Charter jet venture shows sky’s the limit for airport as ‘economic driver’

If anyone doubts Granbury’s growing level of sophistication or whether expansion of Granbury Regional Airport will truly boost the local economy like city officials have claimed, Chasing Ace Charters may be proof that both questions can be answered in the affirmative.

The new company, founded by five business partners who all live in the area, is on the ground and operational at the Granbury airport, with big plans for the near future and beyond.

The reason the partners chose Granbury as their base of operation is because of the airport’s new 5,200-foot-long, 75-feet-wide runway that opened last November. The new runway makes it safe for business jets to take off and land.

The old runway, at just over 3,600 feet, was the shortest among similar airports in the region and was unsafe for use by business jets. It is now being used as a taxiway.

As part of the expansion project, a new Fixed Base Operator, or airport terminal, is being built. It is expected to be completed later this year.

An FBO provides services that include fueling, tie-downs, parking, maintenance and flight instruction.

Chasing Ace Charters is currently leasing two, 6,000-square-foot hangars where two company aircraft are housed. The planes are being maintained by three mechanics who will soon start providing jet and turboprop maintenance services for other pilots and companies, according to Hayden Harbold, one of the business partners.

A Tarleton graduate and owner of Harbour Aviation flight school at Bourland Field Airport in Cresson, Harbold said that the partners have signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the city to lease 15 acres on the airport property just north of the new FBO. The ownership team is working with engineers in preparation for building a 30,000-square-foot hangar. The charter company’s headquarters will be based there along with the maintenance side of the business.

Harbold said it is likely the company will have four planes by the end of the year.

Chasing Ace’s charter certificate, issued through the Federal Aviation Administration, allows the company to carry as many as nine passengers at a time. The company currently owns a Beechcraft King Air 200, which accommodates seven passengers, and a Cessna Citation V, which can transport eight passengers.

The business partners believe there is a growing number of people In Hood County and the surrounding area who can afford to charter flights and might prefer to do so rather than deal with the headaches and uncertainties of commercial airlines.

Harbold noted that since the new runway was commissioned, there have been a lot of charter companies flying in and out of the Granbury airport.

“There are people with the resources who have been chartering and they’ve been driving to Fort Worth or the Metroplex,” he said. “And we’re right here on this side of the Metroplex, able to launch right outside of Granbury Airport and take them to wherever they want.”

Harbold indicated that Chasing Ace Charters takes things up a notch for Granbury.

“The timing was perfect for us with this new runway extension they did because the new runway opened in November of last year about the time we started trying to decide where we were going to base our operation,” he stated. “Granbury was a no-brainer.”

Brian Bondy, president and CEO of the Granbury Chamber of Commerce, said that the chamber is “beyond excited” about Chasing Ace.

“The jobs are a huge plus, but so are the local sales taxes that will be derived from fuel sales and other services,” he stated. “When you combine this operation at the airport with the newly opened In The Pattern Flight School and numerous hangar leases, the airport becomes a significant economic driver for the city. And it makes us attractive for other aviation businesses as well.”

The company’s website, chasingacecharters.com, features a calculator that provides instant custom quotes depending on the destination, the number of stops, and the number of passengers.

To contact Chasing Ace Charters, call 1-833-824-2746.