Dugger Aviation Repositions to Greenville Downtown Airport
March 18, 2015
GREENVILLE, SC – “We enjoyed having our office in Downtown Greenville but our clients expected us to be at the airport” stated Dan Dugger, Founder and President of Dugger Aviation. “When we looked at the overall cost savings and central location it added up to be a smart move.”
Dugger Aviation has relocated their Greenville, South Carolina office three miles down the road to the Greenville Downtown Airport (GMU). Dugger Aviation provides private aviation services that include aircraft sales, management, charter, and cargo. “I tell people that aren’t familiar with aviation to think of us as real estate agents with a property management division. We buy and sell houses, then we maintain the property for the owner and when they’re gone for the weekend we rent it out. That’s aircraft sales, management and charter.”
The reasons people and businesses use private aviation vary from their need to save time connecting with customers personally, as well as having control over their security when traveling internationally. Imagine that John owns a company with multiple offices or plants in remote locations across several states. Think through the time it takes him to drive to the airport, get in line for security, wait through the boarding process, eat peanuts and coke for breakfast, get back off the plane, run for his connection, repeat the boarding process, eat more peanuts, walk through the terminal, find his rental car and then drive 45 minutes to the plant. John woke up at 6 am and now it’s noon and he still has to find his hotel and someplace for dinner tonight. That may sound like a normal day for most business executives, but consider Jane, who owns the leading competitor to John’s company. She uses a private aircraft. She dropped the kids off at school on her way to the plane that is ready and waiting for her, ate her favorite breakfast on the way to her first meeting, landed at the smaller local airport near the plant, then by 11:30 she is back on board having her favorite lunch on her way to the second plant location and is back home by 6 pm.
Pictured is Dan Dugger with a Piaggo Avanti aircraft at the Greenville Downtown Airport, Dan Dugger in Dugger Aviation’s new office at the Greenville Downtown Airport and two shots of the Greenville Downtown Airport’s Main Terminal building where Dugger Aviation is now located.
When it comes to having a competitive edge, having access to a private aircraft is a huge advantage and Dugger Aviation knows how to make it work for any size business or family.
“Our motto is Life Changes Planes, because as retirement or grandchildren come along it will change the way people use aircraft. That’s why we are different than everyone else; we aren’t selling one type of solution, we use whatever makes the most sense for that person”. Dugger Aviation might recommend selling a corporate aircraft that is being underutilized and possibly rolling into a fractional share, or simply chartering a few times each year. Alternatively, maybe the business is expanding and the current aircraft they own needs to hold more people or fly further with more luggage.
The key is being able to get out as quickly as you get into a plane or a program. “We encourage people to look a couple years out, not 10 or 20 years, and decide if using an aircraft will helpful because beyond that time frame nobody know what might change and our goal is to make it easy to adapt.”
Dugger’s background includes 11 years as Vice President with NetJets and Marquis Jet. He is famous in the industry for pioneering the sale of fractional shares in the secondary market by creating the first online trading marketplace, FracTrade. Previously he was an executive with the Cincinnati International Airport Board. His career started as the Assistant to the World Director of Marketing for Proctor & Gamble. He is also the Founder and President of the non-profit Mission 214 which supports missionary aviation; He also serves on the Board of Directors for JAARS, a non-profit serving third world countries; Dugger is currently a member of the American Association of Airport Executives and the National Business Aviation Association. He holds a degree in both Business Administration and Commercial Aviation from Bob Jones University and is a commercially licensed private pilot.
“Dugger Aviation now has their office at GMU but they are not new to aviation in the Greenville area! Their team of professionals has been serving passengers worldwide, from our region, for a very long time,” stated Joe Frasher, Airport Director of the Greenville Downtown Airport (GMU). “We are thrilled to have them land here, once again, and this time it’s to stay!”
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About Dugger Aviation
Dugger Aviation is a team of experienced professionals that provide aircraft sales, management, charter and fractional ownership opportunities. Our business is built around the simple idea that “Life Changes Planes®”. We believe the most important factor in finding the right solution is not the airplane but your life. Dugger Aviation is now located in the main terminal building at 100 Tower Drive, Unit 5, Greenville, SC 29607-2631. For more information about Dugger Aviation please visit http://www.DuggerAviation.com or contact Dan Dugger at 864-244-3462 or [email protected].
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About the Greenville Downtown Airport
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The Greenville Downtown Airport (GMU) is the busiest general aviation airport in South Carolina and is a self-sufficient entity with financial strength that doesn’t rely on local taxpayers for funding. GMU is home to Greenville Jet Center, the largest Fixed Base Operation (FBO) in S.C., as well as more than 25 other aviation-related businesses creating 453 jobs that annually contribute more than $35.2 million to the Upstate economy. For more information about GMU please visit www.greenvilledowntownairport.com or contact Joe Frasher at 864-242-4777 or [email protected]
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