Charter airline services are flying high

BELGRADE — As a charter jet taxis toward the Yellowstone Jet Center at Gallatin Field, ground
crew members jog toward its destination with a red carpet in hand.

By KAYLEY MENDENHALL Chronicle Staff Writer

They roll out the rug as a Mercedes station wagon is driven to the carpet’s edge to pick up the
family of three exiting the plane. Their baggage is loaded in the vehicle and they drive off
through the chain-link gate toward Bozeman.

It’s not the way all of us travel, but for business travelers and wealthy tourists, charter planes are
the only way to go. And Greg Mecklenburg of Sunbird Aviation is increasingly providing the
service.

He started Sunbird Aviation in 1977. A few years ago he sold off a large part of the business to
Tim Blixseth, who renamed it the Yellowstone Jet Center. But Blixseth only took over the jet
maintenance and conditioning portion of the facility. Mecklenburg has continued to operate
the charter flight services.

"We’re still here. Sunbird still exists," Mecklenburg said in a recent interview. "I’m having an
identity crisis. I work with the Yellowstone Jet Center. They answer the phone for me and do
some of the scheduling. I’m still managing my own business."

That business was fairly limited until last fall when he bought a third plane and stepped up the
number of flights.

"Frankly, I’m looking to hire two more pilots in the next three months," said Mecklenburg, who
employs two pilots besides himself and an assistant now. "Sept. 11 has had a lot to do with the
charter business improving around the country."

Sunbird isn’t the only charter outfit at the Gallatin Field. About 20 percent of Doug Chapman’s
business, Montana Aircraft Inc., is charter passenger flights, while the rest is in wildlife surveys
and photography. Like Mecklenburg, Chapman caters to local business people who may have a
meeting in the next state and don’t want to take the time to drive.

Charter flight service allows fliers to completely skip the long lines, security examinations and
limited destinations offered by commercial airlines. Mecklenburg said the two entities aren’t
really competitive because prices are so vastly different.

"When you charter an airplane, you charter the whole airplane and you can do with it what you
want," he said. "Normally we do charge by the mile."

Fuel prices, pilot time, landing fees and taxes are included in the price.

Most of Sunbird’s passengers are people taking business trips. A common destination in the
winter is Jackson, Wyo., and the cost is $800 one way on the newest plane or $600 one way on
one of the two older planes. Plus, charter passengers pay for the time the plane is held in a
place and the pilot is stuck there waiting to take them home. Typically the hold price is $35 an
hour.

Chapman said a trip in his Cessna 182 single-engine plane, from here to Kalispell would cost
about $500. The price is divided by up to three passengers and the trip takes a mere hour and
40 minutes.

"It looks like it costs a lot of money but in the long run by the time you figure people’s wages
and stuff you do come out ahead on it," said Dwight Cordingly, equipment manager for
Barnard Construction. "We can get our guys down to Phoenix in two hours. It would take a full
day to get down there otherwise."

Barnard has its own plane and the company hires Mecklenburg and his pilots to fly its workers to
construction sites throughout the country. Because they can fly directly where they want to go
and don’t have to deal with security hassles, the charter service makes the most of employee
time, Cordingly said.

"We fly more business people than pleasure," said Mike Tank, a part-time pilot for Sunbird.
"Architects, engineers, construction workers. Most of the time it is for the day. It is fairly rare to
stay overnight."

For business travelers, convenience is key.

"You don’t have to worry about the commercial schedules," Cordingly said. "We’ve got a 6
o’clock flight in the morning, you show up five minutes early and we’re on it and gone."

Passengers drive right up to the gate, jump out of the car and walk on the plane, Mecklenburg
said. There’s no line, no identification checks and no metal detectors to deal with.

"We try to be available when people need to go," he said. "A day or two’s notice is usually
plenty this time of year. In the spring and summer people book a little farther in advance."

Sunbird’s newest plane, a Beechcraft, has eight seats, two turbine engines and flies at about
280 miles per hour. The plane can fly up to 1,000 miles non-stop, easily making trips to
Seattle, San Francisco and Denver, Mecklenburg said.

But landing in small airports is possible as well. Charters can fly into Ennis, Three Forks, Twin
Bridges, Townsend, White Sulphur Springs, Big Timber and Gardiner, just to name a few.

"My plane is well suited for rough airstrips and backcountry-type places," Chapman said. "I can
take people places that are way out of the way."

Chapman’s Cessna is limited to weather conditions with good visibility, but he said most of the
year weather isn’t a problem. Mecklenburg’s Beechcraft has radar and global positioning
systems so it can fly in almost any weather conditions.

"If the airlines can go, we can go," Mecklenburg said.

Sunbird sometimes even helps airlines out when a mechanical problem stops a commercial
flight and passengers are desperate to get to their destination.

But mostly, regular customers rely on the convenience of charter flights.

"We look at the numbers real close, and it is cost effective and a luxury," Cordingly said. "It
does spoil you. There’s no doubt, it makes your life so much easier and more efficient."

Kayley Mendenhall is at [email protected]

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