Harry Holt, president of Columbia Air Services of Groton, Conn., has every confidence that his 2003 purchase of Acadia Air, based at the Hancock County-Bar Harbor Airport, will prove profitable. "Fractional ownership" ˆ a timeshare arrangement ˆ "of charter planes will also continue to increase." 11, and we expect that growth to continue," she says. "Charter services have been utilized a lot more since Sept. Jennifer O'Bryon, aviation planner for the Maine Department of Transportation, thinks that Maine's aviation companies will continue to prosper for the near future. Like Maine Atlantic Aviation, small aviation companies in Maine are hoping to take part in that boom ˆ plus develop their maintenance and flight instruction business. 11 has prompted a small boom in charter air flights. Though Lussier appears unconcerned about the financial details of the business, it seems he's entered it at a good time: The inconvenience and rising cost of business travel due to increased security regulations after Sept. He's also committed to maintaining Maine Atlantic Aviation's niche of providing air service to the islands, despite the challenges it presents. Lussier, president and founder of Communications Laboratories Inc., a provider of specialized telecommunications equipment and warning systems, is an aviation enthusiast who owns 10 acres next to the airport, where he loves to watch planes take off and land. Lussier, who won't disclose the company's sale price, says he bought the company "because I have a vision that we will have a traditional full-service FBO that will move into full maintenance and flight instruction." In May, Lussier bought Maine Atlantic Aviation, a fixed-base operator, or FBO, that provides passenger and freight service from Knox County Regional Airport in Owls Head to the Penobscot Bay islands, from Telford. Telford's decision to get out of flying planes was an opportunity for Roland Lussier. Now Telford Aviation focuses on providing overhaul and Federal Aviation Administration-prescribed maintenance services for larger aircraft, from 35- to 70-seat airplanes. "The purchase doubled our company," Ziegelaar reports, noting that revenues have increased by a factor of three during the past four years, from $12 million to $50 million a year. Instead, the company made a major acquisition three years ago, buying a heavy maintenance facility in Mojave, Calif. "The long-term plan for the company was to not do passengers and freight," he says. Withdrawing from those markets was a strategic choice, according to Bob Ziegelaar, Telford Aviation president. Last year, Bangor-based Telford Aviation ceased operating cargo and passenger flights on the East Coast to concentrate on its commercial aircraft maintenance and sales businesses.
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