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The joys of smaller airports
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February 23, 1998: 3:52 p.m. ET
More companies are using secondary hubs to improve their travel efficiency
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NEW YORK (Biztravel.com) - In order to negotiate good fares with major airlines, companies often have to book flights weeks in advance. But what if your business doesn't lend itself to planning that far ahead?
"Have you ever tried to book a sales call three weeks ahead of time?" asks Hank Rowan, CEO of Inductotherm Industries of Rancocas, N.J.
To solve the problem, Inductotherm's sales staff no longer flies out of major airports, but instead travels through smaller hubs. Not only do they travel exactly when they need to, but the network of smaller airports allows them to travel exactly where they need to go.
It's a trend that many other companies are following - and with good reason. Scheduled airline flights only use about 300 of the 13,000 airports in the U.S., according to Warren Morningstar, a representative of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association.
Pinpoint your destination
Flying to smaller airports can enable a company to land closer to its final destination. Instead of negotiating the 45-minute drive from O'Hare into downtown Chicago, for example, a passenger can fly into Megs Airport near the city center. For easy access to New York, many businesses use Teterboro Airport in New Jersey, just seven miles from Manhattan.
Another convenience: scheduling. Companies that fly into smaller airports "are not at the mercy of the airlines. You can accomplish everything in one day, returning to home base without an overnight stay," says Morningstar.
Traffic at smaller airports has been rising steadily, numbering 280,000 trips at Van Nuys Airport, 250,000 at Long Beach Airport, and 245,000 at Santa Ana/Orange County Airport -- all small alternatives to major hubs.
Michael Ross, vice president of administration and support services at the Air Group, an aircraft charter company located at Van Nuys Airport, attributes that airport's popularity to its proximity to Los Angeles. Says Ross: "Los Angeles International and Burbank airports are flooded with tourists, which businesses want to avoid."
Corporate fleets also benefit
Many Fortune 500 companies have begun flying their company planes to smaller airports to make sales calls, conduct business and provide critical customer service.
Inductotherm, for instance, recently flew one of its sales representatives in New Jersey to a potential customer in St. Louis, transported both to Alabama to review a product, then flew them to a private landing strip near company headquarters in New Jersey and finally returned the customer home in time for dinner.
And there's no shortage of business-friendly service providers at smaller airports, among them: car rentals, limousine service, business centers, lounges, refreshments and even conference centers.
Says Steve Lofgren, manager of communications at the National Air Transportation Association: "If an executive's time is worth about $700-$800 an hour, fixed-base operators help business people increase productivity."
'Small' doesn't sacrifice 'safe'
Stuart Matthews, president of the non-profit Flight Safety Foundation based in Alexandria, Virginia, says that smaller airports have not shown any high incidence of accidents.
The National Business Airport Association, a non-profit organization representing 4,500 business aircraft owners, adds that the accident rate for corporate/executive aircraft is 0.25 per 100,000 hours, comparable to the 0.266 per 100,000 hours rate of the commercial air carriers.
Then there's the issue of the bottom line. Owning a fleet of airplanes and flying into smaller airports "results in increased sales, increased profits, improved reputation and company growth," concludes Inductotherm's Rowan. "And it's fun, too." 
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