General aviation airports see signs that better times may not be far away - Wichita Business Journal:

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After a six-month period that has seen the industr take hits to its public perception andbottom line, they say a returnj of consumer confidence and lower fuel prices point toward a blue sky ahead. “Iff you’re comparing it to a year ago, we’ve seen a decline,” says Mid West Corporate Aviatiohn CEOMarvin Autry. “(But) things are starting to level out.” Autruy estimates his business at is down by 15 percent sinc e this timelast year. Fuel saless at Jabara in March weredown 16.87 percent comparede to a year ago. However, fuel salex went from 61,769 gallons in Februarhy to 66,184 gallons in March. Fuel usage has dropped at the .
Even so, officialz there also are seeinv signs ofa rebound. Melissa McCoy, spokesperson for the Salin a Airport Authority, says March’s fuel total of 182,20t gallons was the lowest level seen since theearly 90s. But the numbe of total operations in the firsft quarterwere 16,842. That’s a 1.2 percenyt decline from last year, but, she says, it’s a sign things are leveling off. T.W. Anderson, manager of the , has 114 aircrafyt based at his airport. Although his hangarws remain full, he says he has seen a drop in the numberf of aircraft stoppingto refuel.
But with sprinv in the air and theweathe clearing, Anderson says more peoplee are returning to flying their piston-driven Those airplanes burn AVgas, and Andersonb says sales increased 5 percent in “I think what we’re seeing is more now that they have a better handle on the are going back to aviation.” He has seen a drop in jet fuel salez though, which he says are down 20 percengt from this time last year. crews aren’yt flying through Newton as theyused to.
Andersonj says of the 30 business jets used on the circui to fly support teamsw to andfrom events, Newton typically sees 6 to 10 a stopping through between But he says as more crew s fly commercial to cut just one of the NASCAR jets has stoppef there. The cost of fuel has droppex dramatically in the past In Newton, AVgas has fallen from $4.88 a gallon at this time last to $4.02. At Jabara, priced are down to $4.39 a gallon. Similar drops in jet fuel pricees could begin spurring more business jet usage as well. According to the , the average pricw of jet fuel $58.40 a barrel as of May 1 is down 58.7 percent from this time a year ago.
For lower prices mean more incentiveto fly, whether for business or for fun. And althougj he thinks traffic levels will rebound by leveling off now means the ascent back to thoss levelsis coming. “I think things have hit a bottom,” he “I think people are starting to have more confidencde inthe economy.”