High Fliers: Associated Aircraft Group

In a way, it's the lifestyles of the rich and famous that have led to the continued success of Associated Aircraft Group (AAG). With seven helicopters at the Dutchess County Airport, the company, a subsidiary of the Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation, offers charter services, a fractional ownership program, and outright sales for the person who has everything but extra time.

"Out of here, about 70 percent of our flights originate or end at a New York City airport," explains Carolyn Marino, marketing manager for the company. "They leave this hangar in the morning, do their trips in and around the city, and come back in the evening." While during the summer season, roughly from Memorial Day through Labor Day, those destinations might include summer homes in the Hamptons or Nantucket, the helicopters are also used throughout the year to go to and from Washington, DC, Boston, Philadelphia, and Connecticut.

"It can be executives going from one meeting to another," Marino adds. "It's a time-saving tool, and they can conduct meetings on board, as well."

The helicopters can also be used to get to and from flights from major airports; it takes them only ten minutes to get to JFK from midtown.

John Agor and Raymond Altieri started AAG in the late 1980s as a charter helicopter service run out of Danbury, Connecticut, where the company's headquarters remain. In 1998, Sikorsky Aircraft, whose namesake Igor Sikorsky invented the modern helicopter, was looking to enter the fractional ownership business and so purchased AAG, keeping Agor and Altieri on board. In the past five years, that aspect of the company has overtaken the charter business, in part because of its guaranteed availability.

"The difference between charter and fractional is that with fractional, you actually own an interest in a helicopter. The helicopter is yours; it's available to you at all times. It's similar to a time-share unit," Marino points out. "When time means money, the last thing these CEOs want to hear is 'no, we can't pick you up.'"

The fractional program operates at two levels. The first, the C+ model Program, features the Sikorsky S-76 helicopter, "like the Jaguar of cars," Marino adds, and uses a certain number of flight units based on travel zones emanating from New York City. The second program, the B model, utilizes a vehicle with an older hull and components– - "a used car with a certified warranty" is how Marino puts it - along with an hourly usage system.