Business View Magazine | August 2019

102 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE AUGUST 2019 corporate aircraft more on a leisure basis than a business basis,” says Wright. “The Brainerd Lakes Regional Airport is America’s portal to the many lakes surrounding the Airport. The development along those lakes attracts families and business individuals throughout the country to come and vacation here or even hold conferences at one of the many resorts in the surrounding area. Local businesses are also realizing the benefits of locating their corporate aircraft as well as the daily connections offered through the scheduled airline.” During the last recession, there was a lull in terms of hangar occupancy, but Wright reports that the Airport is just at the point where its spaces are now filled - a combination of airport owned hangars, which it rents, and private hangar facilities, built by individual developer/owners. Other Airport users include the Department of Natural Resources Tanker Service, two helicopter ambulance services, the Civil Air Patrol, and Brainerd Helicopter Services. “NorthPoint Aviation is the Fixed Base Operator and partners with the Airport itself employing a base of seven people,” says Wright. “Among the Airport and Airport tenants, we employ about 90 people that call the BRD their home. We rely on funding from both the City and the County, but 2/3 of our revenue comes from the operation of the airfield, itself.” “One non-aeronautical business we have on the field is a full-service restaurant,” Wright adds, “which is very unique to this Airport. For years, it served as a lunch counter in support of the commercial airline activity. Over time, that business has transitioned into a full-service restaurant with all three meals served per day. Pilots and passengers fly in for more than just burgers and locals grace the establishment as well.” Regarding competition in the commercial realm, Wright says that Delta Airlines, operated by SkyWest, offers commercial flights to the Twin Cities, daily, and there really is no competition in this market from other airports as Brainerd Lakes’