Hartford Business Journal

HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | FEBRUARY 5, 2024 19 860-561-4000 West Hartford | Shelton | Marlborough CLAconnect.com ©2024 CliftonLarsonAllen LLP. CLA (CliftonLarsonAllen LLP) is an independent network member of CLA Global. See CLAglobal.com/disclaimer. Investment advisory services are offered through CliftonLarsonAllen Wealth Advisors, LLC, an SEC-registered investment advisor. NUMBERS. PEOPLE. It takes balance. ™ space, together totaling about 92,000 square feet. Sky Harbour's Chief Financial Officer Francisco Gonzalez said the company's interest in Hartford stems from a significant deficit of hangar space for private aviation in the tri-state area. "The business, in terms of demand for business aviation, continues to grow," Gonzalez said. " And where do you put all these planes? Bradley is a great airport in terms of its location." Gonzalez said the makeup of the clientele at Sky Harbour's sites around the country varies widely, but he expects Bradley to house a signif- icant business presence, including "some corporate fleets who right now may have their planes all over this region. They're looking for a good, business-friendly airport to consoli- date their operations. And, we will be providing them with the opportunity to have the real estate that they need to accomplish that." Regional shortage Sky Harbour's development will join fixed-base operators Atlantic Aviation and Signature Aviation, which also host private jet facilities at Bradley. The CAA's Dillon confirms that the shortage of hangar facilities region- ally is benefitting not just Bradley. "These are very expensive aircraft; people want them inside a hangar facility versus parked on a ramp area," he said. " A lot of the activity that's been brought to some of our general aviation airports — Water- bury-Oxford comes to mind — is activity that was over at Teterboro Airport in New York, but because of the congestion at Teterboro and the lack of hangar space, those aircraft have relocated." Waterbury-Oxford is also in the middle of an investment deal with private aviation company Clay Lacy, which is building a new $40 million full-service, fixed-base operator and corporate hangar facility. It is due to open later this year. Dillon said the expected relo- cation of private aircraft attracted by the new investment at Bradley will be good for the local economy all around. And, while the dynamics may be changed and the improvement is slow, he remains hopeful that a full recovery for business travel more broadly remains in the cards. Part of that confidence was reflected in the Connecticut Airport Authority and MetroHartford Alliance recently announcing plans to recruit a direct flight from Bradley International Airport to London, an effort that will likely require a revenue guarantee from the state and strong backing from the business community. "We do meet with travel managers of some of the area's largest employers, and I think they have indi- cated that business travel is resuming, that in 2024 it's going to continue to be restored," Dillon said. 2018 2019 2020 2020 2021 2022 2023 2021 2022 2023 *Passenger traffic totals are January through November of each year. December 2023 passenger traffic data wasn't available at press time. Source: Bradley International Airport 7M 6M 5M 4M 3M 2M 1M 0 Bradley International Airport passenger traffic Private jet flights at Bradley International Airport Source: Federal Aviation Administration 15K 12K 9K 6K 3K 0 FLIGHTS PASSENGER TRAFFIC*

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