A year ago the airline was providing service to three small cities — Jonesboro, Arkansas, Decatur, Illinois, and Burlington, Iowa — under contracts through the federal Essential Air Services (EAS) program.
In addition to winning the two-year EAS contract for Mason City, the airline also began serving Ironwood, Michigan, earlier this year and anticipates starting operations at Fort Dodge in February.
Yet with around 120 employees, ACO is far from large as commercial carriers go.
“We’re still just a small family business in the airline world,” said CEO Shane Storz.
The family, Storz said, is anxious to prove bigger isn’t always better.
“We want to come in and form a partnership,” he said. “We believe an airline our size is a good fit for Mason City.”
ACO is a doing-business-as name for Multi-Aero Inc., founded in Festus, Missouri, in 1979 by Ivan and Darlene Storz (Shane’s parents) along with two other partners.
The company initially focused on crop dusting and recreational excursion flights.
“He wanted to have fun and make money at the same time,” Storz said of his father.
Ivan and Darlene assumed sole ownership when the initial venture faltered. Soon thereafter Multi-Aero became the fixed-based operator at Festus Memorial Airport, providing aircraft rental and maintenance along with flight instruction.
Over time the firm expanded, adding air cargo and charter aircraft services. Shane Storz graduated from Twin City Christian Academy and completed professional pilot training in Vero Beach, Florida, before becoming chief pilot at Multi-Aero in 1989.
“My plan was to grow the cargo business,” Storz recalled, noting the airline held contracts with both the U.S. Postal Service and UPS for several years.
The company also attempted to grow its charter business with the Share-A-Flight program through which customers could book unused seats on charter flights.
Although the family made certain to follow FAA rules, a complaint about the service led to an investigation.
While no wrongdoing was found, FAA officials suggested the company obtain a Part 135 Scheduled Service certification enabling the airline to provide commercial flights with planes carrying nine or fewer passengers.
ACO obtained this certification in 2004 and won its first EAS contract at Kirksville, Missouri, in 2008.
Since then the company, now headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, has scaled back its charter and cargo operations to concentrate on commercial service.
The formula for growth has been simple, according to Storz: provide honest, reliable service and a comfortable flying experience.
Meeting those objectives is still a family affair. Along with Storz as CEO, his sister, Darnea Wood, serves as CFO while her husband, Tad, acts as vice president of maintenance.
Although their parents have largely yielded leadership roles, Darlene Storz still serves as chairman of the board.
“We believe in what we’re doing, mean what we say and do what we say,” Storz said. “I think we’ve proven ourselves as a successful EAS carrier in our current markets.”
In Mason City, ACO is offering four flights each weekday and two on both Saturday and Sunday to and from Chicago O’Hare airport.
“You can’t get any better than Chicago O’Hare as a connection to the world,” Storz said.
Scheduled flight time from Mason City to Chicago is just under two hours, while the return flight takes nearly 2½.
Although longer than previous flights from Mason City to Minneapolis, the trip is about the same length as the drive to Minneapolis or Des Moines. Considering the cost of gas and parking (parking is free in Mason City), the $115 round-trip price to Chicago should represent a savings for most travelers.
Mason City’s last carrier, Great Lakes Airlines, was forced to suspend service due to a pilot shortage. Great Lakes also blamed the shortage for frequent flight cancellations, which led to declining passenger numbers in recent years.
Storz said Part 135 Scheduled Service certification places ACO under different requirements than those experienced by Great Lakes.
“I can’t say it’s been easy to find qualified people,” he noted, “but we’ve so far, knock wood, been able to pull it off.”
The tradeoff for enjoying access to a larger pilot pool is the requirement to carry fewer passengers.
While ACO’s Cessna Grand Caravan aircraft could hold up to 19 standard seats, the climate-controlled cabins are instead fitted with nine plush leather seats offering leg room comparable to first class on most airlines.
Although passengers are encouraged to use airport restrooms before flying, there is an onboard lavatory for emergencies.
Storz hopes comfort, convenience and reliability will overcome any reservations passengers may have regarding smaller aircraft and longer flight times.
“We know we’re a new model Mason City hasn’t seen in a long, long time,” he said. “I think once (passengers) have the experience they’ll be pleased.”
Storz said while ACO would continue to examine other opportunities within the Midwest, the airline isn’t planning to take on any additional cities for the next three to six months.
“We’re trying to be wise in our growth.”
Looking ahead, Storz believes tight federal budgets and changing transportation needs make the long-term future of the EAS program uncertain.
His goal is to grow the Mason City market to a point where it could survive without EAS funds and support larger flights to both Chicago and St. Louis.
“That’s a big dream,” Storz said, adding he feels it's realistic.
Storz noted ACO was one of only two airlines, along with Great Lakes, to compete for the Mason City contract.
“I can’t believe the other carriers don’t see the opportunity here," he said.
Although Mason City officials had hoped to attract a larger carrier, Storz said his family is anxious to prove the eventual decision to go with ACO was a good one.
“Everything we’ve grown is built on sweat equity,” Storz said. “We’ve always had to go out and prove ourselves.
“We’re very thankful for the opportunities we’ve been given. We want to grow and stay for a very long time.”
More on Air Choice One:
To learn more about ACO or to book a flight, go to www.airchoiceone.com or call 866-435-9847.
Story and photos: http://globegazette.com
An Air Choice One Cessna Grand Caravan arrives at the Mason City Municipal Airport from Chicago.
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