- Argus Leader
- Sioux Falls, SD
- Sunday, September 30, 2001
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By Rob Swenson
For The Argus Leader
published: 9/30/01
Charter-flight service in Sioux Falls rebounded quickly from the shutdown of the American skyway after terrorists' attack on the United States.
But like the commercial airline industry, the business of for-hire charters is undergoing change.
Dale Froehlich, president and chief executive officer of Business Aviation Services in Sioux Falls, said the company lost about 25 charter flights during the three-day shutdown from Sept. 11 to Sept. 14.
"Since then, everything has been fairly normal," Froehlich said last week. "We're actually getting more charter calls now than we have before, but I think that's short term."
Barring no more attacks by hijackers on the United States, he expects the charter business to be back to normal in three to six months.
One trend increasingly evident at Business Aviation is the presence of so-called fractional programs, in which aircraft are co-owned by a variety of companies or individuals and airplane time is shared.
Business Aviation, which Froehlich likens to a truck stop for airplanes with services that include flying lessons, provides management and maintenance services for shared aircraft.
"That's a very dominant trend that I think will continue," he said.
Linda Barker, vice president of Business Aviation, is the immediate past chairwoman of the National Air Transportation Association, a trade group. She said the takeoff of fractional programs gives aviation service industry a lot of growth potential.
She suspects some commercial airlines are using current economic problems as an excuse to permanently reduce service. But she expects airlines to bounce back and all flight services to benefit as more people resume flying.
"Hopefully, it will come back stronger and safer and more secure, and we'll all learn from this," Barker said.