Inside the Industry Comment

April 21, 2008
Ray Bishop is recognized for creating an environment of 'partnership'

DALLAS — The Jackson Hole Airport in Wyoming is not your typical U.S. airport. It sits within Grand Teton National Park, making it the only airport in the nation that carries that distinction, operates under a lease agreement with the National Park Service, and is severely restricted in its commercial and business aviation operations due to space restraints. In 1980, the Parks Service and various environmental groups tried to have it shut down. In 2006, Raymond C. Bishop took over as Jackson Hole’s airport director and sought to implement a climate of change and positive relationships. That effort was rewarded at this year’s annual FBO Leadership Conference when the National Air Transportation Association recognized Bishop with its Airport Partnership Award, which is sponsored by AIRPORT BUSINESS.

The award winner is determined via nominations from NATA’s airport tenant members. In his nomination, Jeffrey C. Brown, president of Jackson Hole Aviation LLC, states, “Having come from a flying background as a pilot and in the U.S. Air Force, his knowledge of aviation and airport operations has given him the ability to efficiently direct operations while keeping sight of airport user and operator needs. The end result is one of the best airport operations in the nation while being located at one of the most difficult high mountain airports in the world.”

Bishop previously was named the 2003 Airport Executive of the Year by the Southwest Chapter of the American Association of Airport Executives for his accomplishments with the Bakersfield (CA) airport system.

Following his receipt of the NATA award, Bishop sat with AIRPORT BUSINESS to discuss his accomplishments and the challenges that remain at Jackson Hole. Following are some edited excerpts ...
On challenges he faced when he took over at Bakersfield ...

“It was simple things like, FAA comes in and says, ‘Groove your runway for hydroplaning.’ Those of us that are aviators know all about hydroplaning and water on the runway. So, one of the first fights I had was with our roads department.

“Those are the kinds of things where you say, whoever has been here in the past did not have a very good background of aviation or understand the needs of aviation.

“I was the director of the county’s airports — four GA, and they all had the same problems in that they had been neglected. It was infrastructure neglect; it was not understanding.”

On the situation he walked into at Jackson Hole ...

“There were a lot of needs with the Jackson Hole Airport — organizationally; functionally. We’re the only airport in the parks, so there’s a lot of things we can’t do. But there’s a lot of things you can do. I guess that’s where we’ll be headed in the future; we’ve done a lot already. There are other things that can make it a better, safer airport that accommodates our customers.

“We’re a big commercial airport; we’ve got American, Delta, United, Northwest. We do about 340,000 enplanements a year, almost to a small hub status. But because we are in the park we have a lease with the National Park Service. And that lease is a lot different than at a normal FAA-sponsored airport.

“We can’t do a capital project without their approval. We can’t build a second story on the terminal building. We can’t extend the runway. Really, we’re driven more nationally, so we have to deal with the Sierra Clubs and the Friends of the Wilderness and conservation alliances, at the national level. So they kind of dictate what we can and can’t do in many regards.”

On dealing with the National Park Service ...

“I hope we’re making progress and becoming more of an ally, as opposed to an adversary. I think they’ve come to the realization that they need an airport. We bring about 12 percent of the people that visit Yellowstone/Grant Teton National Park. So we’re a part of their visitation experience. If you add it all up, is it better to come with 188 people on the airplane or is it better to come by renting cars in Salt Lake City and driving up? I hope the park has come to the realization that we are part of the experience, and a good part.”

On flight restrictions imposed on the Jackson Hole Airport ...

“We have noise requirements that are unusual for most FAA people. For example, years ago to extend the lease, we were given a cap on noise of 6.5 average daily departures of a 737 sound bucket. So if we have seven 737s take off in one day, technically we’d be through for that day.

“Legally that brings up a big question — as an FAA airport, I can’t stop people from coming; it’s a public airport. So we’re kind of torn between [NPS] and FAA. Fortunately, the aircraft we have today are much quieter than they were 25 years ago, so we haven’t crossed that threshold.

On lease terms with the NPS ...

“We run out of the lease in 2033; but, more importantly, FAA requires that you have 20 years remaining on the lease to get federal funding. So in 2013 we lose federal funds, which is huge for us, a couple million dollars a year. We’ve asked the park to extend the lease by another 20 years. They are looking favorable at that. Hopefully, that should happen within the next 12 to 16 months.”

On the operating environment for his sole FBO ...

“It makes it very difficult for Jeff. The lease that we have with the National Park Service gives us 27 acres total — for the parking lot, the terminal building, and for the FBO. So when Jeff comes and says he has a client that wants to build a big hangar, he has to tell him to go to Idaho. We don’t have room.

“We have phenomenal demand on the Fourth of July. So, Jeff has a reservation slot system where if you don’t have advance reservations, you can’t come. Most three-day weekends, we’re full. We stack airplanes, tail to tail, wings overlapping.

“Jeff is in a very difficult situation. He has no ability to grow, no ability to accommodate. And of course, people who have a Hawker 900 don’t like to be told you’ll have to go someplace else.”
On calming the contentious FBO/airport relationship he inherited ...

“I spent a lot of time with the FBO when I first got here. We had a visioning session of what we think this airport should look like in the next five to ten years. I really see my role, my mission, is to allow the system to move forward and reach its goal. As obstacles come along, my job is to remove those obstacles.”

On where the FBO/airport relationship needs to go ...

“Right now, I think the FBO has a disadvantage. He doesn’t have the horizon of a lease or an expectation of a long-term lease. If I ran an FBO I’d want to know where I’m going to be for the next ten years. It’s one of those [situations] where, because of that relationship in the past, the board has been very unwilling to give him multiple years. If I were the FBO, I’m not going to put any capital investment into it. If I’ve got three-year payback, I’m not doing it. So I think that has stifled that side of the equation.

“The other part of it is, I don’t think we collect as much revenue from the FBO as we might normally. At Bakersfield we had airside rents; an apron rent; we leased back land. In Jackson Hole we don’t do that. We don’t give him a long-term lease, but we don’t get money either. We have an eleven-cent fuel flowage fee; from an FBO point of view, that’s all we charge. Period. We do own some of the hangars and do lease those back, but the hangars that he has capitalized himself have no cost associated with them.

“My goal is, in this system of partnership, he should have long-term stability and we the airport should derive more revenue. That’s where I would like to see our partnership go.”