Business View Magazine | March 2019

70 to increase its GA traffic by rebranding its FBO, which it owns, and increasing its marketing activities. “We’ve targeted advertising at in- dustry conferences, and we’ve hosted a lot of events, like fly-ins. We’ve offered a lot of dif- ferent promotional items at the FBO to engage our local and transient customers. We’ve also created a dedicated website for the FBO, which has helped increase our general aviation activ- ity. Last year, we increased our GA operations by 24 percent.” The Airport is also deciding when and how it is going to build new GA hangars, because like most small, regional airports in the coun- try, it has a waiting list. Among the options considered are: the Airport would provide the infrastructure and then build the new hangars itself; it would provide the infrastructure, only, for private developers to come in and build their own facilities; or it would offer ground leases to interested parties. “We have deter- mined there is a need, but it’s going to take some research on our part to determine what will work best in our market and with our cus- tomers,” Clark explains. “And then, whichever seems to be the more successful way, we’ll probably take that approach.” Regarding the Airport’s current infrastructure, Clark reports that it is currently in the design phase of modernizing its terminal building. THE COLUMBUS AIRPORT