Photos by Lynn Janes
Article by Mary Alice Murphy

At an invitation-only presentation at the Grant County Veterans Memorial Business and Conference Center, Levi Stockton, president and pilot of Advanced Air, which provides essential air service to the Grant County Airport, and other members of his team were on hand to get input and hear from those who utilize the service.

Lt. Gov Howie Morales said: "I want to say how much I appreciate Advanced Air and its wonderful service. Sometimes, I'll be down here at home, and I get a call from the governor that she wants me back up there the next day. I can always get on the flight back north to Albuquerque."

Barbara Hunt, Advanced Air vice president of operations, said another guest would be speaking from Washington, D.C. She introduced District 39 State Rep. Luis Terrazas, who attended via Zoom.

"I'm actually in D.C. for National History Day," Terrazas said. "Our daughter won state and is in competition here. I just wanted to be able to thank you for all the work you do. I hear that Howie Morales is there, and we use your service through Albuquerque to do our work in Santa Fe. I can tell you that a lot of people in our community are happy to have this type of service. A lot of us use it for the legislature, but many use it for doctor's appointments or to visit family. You have done a great job as an airline. What you have done is make it safe and comfortable for us. We support you, because we believe it is good for New Mexico."

He thanked them for receiving the PowerPoint presentation. "You must be doing something right, because I notice that the planes are getting fuller, and you might have to add a flight. But don't rush the growth, do it steadily. We appreciate you so much."

Hunt said the airline appreciates the support they get from this community.

Stockton reintroduced himself as not only president but also a pilot that flies in and out of Silver City sometimes.

He showed a presentation slide with pictures of the leadership team. "We came out here about six years ago, and we're still here and with this same leadership team. We're very excited to be here, and we want to continue to be here."

Stockton noted that many had seen the same presentation that morning at the County Commission meeting. [Editor's Note: You can read much of the same, as well as different information at https://www.grantcountybeat.com/news/news-articles/grant-county-commission-work-session-061124-part-1]

He pointed out that Advanced Air uses only King Air planes in New Mexico. The company also uses other aircraft in other venues in the Southwest. "We also fly corporate jets all over the world, including one I flew in on last night from London, so I'm a bit jet-lagged."

The company has more than 200,000 square feet of hangar space they built at their headquarters at Jet Center in Hawthorne, CA.

He also showed a route map of their scheduled services.

On any given day, Stockton said they have three or four King Airs in the air, mainly in New Mexico and to Phoenix or Albuquerque, Las Cruces, Gallup, Carlsbad and, "of course, Silver City."

"We hear a lot about 'are you growing?'; 'will you forget Silver City'?" he said. "Silver City is how we got into scheduled service. This is our baby. We're really proud of you here. So, Silver City is a priority, and it will never not be a priority."

Stockton said almost every day, they have two King Airs flying into or out of Silver City. He noted that at least twice, when a maintenance issue caused a plane not to be able to fly out of Silver City to Phoenix, the flight from Carlsbad was rerouted to Silver City to pick up passengers to fly them to Phoenix.

"We also have a pilot base in Phoenix," he continued. "We have 24 or 25 pilots there, and we have a program with Southwest Airlines, where pilots get their training, then they come to us for two years and then they go on to Southwest. It's pretty exciting for us.

"Safety is our No. 1 priority, and we have three independent safety auditors audit our records and flights," Stockton said. "An audit is usually good for two years, so just about every year, we have an independent audit. These are extremely hard credentials to attain, but we've gotten them every year."

Advanced Air started in Silver City in 2019. He showed a chart of the total passengers, the number of Silver City enplanements, which totaled almost 11, 000 for 2019 and the load factors in Albuquerque and Phoenix that year, which was about 4 or 5 passengers per flight and the years since. The numbers dropped in 2020 and 2021 due to Covid, but in 2022, they bounced back to 12,426 and in 2023 to almost 13,000, with higher load factors. The numbers and load factors continue apace for 2024 through May.

Stockton noted that Silver City offers 7 round trips to Phoenix a week and 17 to Albuquerque. The one-way fare to Albuquerque is $91 and to Phoenix $131. "We also have ticket packages, where the fares are refundable and transferrable to other passengers."

He said the in-flight magazine is a new effort in marketing. "We do marketing wherever we go. We are a member of the Chamber of Commerce; we're in the Grant County Beat; the Daily Press; and we're always a proud sponsor of the Tour of the Gila. So we're here supporting the community. We, in direct economic benefits in 2023, purchased 170,000 gallons of fuel in Silver City and spent more than 625 room nights in Silver City."

"As we grow, we have grown internally in our support, with a 24/7 Dispatch team for flight planning, real-time weather and airport updates," he said. "Since we started here in 2019, our average flight completion is 99.14 percent, with 94.62 percent on-time flight completion. As a network, we are 98 percent completion and 95 percent on-time. This year so far, over our entire network we've had only 11 flight cancellations on one-way routes.

"We would love your feedback," Stockton said.

Hunt said the renewal for the contract just came out the day before. "We want to hear if you want changes in schedules, time of day, or whatever you want to share with us. You can tell us in front of the group or you can email us. We're here to answer questions."

An attendee asked if the person buys the 10-ticket package, is it only for the person or can it be handed to someone else.

Stockton replied that "unique to us, it is transferrable."

"Some of you may have already received this, but we sent out a survey yesterday, and we've had about 450 responses already," he said. "And so far, people are rating us at 4.8 out of 5. We're always striving for a 5, but 4.8 isn't bad."

