Business View Magazine | February 2020

108 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 2020 that enjoy that kind of security – mostly the corporate-type aircraft and other general aviation pilots. So, we don’t find ourselves in a competitive environment, general aviation-wise.” “Commercial aviation-wise, we’re really in a good and unique situation, here. Eugene Airport is within a three-hour drive, and they have about the same service that we do, so we don’t really consider them a competitor. Our true competitors would be the Portland Airport or the Sacramento Airport, which are four, four-and-a- half hours away. So we’re pretty remote, which basically means we get to retain a lot of our local customer base; they’re not driving to the larger airports on a frequent basis to take flights from there. Our airfare prices are about the same as the larger airports, but even if they’re a little higher, when you factor in the four-and-a-half- hour drive, and your time, and the vehicle costs including parking, and the overnight hotel, and everything else that goes with it, they find it very reasonable to fly out of Medford. So, I’m in a good position that most airports are not in and I don’t have a true competitor in close proximity.” While commercial air service has been robust at Rogue Valley, and growth in general aviation is being planned for, Brienza says that the Airport is striving to diversify its portfolio. “We’re not putting all our eggs in one basket,” he reveals. “We have a pretty robust, non-aviation economic development program and we’re leasing properties inside and outside of our fence to help offset costs. Any income we get at the Airport on the airside reduces everybody else’s costs, because we’re on a cost-basis with those tenants. So, whatever our costs are for maintaining the property, we turn that around and charge the tenants on a fee schedule to recover those operating costs. The more businesses we have on the Airport, the lower other’s individual costs are.” “Right now, we are in the process of negotiating a tract of land, a few acres or so, for a hotel development. We’re also in the process of