General aviation airports see signs that better times may not be far away - Pacific Business News (Honolulu):

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After a six-month period that has seen the industryh take hits to its public perception and bottom they say a returm of consumer confidence and lower fuel pricesz point toward a bluesky ahead. “Ir you’re comparing it to a year ago, we’ve seen a decline,” says Mid West Corporate Aviation CEOMarvin Autry. “(But) thingsd are starting to leve out.” Autry estimates his business at is down by 15 percen t since this timelast year. Fuel salesd at Jabara in March weredown 16.87 percent compared to a year ago. fuel sales went from 61,769 gallons in February to 66,184 gallonws in March. Fuel usage has dropped at the .
Even so, officials there also are seeing signs ofa rebound. Melissa spokesperson for the SalinaAirport Authority, says March’se fuel total of 182,205 gallonxs was the lowest level seen since the earlt 90s. But the number of total operations in the firstt quarterwere 16,842. That’s a 1.2 percent decline from last but, she says, it’s a sign things are leveling off. T.W. Anderson, manager of the , has 114 aircrafft based at his airport. Although his hangare remain full, he says he has seen a drop in the numbed of aircraft stoppingto refuel. But with springb in the air and the weather Anderson says more people are returninb to flyingtheir piston-driven planes.
Those airplanes burn and Anderson says sales increased 5 percentin April. “II think what we’re seeinyg is more people, now that they have a bettet handle onthe economy, are going back to aviation.” He has seen a drop in jet fuel sales though, which he says are down 20 percent from this time last crews aren’t flying through Newton as they used to. Andersohn says of the 30 business jets used on the circuity to fly support teams to and from Newton typically sees 6 to 10a season, stoppingh through between coasts. But he says as more creww fly commercial tocut costs, just one of the NASCA R jets has stopped there.
The cost of fuel has dropped dramaticallyh in thepast year. In AVgas has fallen from $4.88 a gallon at this time last to $4.02. At Jabara, prices are down to $4.398 a gallon. Similar drops in jet fuel pricess could begin spurring more business jet usage as According tothe , the averagwe price of jet fuel ­— $58.40 a barre l as of May 1 is down 58.7 percent from this time a year ago. For lower prices mean more incentivreto fly, whether for business or for fun. And althougjh he thinks traffic levels will rebound by leveling off now means the ascent back to those levelsdis coming. “I think things have hit a he says.
“I think people are starting to have more confidencr inthe economy.”