Another attendee noted that a lot of people go to Tucson for medical appointments and such. "Is there any possibility for a flight to Tucson?"

Stockton replied that "It's not our call. Through the federal subsidy we have, we are only allowed to fly to two cities, and those right now are Albuquerque and Phoenix, which right now have the highest demand."

Chamber Board Member Bruce Ashburn said: "We consider ourselves very lucky to have you as our air service. We have some great things planned for the chamber, and hope to have you expand your sponsorship with the chamber and help us help you to get the word out on your services."

Stockton said: "We're all in. We want to know where else we should be advertising."

Hunt said she also has sponsorship packages available.

A man asked if the ticket packages could be used for both Phoenix and Albuquerque. Stockton replied that the prices are different for the routes, so there are not interchangeable.

Morales asked about the process to choose a provider for the EAS service.

Stockton said the bids have to be in by July 10. The community through the County Commission makes the decision and sends the recommendation to the Department of Transportation, which makes the final say. "We've been on a two-year contract renewed twice. We would really like to have a four-year contract, which would bring us to 10 years here total. You'll likely have some other bidders. We still have capacity with the load factor, especially to Albuquerque."

Morales said the concern he's heard is a fear of rapid growth, which would take away from Silver City. "It happened with the prior operator and their service to Silver City dropped off, with canceled flights and lots of delays."

Stockton said: "That was a question we had when we first came here. We've been here now for six years. We've grown, but we are being very thoughtful about our growth. We are not operating on the east coast. We want to remain in the southwest. There's maybe only two other communities, we might look at. And when we bid, we will only bid on what works for us. For example, Carlsbad, New Mexico. When we bid there. their prior operator had Albuquerque and DFW in Texas. We offered Albuquerque and Phoenix. The reason was if we extended to Dallas-Fort Worth that would have been too far east and our reliability would have gone down. Anywhere else we go in the state will go to Phoenix and Albuquerque. Take it or leave it. They took it."

Morales said to applause: "Your customer service and your pilots are just amazing. I especially want to mention Eli. He's wonderful."

Stockton agreed and said they were very lucky to have Eli.

Rudy Martinez thanked Advanced Air for their service to the community. "It's very useful for organizations, businesses and individuals to be able to travel outside Grant County. But now we're going to have to start buying tickets in advance because the planes are getting full. Good job!"

Stockton said the company is in the process of working on an interline arrangement with Alaska Airlines. "That means you can buy a ticket with Alaska and it will show all our destinations. That means you could buy a ticket with Alaska to Phoenix or Albuquerque and connect to fly to Silver City. Because we have no TSA here, you will still have to recheck your bag when you get to Phoenix or Albuquerque."

Priscilla Lucero, Southwest New Mexico Council of Governments executive director, thanked Stockton and Advanced Air for its community support. "I think you don't always see how much it benefits us. For instance, your support this year for Grant County Day at the Legislature, that support alone, helped us bring $11 million to this community alone, just from our efforts that day. That's a huge impact. When you support youth basketball, that's 400 kids that might not have those opportunities. For Baile Encanto that impacted about 80 children and helps to keep the culture. That is the impact you bring to our community. Obviously we want to keep you in New Mexico, and thank you for not forgetting where your start was. You're well thought of! Your customer service is excellent."

Hunt said when she emailed Lucero to tell her about this, "she replied, 'of course, I'll be there. You guys are like family.' We come here and we do feel like family. We are reachable. You have all our phone numbers and emails. I also want to thank Romeo Cruz (chamber director) and Sabrina (chamber assistant) for helping us put this together."

Ashburn asked what would happen if flights were to start to fill up. "Will we actually not be able to get on a flight at the last minute?"

Stockton said: "It's a good problem to have. However, the reality is we could not have these ticket prices without the subsidy. If we didn't have the subsidy, the ticket prices would more than double, maybe three to four times. We could go to a larger plane, but that would open up other issues, like more maintenance and higher costs, and it usually would reduce frequency. We could go to a 30-passenger, but then you're down to 12 flights a week. And going up in the morning and coming back in the evening isn't possible."

Matt Runnels, who serves on the board of the Tour of the Gila, wanted to thank Advanced.. Air for all they do. "The only thing I've heard that can create a problem at the gate when it's happening. The state of New Mexico, when I apply for a new or renewed driver's license, they give me a paper one before they mail me the plastic one. And the problem is you don't accept that paper one. I've known of people with kids who were embarrassed because you wouldn't accept it. That's the only downside I've heard."

"That's not us," Stockton said. "It's the federal government requirement for what IDs we are allowed to use. If that's what you have, you would have to bring other things like a school ID or a birth certificate to be able to use it. If we don't do it, we face a really hefty fine."

Hunt said she had spoken to the Lt. Gov. earlier this year about this issue. "We talked about getting something from the state on this issue and getting permission from our TSA representatives to see if we are allowed to use that. What we found out is if you are leaving out of a sterile airport, such as Phoenix, you can clear with that, because you are dealing with TSA there, which has the capacity to search for other things before clearing you. We have to follow these other regulations because this is a non-sterile airport and we don't have the capacity on site to search for the other things. We are not going to let this go. We'll continue to talk to the state to get some certification that it is considered a legal document, but we'll still have to get clearance from TSA to do that."

Stockton invited everyone to enjoy lunch. "We'll be here if anyone has any more questions."

For flight schedules at Advanced Air's various commercial venues, such as the ones to and from Silver City, please visit https://advancedairlines.com/ for the a list of the airports and times of departures and arrivals to and from each one's destinations.