Recent Developments at Charles M. Schulz - Sonoma County Airport, by Manager Jon Stout
Our featured speaker for June 22, 2023, was Jon Stout, Manager of the Charles M. Schulz - Sonoma County Airport (STS). Jon provided us with his periodic update of the airport’s development. Jon has been the airport’s manager since 2002! He reminded us that the airport was first opened in 1939 as a general aviation airport, started commercial services in 1947, is owned and operated by the County of Sonoma, and is fully self-funded (except for federal funding for improvements. The airport has 23 employees and a budget of $20,000,000. 100% of STS’ electrical needs are met with solar power!
STS flies to 11 destinations, including Burbank, LAX, Portland, San Francisco, Seattle, Orange County, Phoenix, Dallas-Fort Worth, Redmond/Bend, Las Vegas, and Palm Springs. Alaska, American, and Avelo fly in and out of STS. Jon mentioned that Redmond/Bend is the newest flight addition for Avelo. United Airlines recently left STS but hopes to return in the near future. Convincing airlines to serve STS requires significant effort, since profitability, rather than market share, is now the main concern of airlines. He’s currently working on expanding STS’s destinations to include Austin, Chicago, Denver, Boise, Eugene, and Minneapolis. STS plays a major role in the economics of Sonoma County. In 2021, its average of 10 daily departures brought $228.0 million and 1,769 jobs to the county. It represents .8% of the total Sonoma County economy! Since Alaska Airlines joined the airport, it has experienced a year-over-year increase in passengers, other than during Covid-19. 2022 was its best year ever, and 2023 will be even better. STS’s passenger profile is illustrated in the chart below:
In 2019 STS embarked on a 33,000 square foot renovation, including entirely new departure and arrival terminals. This phase of renovations is almost complete and Jon is looking forward in the next several weeks to getting the airport’s front door back (passengers are now routed south of and behind the restaurant to the airlines’ counters and new terminals). Upcoming improvements include new airline parking spaces, a consolidated rental facility, perimeter fencing, and a new air traffic control tower. Parking is still going to be a major impediment to the airport’s growth. Jon expects to help the parking situation with a shuttle to and from the SMART terminal.
Many thanks to Jon for the helpful and interesting presentation. The airport is looking great these days and Jon is no doubt the man behind all of its recent success!
Click HERE to see a limited time recording of Jon Stout's talk.
