On the Record with
ROGER WOOLSEY, CEO, MILLION AIR INTERLINK

New Owner Looks to Double FBO Chain

The new proprietor of the Million Air FBOs is seeking to bring the chain to 60 or so locations in four or five years, well more than double today's two dozen, while retaining and indeed reinforcing the mark as one connoting top-of-the-line luxury.

CEO Roger Woolsey plans to take the 17-year-old FBO chain international too, to Latin America and Europe.

Woolsey bought the Hobby Field Million Air franchise in spring 1999 and this year, almost exactly three years later, closed on the acquisition of parent Million Air Interlink, Inc. through his Houston-based REW Investments.

Woolsey is a 19-year aviation veteran who worked as a pilot for rock-and-roll bands before moving into the business of charter aircraft for better-heeled show biz acts. Now he's lowering the cost of joining the Million Air club (see item below) but raising the bar in terms of finding FBOs that match his vision.
"Size isn't going to matter, but quality is," Woolsey says.

"Are you a luxury facility? Do you stress customer service? Do you buy into the concept of education?" Those are the questions to which would-be Million Air franchisees must answer Yes, says Woolsey. "Building a talent-based organization is one of our fundamental changes," he says.

Million Air is launching new product and service purchasing programs, and may engage a uniform fuel supplier for the chain, which should allow for cost reductions. Also in the works is a new system of national Million Air accounts, Woolsey says.

He wants to emulate the success of such national chains as Ritz Carlton and Outback Steakhouse, applying their techniques to Million Air.

New security initiatives include a $100,000 installation of advanced surveillance cameras and a thumb print identification system for crewmembers at Million Air Cleveland. Similar measures are being taken at Million Air Salt Lake City.

"We're looking to them as the model," Woolsey says.

Million Air Salt Lake is to break ground on three new hangar facilities this month, adding 90,000 square feet of space. Million Air Van Nuys, whose expansion plans dating from 1992 were interrupted by Southern California's Northridge earthquake, will break ground on a new $20 million, 250,000-square-foot facility in spring 2003. Million Air Dallas last month began a project to nearly double its hangar space at Addison Airport, while Chicago's Million Air Midway has committed to a new, 20,000-square-foot FBO facility to be in operation by this autumn.

Can Woolsey more than double the size of Million Air in less than half a decade? He thinks so. "We grew our local business about 300%," Woolsey says, and net profits at the Hobby franchise rose by 900% during his tenure.

You Don't Have to Be a Millionaire
Million Air Interlink has dropped the cost of signing up for a Million Air franchise.

The one-time fee to bring an existing FBO into the Million Air fold is now $45,000, down from $75,000. Determination of monthly flowage fees will be changed from two cents per gallon of fuel pumped to a new percentage-based formula, says CEO Roger Woolsey.

Franchisees will continue to pay a maximum of $2,000 per month for advertising and other expenses related to promoting the Million Air system.

Million Air University
Million Air has established Million Air University to boost the leadership, creativity, sales and technical skills of its FBO franchise employees.
Million Air University's initial workshop was held here at NBAA 2002 this past weekend. Million Air plans to publish manuals, books, reports, tapes and software "to help FBO owners, managers and technical specialists apply course material to real-life situations.

As part of the "university," Million Air has implemented a program called Talent Plus, described as a high-impact selection process "designed to help companies screen, recruit, interview and select employees [who] will have a positive impact on a company's future." It's used by the Ritz Carlton hotel chain, Million Air says.