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Mayo
Aviation helps in time of need
by Karen
Di Piazza
October 2001
Mayo Aviation, the Rocky Mountain region�s largest
aviation company, specializes in aircraft charter, management,
parts, and maintenance. The Centennial Airport-based company
is also an air ambulance service.
Mayo recently had a chance to help in the aftermath
of the terrorist attacks on the United States. On September
12, a day after the attack, a Hawker 400 left Centennial, at
1:30. It was headed to Lincoln, Neb., to pick up an additional
supply of blood, before continuing to Teterboro Airport in New
Jersey, with 560 donated units.
Mayo, Bonfils Blood Bank and Flight for Life collaborated
the effort.
�Without the tireless efforts of Flight for Life
and Bonfils, the trip wouldn�t have been possible,� said CEO
William James Mayo III. Mayo said the flight was conducted after
seeing to �hours and hours of red tape,� which included coordination
between Mayo and New York and Federal authorities.
�They questioned (if) they even needed the blood,
exactly what aircraft would be allowed to fly, and so forth,�
he said, adding that Mayo was happy to have been able to help.
Mayo Aviation broke an internal policy of charter
flight planning by uniting separate parties to share in flights.
�We (heard from) numerous families and business
people that were desperate to locate their loved ones believed
to have been in the World Trade Towers at the time of the attacks,�
Mayo explains. �We put separate parties together, with a discounted
rate (Mayo is still offering discounted rates) in order to get
them to their destinations. We don�t normally do this as our
business is geared towards charter flights using these aircraft.
However, considering the tragic event, we wanted to help survivors
that had lost, or were looking for missing loved ones.�
Understandably, some people now have jitters about
boarding commercial airliners. To compound the problem, many
airlines have cut their number of flights�and their number of
employees. Passengers are still being asked to call airports
beforehand to ensure their flight hasn�t been cancelled. Cutbacks
and anxiety have sent a wave of people to Mayo Aviation, and
like companies.
�We�ve seen a significant increase of chartered
flights with business executives requesting our Learjet 35s,
Challenger 600 and Hawkers 400 and 700,� says Mayo.
Another reason for increased business in the days
following the attack was that the Federal Aviation Administration,
even after allowing commercial airlines to fly, temporarily
kept their ban on Visual Flight Rule flights.
Now, with commercial airliners and private aircraft
back in the air, Mayo says it�s safe to fly.
�As tragic as this is and has been, the fact is
that people need to have a reliable source to get them from
here to there,� Mayo says. And Mayo Aviation isn�t just reliable.
The company has earned a reputation as one of the safest and
most respected operations in the business.
Mayo Aviation aircraft fly proudly with the good
�ole red, white and blue American flag waving on the tail of
their various aircraft. It�s nothing new. They always have.
�Because of this horrible tragedy, we have elected
to build a huge flag pole that will be prominently displayed
in front of our new hangar,� Mayo says. �We believe it�s important
to demonstrate pride for our nation.�
Mayo is referring to a new hangar that will soon
be completed at the corner of Peoria Street and Peoria Circle.
The hangar, scheduled for completion in February 2002, will
give them a total of 85,000 square feet of space.
The new two-story hangar will have a total of
32,000 square feet�19,200 will be for hangar space and a little
over 11,000 for office space.
�We�re on target and it�s looking good,� says
Mayo. All flight administration, accounting, and human resources
will be moved to the new hangar. �Hangars 5 and 6 will become
our maintenance operations, and hangar 8 will be leased out.
We�re busting at the seams and we really need this in order
to continue to grow our business.�
Mayo Aviation utilizes three King Air 90s, three
King Air 200s, one King Air 350, three Learjet 35s, two Hawkers
(they have a 700, which is now based at Jeffco, and a Hawker
3ARA), and a Challenger 600. Aside from these business jets,
they�ve recently added more aircraft to their system, such as
a Citation II, which they manage. They�re working a deal on
a Falcon 50 EX, which is expected to become part of their charter
pool.
