CLEAR SKIES AHEAD FOR MERCURY AIR CORPORATETRAVEL CENTERS TAKING WING.Byline: Brent Brent, outer borough (1991 pop. 226,100) of Greater London, SE England. The area is a rail and industrial center. Its manufactures include automobile parts, clocks and watches, and electrical equipment. Hopkins Hopkins, city (1990 pop. 16,534), Hennepin co., SE Minn., a suburb of Minneapolis; inc. as West Minneapolis 1893, name changed 1928. The city manufactures machinery, computer and electronic parts, steel products, air pollution equipment, ophthalmic lenses, tools, Staff Writer BURBANK - As the whine of jet engines cut through the air, Joe Czyzyk's smile grows wider - for him, it's the sound of money in the bank. The president and chief executive officer of Mercury Air Group has good reason to grin as he tours his $10 million refueling stop at Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport. While most of the rest of the aerospace industry finds itself in an extremely troubled position, Mercury is looking at nothing but great horizons in the coming year. Though the firm covers a wide variety of aerospace-related businesses, Czyzyk's betting that his slick See SLC. looking ``fixed base operation'' in Burbank - a sort of fly-in-and-out conference center - will keep Mercury aloft far into the future. In the past five years, Mercury acquired 15 of these bases across the nation, with the remodeled Burbank building serving as the flagship for future design. ``That has been absolutely brilliant for us,'' Czyzyk said. ``All the ingredients are there. Business travelers had it bad before 9-11, and it's even more horrible now.'' Blending refueling and premium handling for business travelers, Czyzyk sees the FBOs as Mercury's inroad in·road n. 1. A hostile invasion; a raid. 2. An advance, especially at another's expense; an encroachment. Often used in the plural: Foreign products have made inroads into the American economy. to the increasingly lucrative world of corporate aviation. The hassles of major airport travel make small FBOs like Mercury's all the more attractive to those same business travelers. As their Gulfstreams fill with fuel, executives can use Mercury's fully equipped facilities to plug into the Internet Internet Publicly accessible computer network connecting many smaller networks from around the world. It grew out of a U.S. Defense Department program called ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network), established in 1969 with connections between computers at the , put on multimedia presentations, and relax in plush recliners. And according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. those who follow the corporate aviation world, the market for these services is ripe for the picking. ``Although it's very expensive now to hire the right people and set up a secure FBO FBO Federal Business Opportunities FBO FedBizOpps (formerly Commerce Business Daily) FBO Fixed Base Operator FBO For the Benefit Of (finance) FBO Fixed Base Operation FBO Faith Based Organization , when you measure that against the headaches of wasting all that time in the airport, people are willing to consider it,'' said Fluto Shinzawa, associate editor for the Malibu-based upscale trend watcher The Robb Report The Robb Report is a magazine about luxury life, featuring products of the lifestyle, such as cars, watches, and real estate. It was originally started by Robert White as a magazine to complement the purchase of a Rolls-Royce automobile. . ``Executives don't want to spend hours in an airport, waiting through metal detectors. Instead, they'll look at corporate travel, because with a private plane, you can walk right up and fly away.'' Mercury has maneuvered itself to take advantage of this boom particularly well, according to George Ball, vice president of logistics for Executive Jet, which leases planes for corporate travel. ``The aviation business is growing very rapidly, and they're positioned to absorb that,'' Ball said. ``They'll give you first-class treatment. Just about anything you need - they'll get it for you.'' Providing this premium service has insulated in·su·late tr.v. in·su·lat·ed, in·su·lat·ing, in·su·lates 1. To cause to be in a detached or isolated position. See Synonyms at isolate. 2. Mercury somewhat, Czyzyk said, as the rest of the aerospace industry suffered with the combination of a tightening economy and post-Sept. 11 doldrums doldrums (dŏl`drəmz) or equatorial belt of calms, area around the earth centered slightly north of the equator between the two belts of trade winds. . In the second quarter, the firm earned $217,000, netting shareholders 3 cents per share Cents per share The amount of a mutual fund's dividend or capital gains distributions that a shareholder will receive for each share owned. on revenues of $92 million, according to figures released Tuesday. In comparison, the company made $1.78 million in the same quarter last year, which made 27 cents per share for investors, on revenues of $134 million. This remains in line with Mercury's projections, however, and the company expects further growth in coming years. ``From our perspective, this is a business that's going to grow,'' he said. ``It's low-profile, but it's not going anywhere. There's a lot of people out there with money these days, and they're willing to spend it.'' CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1 -- color) Mercury Air Group's $10 million refueling stop at Burbank- Glendale-Pasadena Airport, located in a remodeled Burbank building, is serving as a flagship for future design. (2 -- color) Joe Czyzyk hopes his ``fixed base operation'' in Burbank - a sort of fly-in-and-out conference center - will keep Mercury aloft far into the future. John McCoy/Staff Photographer |
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