Advanced Air transition takes another step with office space lease at airport

Mike Smith, Carlsbad Current-Argus
·2 min read

The transition phase for a new airline serving Carlsbad’s Cavern City Air Terminal moved forward after City Council approved a lease agreement with Advanced Air.

Oct. 10 councilors approved a two-year lease agreement that allows the Hawthorne, California-based airline to rent 545 square feet of office space at the airport south of Carlsbad, read an agreement between the City of Carlsbad and the airline.

Advanced Air agreed to pay the City of Carlsbad $220 a month starting Nov. 15, according to the agreement.

The agreement expires Oct. 31, 2025 and allows Advanced Air counter space to serve customers along with a luggage handling area, wrote City of Carlsbad Deputy City Administrator Ted Cordova in a memorandum to councilors.

More: Advanced Air prepares transition of flight service from Carlsbad to Albuquerque-Phoenix

Flights from Carlsbad to Albuquerque and Phoenix start Nov. 5 as Advanced Air replaces Boutique Air, who opted out from early agreement with the City of Carlsbad to provide Essential Air Service (EAS) from Carlsbad to Albuquerque and Dallas-Fort Worth.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) approved a Carlsbad City Council recommendation July 27 to award the EAS contract to Advanced Air.

Boutique Air provided EAS in Carlsbad since 2015. The company backed out of the previous agreement in February. USDOT required Boutique to continue flights while a new carrier was found. Boutique’s last flights from Carlsbad cease on Nov. 4.

A King Air 350 plane is parked at Advanced Air's Jet Center Los Angeles. The California-based company is set to provide jet service out of Carlsbad to Phoenix and Albuquerque in late 2023.
A King Air 350 plane is parked at Advanced Air's Jet Center Los Angeles. The California-based company is set to provide jet service out of Carlsbad to Phoenix and Albuquerque in late 2023.

City accepts state grant for airport markings

Councilors Oct. 10 approved a grant award for $150,000 from the New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT) Aviation Division.

Cordova said the marking project would address findings from an annual Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Part 139 inspection.

The FAA uses the Part 139 inspection to issue airport operating certificates for airports that serve scheduled and unscheduled air carrier aircraft with more than 30 seats, noted an FAA website.

Certificates were also issued for scheduled air carrier operations for aircraft with more than 9 seats and less than 31 seats.

More: Carlsbad receives $124K for airport runway engineering study

“Airport operating certificates serve to ensure safety in air transportation. To obtain a certificate, an airport must agree to certain operational and safety standards and provide for such things as firefighting and rescue equipment. These requirements vary depending on the size of the airport and the type of flights available,” according to the FAA website.

The FAA noted airport markings and signs provide information which is useful to a pilot during takeoff, landing and taxiing.

Mike Smith can be reached at 575-628-5546 or by email at MSmith@currentargus.com or @ArgusMichae on X formerly Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Carlsbad Current-Argus: Carlsbad airline transition continues with airport office lease passing