�These business jets are two-crew required,� explains
Mayo. Mayo says that on their Challenger, they offer �cabin
service,� not to be confused with services offered by a flight
attendant, which is a regulated position.
Although people know the name Mayo Aviation, the
CEO explains that most people really don�t know what they really
do, or how many different businesses they run under the family-owned
umbrella.
�We�re mostly known for our charter service, but
there�s a bunch of things we do here,� says Mayo, adding they
also operate a maintenance business, retail parts division,
flight scheduling service, aircraft management, Flight for Life
service, and hire and train the pilots who work for the company.
He adds that the maintenance side alone is a company unto itself.
�We are licensed by the FAA to operate a repair
station as a retailer,� he says. �We work on various aircraft
and components. We repair our privately owned aircraft, managed
aircraft and aircraft owned by individuals or companies. We
do a lot of turboprop and business jet repair. After all, that�s
our market and we specialize in these types of planes daily.�
Mayo Aviation�s retail parts business carries
a large inventory.
�Obviously the parts business supports the maintenance
business,� he says. �We do a large volume of over-the-counter
parts sales. This is a full service business and we have quite
the inventory right here for King Air and Learjet parts. People
can log on to our website and go the parts page and search the
part number to see if we�ve got it in stock.�
Mayo Aviation uses a highly sophisticated software
program that has been designed and specialized for the industry.
�Our system is made by a local company, Aviation
Information Services; it is widely used in the general aviation
communities,� Mayo explains. �Most of the (Federal Aviation
Regulation) Part 91 departments use this software. We use it
for maintenance tracking, component time change tracking, pilot
currencies, pilot experience, and scheduling details for all
trips.�
With a push of a button the whereabouts of any
aircraft can be located, whether it�s in the air, or scheduled
or in maintenance. This software program also helps manage their
70 employees, right down to where the pilot is. It helps to
ensure they comply with all the rules, all of the time. The
database also keeps track of training events for pilots and
other employees. It gives them a concise, quick and perfect
response time to any request, especially emergencies that require
a Flight for Life take-off within 15 minutes of a call.
�The Flight for Life program, which is a fixed-wing
based program here, is very near and dear to our hearts,� says
Mayo. �They have been our longest standing customer since 1979,
and we are always ready to go. We have a King Air 200 that�s
painted �Flight for Life� and dedicated only to them. We�re
staffed 24 hours a day with our pilots, flight nurse, and a
flight paramedic.�
Mayo Aviation houses their equipment and supplies
on site, so, within the allotted time all equipment is loaded
and all personnel on board.
�Although Flight for Life has several helicopters,
we only manage and fly the airplane for them,� he says. �We
average a trip and a half per day, but, like anything, it comes
in spurts. At times, we�re doing four trips a day.�
This coming year Flight for Life will be celebrating
their 30th anniversary�Mayo is looking forward to hosting a
celebratory event.
�They mean a lot to the entire country and us,�
he says. �We always try to raise money and awareness about this
vital program.�
The charter side of Mayo Aviation�s business is
a very �complex, dynamic and competitive� business because of
the regulatory and operational environment. As Mayo explains,
the commercial aviation industry is the most �highly regulated
industry in the country.�
�You have to interface with all the governmental
agencies, which is really managing all that regulatory burden
between the EPA, FAA and other governmental agencies that have
their hand on you regarding how you conduct your day to day
business,� he says. �In effect, they tell us how we�re going
to do most of our business, which clearly makes it difficult
to say, �How do we set ourselves apart?��
Mayo says it�s a competitive and tough business.
And, long term, many companies have been unsuccessful.
�The reason others have failed is a combination
of all the red tape and regulations; the cost of doing business
and doing it right; and having the ability to get customers
and keep them,� he explains. �Most charter companies have a
life span of only five years�we�ve been here since 1978.�
Mayo says the cost of chartering a business jet
is surprisingly affordable for corporations sending their executives
on a day trip to achieve business goals. He digs out the flight
plan of a recent excursion, to demonstrate the actual cost.
