Million Air, a Houston-based aviation company, will invest $70 million in new infrastructure at Westchester County Airport, according to President and CEO Roger Woolsey. The upgrades include a new terminal, expanded hangar and a reception building.
The county Board of Legislators unanimously approved a 30-year ground lease agreement on May 16, allowing Million Air to operate both a light aviation facility and a full-service heavy aircraft fixed-base operation, one that will provide a range of services including fueling and general aviation maintenance.
For the light aircraft portion, Million Air will pay the county a percentage of revenues that will increase every five years. Rent for the fixed-base operation will be $261,360 annually for a 6-acre area for the first 43 months and will then increase to $725,274 per year for a 9-acre area.
The original lease, which was entered into in 1999, allowed Million Air to operate a light general aviation facility at the airport. Rent was roughly $60,000 per year.
The project is expected to add about 170 jobs over the next two years.
During a conversation presented by The Business Council of Westchester, Woolsey said that the upgrades will include fireplaces, high ceilings, aluminum archways and even a Starbucks. He added that these new facilities will also force other fixed-base operations at the airport, including Signature Flight Support and Landmark Aviation, to “class up.”
Woolsey said that he wants those who fly into Westchester County Airport “to feel that Ralph Lauren feel before they ever make it to their car.”
The renovation plan faced some pushback from the community, who worried it would lead to an increase in landing and takeoff noise. On the contrary, Woolsey said, these upgrades will cut the airport”™s landings in half because a majority of planes are currently flying in from nearby airports without passengers on board.
“The aircraft come in empty to pick up their executives, they do their business, they come back, and they fly back empty,” he said. “We want those aircraft to bed down here.”
Business Council Executive Vice President John Ravitz said that this is “a huge, huge win for Westchester County,” and that the project is a “step in the right direction” toward allowing “more businesses and private companies to understand that Westchester Airport can be a great location for them to come and fly into.”
Woolsey noted that the Westchester County Airport is “an odd airport” that is “misunderstood” by both the community and its current airlines, but he hopes to help change that perception with these improvements.
The conversation, which was sponsored by People”™s United Bank and held at the Castle Hotel & Spa in Tarrytown, also touched on Woolsey”™s background, from his humble beginnings growing up in public housing to his early career as a pilot, jetting megastars like Stevie Nicks and Garth Brooks across the globe.
Woolsey is also CEO of American Jet International, a company that offers charter and aircraft management.
