But Were Costs Artificially Low To Start?

An FBO price war that lasted for years at New York's Greater Rochester International Airport (ROC) has ended... and with it, low rents and service costs which made the airport wildly popular among general aviation interests.

The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reports Landmark Aviation finally caved, and was taken over by competitor USAirports on January 1. Rochester now has a single FBO, a situation it shares with 14 of the nation's 20 largest airports, according to USAirports CEO Anthony Costello.

The airport's lone flight school, Rochester Air Center, has complained to local authorities that USAirports is trying to raise its rent from the $1,200 a month it was paying Landmark to $5,775... and accuses the company of exploiting its monopoly to gouge tenants.

But Costello says that low rent, along with other below-market prices charged by Landmark, were merely a failed attempt by Landmark to drive out USAirports and create a monopoly of its own. He points out Monroe County charges USAirports nearly $20,000 a year for the square footage which Rochester Air Center rents for an annual total of 14,400, and that doesn't include insurance, utilities, maintenance, and snow removal.

"We're not gouging anybody," Constello said.

The low prices are one reason the airport has seen 150,000 general aviation operations per year lately, more than Buffalo, Syracuse, and Albany combined. A max exodus of GA may be imminent if prices rise suddenly. For now, the Monroe County Airport Authority is investigating the complaints, and Costello has delayed any rent increases till June 1.

Isabel Morrison, business manager of the Rochester Air Center, tells the paper that the rent increase could force her to close. "If we have to leave, there won't be a flight school here for the first time in 60 years," she said.

FMI: http://usairportsflight.com, www.rochesterair.com