�The cost will depend upon what type of aircraft
the client has requested,� he explains. �We charge by the hour,
and remember, there�s two pilots and waiting time while a group
of executives conducts two business meetings. At 8:00 a.m.,
a group of executives boards our King Air 200, leaving from
Denver to Rocksprings, Wyo., which takes one hour and six minutes.
The group leaves for three hours to have their meeting, re-boards,
and flies another hour to Gillette. Six hours are spent there
conducting meetings and then an hour and a half back to Denver.
The cost of that day trip is just short of $4,900.00.�
That old adage, time is money, couldn�t be more
accurate.
Another reason it�s cost effective to charter
planes is the cost of insurance. Many flight schools have complained
that the cost of insurance is killing their business; often,
they are forced to seek underwriters in foreign states. This
hasn�t been a problem for Mayo Aviation.
�We don�t have that problem because of the quality,
experience levels of our pilots and the intense training they�re
required to go through,� he says. �All pilots are required to
attend flight safety for the aircraft Mayo has assigned them
to every six months. We have a great relationship with our aviation
insurance underwriters. They have been gracious to us and our
rates are reasonable. This is also a reason we obtain high-end,
quality aircraft for our clients. We also arrange for insurance
to individuals or companies.�
It�s a win-win situation for an owner of a plane
to get onto Mayo�s chartering certificate.
�Chartering is a mechanism which allows the owner
to offset some of his operating cost when he�s using the plane,�
says Mayo. �When we charter out the owner�s plane, he receives
the lion�s share of the revenue generated on that particular
flight. Once an owner clears our charter request, it�s locked
in, preventing owners from overriding our chartering business.
We�re the ones employing the pilots and paying them a very attractive
benefit package that includes dental, health and vacation, and
providing career advancement. We�re the ones that take care
of maintenance and all the details.�
The company matriarch
Dr. Gwendolyn Mayo, presently chairperson of
the company, founded and owns Mayo Aviation. She served as chief
financial officer of the company and later as president, for
10 years. She also served as chair of the board of the National
Air Transportation, from 1995 to 1996, and was instrumental
in founding CABA (Centennial Airport Business Association).
�I�ve been here for 15 years and we have an interesting
triangle that we work our way through,� says her son, adding
that �Mom�s� active day-to-day involvement includes the management
of contracts for the corporation and �keeping things under control.�
�The P�s and Q�s are crossed perfectly,� Mayo
says with a smile. �My father, William James Mayo II, doesn�t
really participate in the daily business, however, he scans
the big picture. He has some of the creative thought and foresight
to keep us pushing, pressing, and moving forward without being
afraid.� He adds that his father encouraged him to build the
new hangar.
�My dad pushes me to be a little more aggressive,
more assertive, and a little more daring,� says Mayo, who became
CEO of the company in 1998 after receiving his Bachelor of Science
in geology at Tulane University. �Like the hangar�he said to
me, �You see the economy falling down around you�screw it! It�s
the right thing to do. Let�s do it, move on�build it!� Sure,
it scared me, but as the saying goes, �No risk; no reward.��
Maybe his father inspired his son, however, the
family realized that expanding too fast would be a mistake.
�Over the last 10 years, we�ve watched people
expand (too) fast,� says Mayo. �Now that the market has contracted,
I think there�s a lot of pain and suffering going on in the
industry�from not expanding in a manageable rate for one�s own
company. We make sure all of our ducks are in a row and we know
we�re ready to handle it without falling on our faces. We�d
rather say no, than to promise something we can�t deliver.�
For more information about Mayo Aviation you can
visit their corporate office at 7765 South Peoria Street, call
them at (303) 790-9777 or (800) 525-0194, or visit their website
at www.mayoaviation.com.
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