Mat Butcher, Boutique Air director or operations spoke at the Gila EDA Roundtable.

Photo and aritlce by Mary Alice Murphy

Gila Economic Development Alliance President Jeremiah Garcia said the presentation at Western New Mexico University's Light Hall was a collaboration of the Gila EDA and WNMU to bring in Boutique Air to present the airline's services.

"I sort of built my job," Mat Butcher, Boutique Air director of operations, said.

He gave his background, which began with a degree in aeronautical studies at Arizona State University. He spent 4 ½ years as first officer flying regional planes for Seaport Air. He took a captain slot with the airline, then moved to safety and then became assistant chief pilot.

"My uncle had flown the PC-12," Butcher said. "He told me what a great plane it was. I flew the Caravan and the PC-12 with Seaport."

He served a stint as director of training for Surf Airlines, and then Shawn Simpson, founder and chief executive officer of Boutique Air contacted Butcher and "gave me an opportunity to be a contract pilot."

Butcher gave a brief history of Boutique Air, which began with operations flying for fire lookout on Cessnas in California. "Then Shawn decided to start an airline. It has a good business model and plan. He flew Los Angeles to Las Vegas, Nevada, and made it work. He offered me director of operations and I've grown the position. He started with essential air service from Clovis, NM, to Dallas, Texas. Then Silver City to Albuquerque. We had to build for a while to qualify for essential air service. It's hard if you're unknown. But a lot of people believe in us. We believe that each and every employee is important."

He gave specifics of the service offered. Although the Pilatus PC-12 is designed to be flown by one pilot, 99.9 percent of the time, "we fly with two pilots. The aircraft is a highly sought after plane. Even a legacy PC-12 will sell for more the second time it is sold. We spend about $2.5 million to $3 million for the equivalent of a two-year-old car. We will purchase new in the future, but the engines are very reliable. The engine, which has a lot of safety and reliability built into it, is also used for many other applications."

"The airplane is capable of 300 miles per hour, the same speed as multi-engine turbo-props," Butcher said. "The engine was developed for owner-operators, those with lots of money who want an airplane."

He showed a slide of the interior of the aircraft, which is pressurized, has seats that swivel, power outlets, a lavatory, and low interior noise, because the engine is up front. "You get the charter feel at a reasonable ticket price."

Butcher showed a slide of the cockpit, which has advanced GPS avionics, terrain avoidance and airplane avoidance. "One pilot can easily handle the aircraft, but we usually fly two pilots."

Boutique Air was established in 2007, and is based in San Francisco, CA.

He pointed out that a new young Amelia Earhart, not the original one, had flown a PC-12 around the world.

"We bought one airplane in Australia and had to figure out how to get it back to the U.S.," Butcher said. "We flew it to New Zealand, then to Honolulu, and on to Merced, CA. We think the flight from Honolulu to Merced was the longest in Pilatus history-8 hours and 39 minutes. We had put extra fuel tanks inside and connected them to the built-in tanks."

The fare range for flights from Silver City to Albuquerque or back one-way is from $59-$199.

"We don't do a last minute purchase fare bump," Butcher said. "It depends on which seats are available on the plane. For instance, the first two seats cost a certain amount and it changes back to the last seats. The sooner you book, the better the fare. For instance, if we have empty seats today, it is likely the fare is under $100 one-way today.

"We have no hidden fees, no fees for baggage, no fees for minors traveling alone, no extra fees," he emphasized. "We do offer some snacks and beverages, with sandwiches or liquor for purchase."

"We have no pilot shortage, because we pay above average," Butcher continued.

A woman asked about taking a small caged-animal aboard the airplane.

"If the flight is not full, there is a 100 percent chance to get your animal on the flight with you. Our baggage hold is behind the last row of seats. If the animal is overly large or the cage is, it might be behind the luggage."

A woman, who said she is going on a several-week trip, asked if she could take two bags.

Butcher said one bag weighing about 35 pounds and one carry-on are allowed per passenger. "But we are good at accommodating what our passengers need." He said Clovis had a golf tournament and got 60 sets of clubs within a week from Dallas to Clovis and back. Some bags traveled by themselves.

A woman asked about larger carry-ons, such as those carrying computers. Butcher said the planes have no overhead or floor storage, so "if you can hold it on your lap, it's legal. We try to preplan if luggage is going to be larger or more than one bag. It has been a minimal issue for us. From Clovis to Dallas, we can accommodate extra luggage about 99.8 percent of the time. We accommodate the military traveling with large duffel bags."

A man asked if a bicycle box would fit in the hold, to which Butcher replied in the affirmative and that the airline had brought several this week for the Tour of the Gila. "We can also accommodate skis and all at no additional fee. We have had zero issues on bags. If you bring a bag to us the day before, we let you know it arrived in Albuquerque and will hold it until you get there."

A woman asked if Boutique Air had a frequent flier program. "I think one will come soon," Butcher replied. "Our voucher program rolled out well. We have a plan to tie the two together. For the voucher program, you can buy 10 to 20 tickets at a time, usually at the $59 price point, and we take off another 10 percent. You can use them on flights, even when there is only one seat left."

