Feds clear ADI's Youngstown to Chicago service for takeoff

By KALEA HALL

khall@vindy.com

VIENNA

It took 19 months, but Aerodynamics Inc. is now able to provide daily flight service between Youngstown and Chicago.

On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Transportation approved the company’s application for service, stating the airline is “fit, willing and able to engage in interstate scheduled air transportation of persons, property and mail using small aircraft.”

“We are just very happy,” said Dan Dickten, director of aviation at the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport. “We have been at this now for a year and a half. Now is when the work starts.”

Dickten said the target start time for the service is early April. Prices haven’t been set yet, but they will be comparable to other area airports, including Canton and Pittsburgh, he said.

The last time the airport had a daily service was in 2003, he noted.

In June 2014, ADI, a charter service company based in Beachwood and Atlanta, applied to provide 10 flights a week from Youngstown-Warren to Chicago O’Hare International in a 50-passenger aircraft.

In January 2015, the DOT tentatively denied the application because of concerns with the airline’s previous ownership. Former company leader Scott Beale was found to have committed fraud while soliciting investment funds from a former business partner. Beale resigned as chief executive officer, president and chairman of ADI and its parent companies, and new leadership was selected.

The company then entered into a stock-purchase agreement with the primary owners of SeaPort Airlines, John Beardsley and his wife, Janet. SeaPort is a scheduled commuter airline based in Portland, Ore. The Beardsleys became the owners of ADI through ADI Acquisition Co. after the sale closed in July 2015.

The DOT went on to request more details of ADI’s management, personnel, operations and financial position. Anonymous allegations were made to the DOT regarding the company’s safety, which both the DOT and the Federal Aviation Administration vetted.

“It certainly has been a long process,” said John Moliterno, director of the Western Reserve Port Authority, which operates the airport.

Last November, the airline received a tentative approval for the service. During a 14-day comment period, an objector came forward and said the company’s ownership was in default on a promissory note to James Paquette and Via Airlines.

ADI called the objection “moot” because the note was paid in full. In mid-January, ADI settled with Via and Paquette, agreeing to pay $10,500 more as full and final settlement of all claims relating to collection costs and fees on the note.

“Despite the allegations raised by the objectors regarding ADI’s failure to disclose financial information that could impact the availability of financial resources needed to meet the department’s financial fitness test, ADI provided evidence on the record that it has access to sufficient financial resources available to it from its owner to support its proposed scheduled operations,” the DOT’s final order states.

The DOT said it will “require the company to demonstrate that it continues to have access to the financial resources needed to meet our financial fitness test.”

The service to Chicago is an asset area business owners want to have, said Sarah Boyarko, senior vice president of the regional chamber. And it is a service that can be marketed to bring new business here.

O’Hare International Airport has about 1,020 daily direct flights to 151 U.S. cities and about 119 daily direct flights to 52 international destinations, as of September 2015.

“We have been working on this in partnership with the airport since mid-2014, and this certainly means a lot to the business community,” Boyarko said.

Currently, Allegiant Air offers four flight destinations from the Valley’s airport.

“Now, we have to get people to use this service,” Dickten said. “I think it is going to get people reconnected to the rest of the world.”

ADI could not be reached for comment for this story.