Featured FBO

ROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGH: GALAXY AVIATION FUELS SMILING CUSTOMERS

Snow, private jets and commercial airlines herald busy season for Phillips 66® Aviation dealer at Colorado’s Steamboat-Hayden

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo – There was a time when the Godfather of Soul, resplendent in a powder blue suit and black cowboy hat, stood in the middle of a non-descript bridge at this renowned Rocky Mountain resort and shouted “I FEEL GOOD!”

That joyous exclamation – once bellowed by James Brown on that Steamboat Springs bridge – is what the folks at Galaxy Aviation hope to elicit from every customer who stops at this mile-high, fixed base operator serving Yampa Valley Regional Airport (HDN).

“Customer service is paramount to us,” says Don Kaplan, General Manager at Galaxy Aviation, Steamboat-Hayden. “We greet everyone with a smile and provide excellent service, as if they were part of our family. Most of our customers feel as if they are home.”

The FBO recently extended its dealer agreement with Phillips 66® Aviation for another five years. It is one of six Galaxy Aviation facilities serving Colorado and Florida. Galaxy is known for its rigorous safety training programs and customer service focus.

At an airport where winter annually dumps 300 to 500 inches of snow, safety and customer service play a vital role, says Kaplan. A former municipal judge and criminal prosecutor, Kaplan appreciates order in his court, and that means strict adherence to standards set by the National Air Transportation Association (NATA).

“Every plane is met by two to three line people, all certified as Safety First technicians by the National Air Transportation Association (NATA), then we chock each wheel and comply with every safety standard plus Galaxy’s own higher standards,” Kaplan explains. “We don’t move without two wing walkers and a Galaxy-certified tow operator. We have a great crew.”

High season for the FBO is December through March, when Steamboat’s plentiful amounts of feathery powder beckon downhill skiers from coast to coast. Commercial airlines also start their regular flights into Steamboat Springs for ski season, and Galaxy fuels them all, be it 757s, 737s or anything else.

Despite huge powder dumps, the airport manages to keep the runways, taxiways and FBO ramps clear, says Kaplan.

“What makes our field so wonderful is that at 10,000 feet, it is the longest runway on Colorado’s Western Slope, in a wide open valley,” explains Kaplan. “Everybody loves to fly into this great airport. Airport management is terrific, with better snow removal equipment than most major airports.” Of course, snow removal is a way of life in the rugged Rockies, where Kaplan says Steamboat Springs has never had an excused day of school due to snowfall.

For centuries Ute Indians hunted Steamboat each summer, before French trappers discovered the namesake springs and paved the path for what would become a large mountain ranching community. In 1914, Norwegian Carl Howelson arrived with his wooden skies, built a takeoff for ski jumping in the dry, deep snow outside town – and the locals became hooked on the obscure sport.

Today, the mountain where Howelsen built his jump is Colorado’s oldest ski area in continuous use and the largest natural ski jumping complex in the continent. Howelson Hill has produced more than 70 Olympians.

Summer is also bringing its share of visitors to Galaxy Steamboat-Hayden. “Our summers are getting better and better,” Kaplan explains. “There are a lot of events growing in popularity.”

You might expect Steamboat Springs to be the doorway to camping and hiking, as the town sits near the expansive Medicine Bow-Routt National Forests that straddle the Continental Divide. But the town also happens to have one of the oldest performing arts centers in the nation. Perry Mansfield Camp, founded in 1914, is home to several arts and performance groups.

For Kaplan, living in a historic resort town just west of Rabbit Ears Pass is a far cry from the courtrooms of Florida’s docket-filled Dade County, or the plush offices of a high-powered New Jersey law firm where he worked as a senior trial lawyer. Kaplan became an FBO manager only after he retired and moved to Florida, where he played tennis and forged a friendship with Martin Greenberg, Galaxy Aviation’s CEO/Chairman of the Board.

“I loved aviation, and we’d talk about the business after those Florida tennis matches,” explains Kaplan. “Now I live on a mountain 7,200 feet up and manage an FBO. I like it here.”

True to Galaxy Aviation’s service credo, Kaplan and his crew enjoy interacting with customers. “I spend a great deal of my time on the ramp or behind the CSR desk,” he says. “All our customers know they can contact me directly.”

Galaxy Steamboat-Hayden is a WingPoints® Rewards Card participating location and offers Phillips 66 Aviation’s Partners-Into-Plane contract fuel. Kaplan says Phillips 66 matches well with Galaxy’s own customer service approach.

“You better believe there is a real benefit to using Philips 66 Aviation,” says Kaplan. “The service we get from the Phillips 66 customer contact people is absolutely terrific. They are there for us, supporting our business.”

Maybe making people happy is part of the cosmic plan in Steamboat Springs. Of course, when your town has a bridge officially named James Brown Soul Center of the Universe Bridge, how can you visit with anything but a smile on your face?

For more information on Galaxy Aviation, Steamboat-Hayden visit www.galaxyaviation.com