orleans and other nearby regional locations, Brian Wing said.
The Federal Aviation Administration will fund the tower project, said County Judge Alan B. Sadler. The project is imminent, but a timetable has not been set, he said.
Montgomery County and Sadler continue to step up and add needed facilities, John Wing said.
These expansions will mean additional tax revenue for the county from fuel pumped at the airport, Bran Wing said.
The partnership with ExpressJet will allow Wing Aviation and Lonestar Executive Airport to expand current facilities.
"We will be able to superimpose their technology onto what we're already doing in the private jet world," John Wing said.
This will give Wing Aviation the ability to offer better quality and reliability to customers and do it cheaper, he said.
ExpressJet operates as Continental Express, ExpressJet Services LLC, a third-party maintenance provider, and JetX Aviation Limited, a European startup company offering regional jet service to European carriers.
"Through this partnership, our goal is to become the lowest-cost, highest-quality provider of private aviation services," said Jim Ream, president and CEO of ExpressJet.
"The Wing Aviation team provides excellent leadership and a developed private aviation business that is second to none. We intend to combine our economies of scale with Wing Aviation's exceptional quality and service to maximize the benefits for both companies," he said.
This is the company's first effort in private air travel, said spokeswoman Kristy Nichols.
Entering the private aviation industry has been part of ExpressJet's strategic options for quite sometime, she said.
The arrangement allows ExpressJet to continue working in its specialty of efficiencies and economies of scale while avoiding some of the pressures from the current airline industry, Nichols said.
"It's also a chance to diversify from our largest partner, Continental Airlines," she said. "There have been preliminary discussions of future plans, but nothing has come forward to the public yet."
Wing Aviation is a full-service aviation company that offers aircraft charter and management, maintenance, avionics installations and aircraft painting. It is the largest employer at the Lonestar Executive Airport and occupies a 90,000-square-foot facility.
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