MAYBVM

90 91 businessclientele throughtheir ownterminalsontheproperty, soall transient trafficgoes toone of those facilities.”Theoperators provideaircraft lineservices,fuel, aircraft storage,maintenance,and aircraft rental.Throughtheir lease terms,theyarealsoallowedto subleasespaceandhavearrange- mentswithmaintenance techni- ciansandflight schools.Therefore, theFBOsareable to,accordingtoGriggs,“augment some of theserviceswecan’tprovide.” Two flight schoolsare foundonsiteatMontereyRe- gionalAirport:AerodynamicAviation isapublicfacility andtheNavyClub isamembers-onlyoperation.Multiple defense/militaryinstitutionsprovidedastrongpresence inMonterey,suchas theNaval PostgraduateSchool andthe DefenseLanguage Institute.In fact,withinayearofbeingestab- lishedas theMontereyPeninsula AirportDistrict,aspecial district of thestate,theairportwasused asanaval facilitytosupport WorldWar II efforts.Leasedtothe UnitedStatesNavyfor adollar a year,itwas turnedbackover for civilianuseafter1945.Thesamepatterns thatdroveearly development inMonterey,suchasgrowthof tourism, agricultureandthedefensepresence figuredprominently intheestablishmentof theAirport. Since then,theairporthasbeenable togrowas it sees fit.Asaspecial district,theairport isnotownedoroper- THE MONTEREY REGIONAL AIRPORT Griggs,AirportOperationsManagerDirectorofOperations, explains thevolume thatmoves throughthe runways:“In 2017,wehadabout112,000operations.Anoperation is adepartureor anarrival.Of thoseoperations,a little less than8,500of thosewerecommercial carriers.So,thevast majorityof ouroperationsaregeneral aviationrelated.” General aviationrefers toall civilianflights,excludingpas- senger airlineservices,and includesprivateandcorporate jets,single-engineplanes,andflight trainings. Griggscontinues,“Wehavea lotof transient corporate business traffic.We’readestination,with largemarquee events thatbring foodies,cultural andsportsenthusi- asts,andwine loversallyear round.Andwehavea lotof leisureactivities for families toenjoy,so it’sveryattractive forbusinesses tocomehereas there is somethingfor ev- eryone.”Inorder toserveall the travel andextracurricular needsofvisitorsandresidents,theairport accommodates accordingly. “Wehavebase tenantshere that encompassgeneral, corporate,and light aviation,”Griggs reports.“Wehave two major full service fixedbaseoperators (FBOs).Monterey JetCenter andDelMonteAviationfacilitate theexecutive We have a lot of transient corporate business traffic. We’re a destination, with large marquee events that bring foodies, cultural and sports enthusi- asts, and wine lovers all year round. And we have a lot of leisure activities for families to enjoy, so it’s very attractive for businesses to come here as there is something for everyone. KEN GRIGGS DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS