ResCare chief lands aviation service at Bowman
Company envisions network of centers

By Bill Wolfe
The Courier-Journal

Ron Geary, chief executive of Louisville's ResCare Inc., says he got to know a lot of America's airports and their private-aviation terminals while traveling on business over the past several years.

"I had a really good vision of what was good and bad," he said.

The best, he decided, was at Opa-locka Airport near Miami, Fla., where a company called Miami Executive Aviation provided general aviation services. "I saw what they had, and I said, 'That's what Louisville needs. We want the best in Louisville, and that's what we're going to bring.' "

Now Geary has teamed with the owner of the Miami operation to found Louisville Executive Aviation at Bowman Field. Geary hopes it will become the headquarters for a network of similar aviation centers across the Southeast. Louisville Executive Aviation will supply services such as fuel, maintenance and flying lessons as well as charter flights, Geary said.

Louisville Executive began business Oct. 1 after winning a 20-year contract from the Regional Airport Authority, replacing Triangle Aviation. It pays the authority monthly rent plus 3 percent of sales, and it promised "a major investment to make improvements" on the property, which includes two hangars.

Central American Airways also provides general aviation services at Bowman Field. There is also a general aviation center at Louisville International, FBO AvCenter, and two flying services at the Clark County, Ind., airport.

Louisville Executive Aviation will offer charter flights in its Cessna Citation S2 jet, soon to be delivered. And it will play host to events ranging from business meetings to the annual Bourbon Ball fund-raiser.

Wednesday night the center and Chase Bank assembled an aviation showcase featuring almost $50 million worth of aircraft from a variety of manufacturers. The goal: to demonstrate the potential of general aviation to potential customers.

Geary called Louisville International "a very fine international airport," but said with the growth in traffic there and the financial problems of some airlines, many travelers have grown frustrated with the quality of commercial flights.

"People are starting to look toward general and private aviation as a viable alternative," he said. "And that's why we think we're going to be positioned well at Bowman Field, because we're going to be able to meet those needs."

The show was appealing because it hadn't been done in Louisville before, said Thelma Ferguson, senior vice president and corporate division manager at Chase, which provides aviation leasing services and financing for purchases. Geary's son-in-law, Eric Potempa, is vice president of Louisville Executive Aviation and handles more of the operational business, Geary said. The Miami partner is Fabio Alexander.

Since October and the winter slow season, "we've been in there just kind of cleaning the place up and getting our people trained and in business," Geary said. "We think it will take at least 18 months to get this humming the way we want."

The company has its eyes set on growth. "We're not really interested in going into the big international airports," Geary said. "We want to focus on the small airports and the small communities."

Those smaller airports can serve customers in large cities, such as Miami or Atlanta. But by flying on private planes, "you don't have to go through the hassles of checking your luggage and that kind of stuff. There are just a lot of conveniences," Geary said.

Operating at multiple airport will let the company cut costs on management and supplies. It also will allow the charter service to operate more efficiently -- increasing charter flights between cities in the network and reducing the odds that an empty plane will have to be flown back to its hangar.

The charter service will focus on sports events and will serve as "a south Florida-Louisville shuttle," catering to Louisville families that live part of the year in Florida.

Pricing is still a question, but "it's going to be affordable," he said.