He explained that, because Boutique Air does not code share with other airlines, passengers connecting in Albuquerque to other flights have to pick up and transport their luggage to the next flight, but it would likely take only about 45 minutes. If a person is not connecting, they can be on their way in two to five minutes after pulling up to the gate.

To a question, Butcher explained that the fare rises by the availability of seats not from when booked. "It depends on the passenger load. We don't upcharge for last minute purchases." He did, however, recommend booking three to six months in advance of flying.

"We are figuring out some schedule changes to accommodate the hospital," Butcher said. Dan Otero, Gila Regional Medical Center chief administrative officer, said the hospital and its specialists, such as the oncologists, who travel to Silver City from Albuquerque, have been chartering planes to fly the route, but with a more reliable airline, they are considering using Boutique Air, which would save money.

A woman asked if a wheelchair could be accommodated, to which Butcher replied: "Absolutely."

Sen. Howie Morales said the main concerns were price and reliability, when the decision was being made to choose an essential air service provider.

Butcher said because Boutique Air has no pilot shortages, and it pays above average plus paying 100 percent of health care benefits, the "key to success is pilots, reliability and safety. They go hand-in-hand."

The weekday schedule features four round-trips per day and two each weekend day. "The flight crews overnight here."

He said the airline has been awarded the Show Low to Phoenix in Arizona route, and the Albuquerque to Carlsbad essential air service routes.

"We try to keep making our service better," Butcher said. "We have been able to more than double the number of passengers since the first month. We have flown well above 600 passengers a month since beginning in January.

He showed a chart of reliability. The completion rate for January, March and April have been 100 percent. February had two legs cancelled due to weather for a 98 percent completion rate. "We have had zero flight cancellations due to maintenance."

Morales noted the planes flew at the beginning, even without passengers. Butcher agreed, but said the service since it began has more than doubled the number of passengers required by law for EAS providers.

Morales asked if Phoenix were still an option. Butcher said it was still an option. "We can increase ridership and have a flight to Phoenix. We're flexible and open to flying to more cities."

In answer to a question, Butcher said the U.S. Department of Transportation would likely move one of the round trips to Phoenix in a year or so, or "we could see it as an extra flight, depending on demand."

He showed reviews on Yelp and Facebook, as well as other social media. "We have had excellent reviews, but we continue to improve our service."

Butcher also noted that the PC-12 is "incredibly good at driving through icing conditions, because of a heated inlet and heated prop tips."

He also said Boutique Air flights could be booked on all of the major travel sites, such as Expedia and Kayak, "but it is easiest to book directly with Boutique Air at 1-855-boutique or at boutiqueair.com."

Sean Ormand, Gila EDA member, asked where maintenance is housed for Boutique Air.

"Clovis is our base," Butcher said. "The military flies the PC-12 all around the world, so we have been able to hire mechanics who have worked at Cannon Air Force Base and have been dispersed all around the world. We also have some new guys in Denver, where there is a major service center for PC-12s."

To a question about challenges for the airline in Silver City, Butcher said the main challenge has been the distance from Silver City. "It's a 30-minute drive for service agents. But relatively speaking, the rollout of this service has gone smoothly."

A man asked a question about long-term parking at the Grant County Airport, to which Butcher said parking has not been a problem. He also noted that long-term in Albuquerque is cheaper than in most airports.

Ormand said he liked being able to get to Albuquerque and back in a day, which saves money for hotels and meals. "I drove up a vehicle and left it in Albuquerque. They will make you a deal for a one-year parking contract. You check a bag here, get to Albuquerque, grab your bag and go outside to catch a shuttle to your vehicle. It's very convenient. I suggest it would be a great opportunity to get people to come down here for the weekend. Make deals with hotels and restaurants for them."

Butcher said although he had flown many times back and forth from Silver City to Albuquerque, he got to see a lot of Silver City last night. "Maybe ads in Santa Fe will bring folks down."

Another audience member asked where the aircraft were produced. "Switzerland," Butcher replied.

A woman asked whether Enterprise works out of the Albuquerque airport.

"Tell the service agent here when you leave that you need a rental car or a cab, and it will be ready for you when you get there," Butcher said.

A student asked about student rates, and Butcher said he would look into them.

Ted Pressler suggested keeping the flights going for the weekends to bring folks here, especially for events.

"We think out of the box," Butcher said, "because we also do charters."

Kim Clark of the Realtors Association asked who would put the packages together for deals.

"Our corporate tem will help put packages together," Butcher said.

Morales suggested it might be the role of the Gila EDA and the chamber to make local deals, such as for the Gila Cliff Dwellings or the bike race this week. He also suggested, because people travel to Arizona casinos, that maybe deals could be made with the casinos in the Albuquerque area.

Butcher said, for special events, because the pilots are located in Albuquerque, the airline can add seats for a day by flying an extra flight.

L.J. Lundy, Realtor, suggested that if flights go to Phoenix, it could draw passengers who want to escape the heat to come to Silver City for a weekend.

WNMU Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs Jack Crocker said President Joseph Shepard had asked him to welcome Butcher. "It's a mark of Joe's leadership of involving the university in the community."

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