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Transcript

Flamingo Air's MacDonald Offers 'Mile-High-Club' Flights(Audio) · Bloomberg Intelligence

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  Speaker 1: That's a Bloomberg Business flash June listening to taking Stock
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  Speaker 1: with Bim Box and Kathleen Hayes on Bloomberg Radio. Well,
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  Speaker 1: when Charles Lindbergh landed at Luncoan Airfield in Cincinnati in
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  Speaker 1: ninety seven, he was mobbed by well wishers, and in
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  Speaker 1: nineteen sixty four a large crowd of fans greeted the
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  Speaker 1: Beatles they flew in and out of Luncoan for their
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  Speaker 1: concert at the Cincinnati Gardens. Well, that may prepare you
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  Speaker 1: for our next topic. Flamingo Air. David McDonald as the
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  Speaker 1: president and the chief executive of Flamingo Air. They're based
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  Speaker 1: in Cincinnati and their fleet of small aircraft. Well, they
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  Speaker 1: do something different out of Luncn Airfield, and David's here
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  Speaker 1: to tell us more. David, thanks very much, for being
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  Speaker 1: with us whole words my pleasure, sir. All right, So
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  Speaker 1: I'm trying to ease into the focus of Flamingo Air
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  Speaker 1: because I confess that when we received information about your business, um,
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  Speaker 1: we all kind of took a step back. Describe what
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  Speaker 1: is Flamingo Air. You say it's the home to Flamingo
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  Speaker 1: sightseeing tours. What is it all about? Well, that is correct,
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  Speaker 1: and we do quite a number of different things. We did.
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  Speaker 1: We've given more little kids our first airplane ride than
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  Speaker 1: you can shake a stick at. We have the largest
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  Speaker 1: aircraft despatch school in the world. Here we're opening a
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  Speaker 1: navionic school and we're the leader in drone training. But
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  Speaker 1: what you're thinking about is our flights of fancy, and
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  Speaker 1: that's our romantic airplane rides. Uh. Then, and this is
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  Speaker 1: probably our biggest seller. Will We'll do two or three
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  Speaker 1: of these things a week and it's just fun. Uh.
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  Speaker 1: You get one hour in a private, curtained dolf aircraft
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  Speaker 1: and it's cute as the dickens. We take out the
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  Speaker 1: whole center row of seats and that's all filled with
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  Speaker 1: big fluffy cushions and the planes all cordoned off and
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  Speaker 1: you get champagne and chocolates and a very discreet pilot,
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  Speaker 1: and it's just something really need to do with somebody special.
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  Speaker 1: So that's what we're probably most famous for, all right,
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  Speaker 1: and that well that goes for what about four seventy
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  Speaker 1: for that hour long flight? That is correct, yes, sir? Okay,
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  Speaker 1: Now we're talking about aircraft. What assessments Skyhawk seventy two.
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  Speaker 1: That's a four seat, single engine high wing aircraft. For
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  Speaker 1: these particular flights, we use a Cherokee Sticks and that's
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  Speaker 1: a seven passenger, this single engine sightseeing plane. And like
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  Speaker 1: I said, we take out that center row of seats
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  Speaker 1: and put cushions in there and it just it works
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  Speaker 1: up real cute. Can you give us some examples of
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  Speaker 1: the well, let's just say the experiences that have been
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  Speaker 1: had up in the air well, yes, or but try
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  Speaker 1: to keep in mind I am a very discreet pilot. Yes,
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  Speaker 1: and this is a family. Well, we actually had one
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  Speaker 1: couple show up and they had picnic pass with them
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  Speaker 1: and they got in the airplane and they said, well,
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  Speaker 1: you know, if you want, you can just you know,
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  Speaker 1: take the curtains down, because we've got seven kids and
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  Speaker 1: we just want have a quiet meal together. So you've
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  Speaker 1: got that all one end of the of the spectrum
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  Speaker 1: and on the other. The very first flight of fancy
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  Speaker 1: I did. It was arranged by one of the local
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  Speaker 1: radio stations and um, I showed up at the airport
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  Speaker 1: and there was a couple in the car in the
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  Speaker 1: car sitting in the parking lot, and boy, they were
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  Speaker 1: really getting it on. Um this was a blind date.
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  Speaker 1: These two never laid eyes on each other until they
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  Speaker 1: got to the airport, so I didn't think a whole
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  Speaker 1: lot of it. Yeah, that's fun, you know. So what
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  Speaker 1: they had and I got the plane prepped. It turns
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  Speaker 1: out this is my couple and uh again the first
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  Speaker 1: time they met, give him in the airplane and I
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  Speaker 1: told him, I said, now you gotta keep your seatbelts on. Well,
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  Speaker 1: we taxi out and when we're airborne, i'll tell you
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  Speaker 1: when you can kind of check back and relax. Okay.
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  Speaker 1: So I'm getting them in the plane and the lady says, uh,
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  Speaker 1: this had got an autopilot on it. And I said
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  Speaker 1: yet she says, well, she says, you know you're invited
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  Speaker 1: and this isn't gonna work, you know. Uh So anyway,
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  Speaker 1: I told him, I said, just when we get up
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  Speaker 1: to the other end. I'll pull these curtains to and
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  Speaker 1: and then you can, you know, sit back and relax.
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  Speaker 1: So I get to the end of the runway and
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  Speaker 1: turn around to pull the curtains to and it was
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  Speaker 1: too late. So those are the two ends of the
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  Speaker 1: spectrum that we could talk about. When did you begin this, uh,
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  Speaker 1: this business venture? This was and I started it on
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  Speaker 1: a dare to be honest with you, because I'm an entrepreneur,
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  Speaker 1: I have been all my life and you're not in
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  Speaker 1: this this business for very long before the topic of
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  Speaker 1: airborne whoopie comes up. So it did, and I said,
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  Speaker 1: you know, I could sell that, and they said, no, no, no, never.
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  Speaker 1: The other guys are giving me a hard time. They says,
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  Speaker 1: too conservative and Cincinnati, you'll never pull it off. Well
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  Speaker 1: that was like throwing down the gauntlet. So here I am,
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  Speaker 1: what twenty six years later, and we're still rocking. Thanks
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  Speaker 1: very much for spending time with us. David McDonald is
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  Speaker 1: the president and the chief executive of Flamingo Air. They
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  Speaker 1: are based in Cincinnati, Ohio. You're listening to Taking stock
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