Pease Perspectives
Pease Perspectives is your inside look at all the positive news coming out of the Pease Development Authority. Each episode spotlights exciting growth, community events, and the innovative ideas shaping the future of Pease. Whether it’s new opportunities, inspiring stories, or milestones worth celebrating, Pease Perspectives shares the progress and people making a difference.
Pease Perspectives
Soaring Above: The Military-Civilian Partnership at Pease
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The incredible story behind one of America's most successful military base redevelopments unfolds in this fascinating conversation with Paul Brean, Executive Director of the Pease Development Authority, and Brigadier General Bill Davis, Commander of the New Hampshire Air National Guard.
When Pease Air Force Base faced closure in 1992, the Seacoast region braced for economic devastation with 4,800 jobs at risk. Fast forward three decades, and what emerged instead is a thriving dual-purpose facility that's become an economic powerhouse while maintaining its strategic military importance.
"We've created a viable commercial endeavor that has economic impacts in the billions to both the seacoast and the state," explains Brean, highlighting how the tradeport now hosts 250 companies employing 11,000 people—nearly double the original base employment. From pharmaceutical innovation at Lonza (developing a genetic cure for Type 1 diabetes) to defense manufacturing at Sig Sauer, the diversity of businesses has far exceeded expectations.
The military mission remains equally impressive. The 157th Air Refueling Wing operates 12 state-of-the-art KC-46 Pegasus aircraft, making Pease one of just 19 air refueling wings in the Air National Guard. "Our location in the northeast and our proximity to refueling tracks, and also the routes over to Europe and the Middle East, make us a prime location for operating this type of mission," General Davis explains. This strategic importance is reflected in Portsmouth's DOD control tower ranking among the top 10 busiest in the entire system.
The commercial airport has found its niche too, serving 100,000 passengers annually through carriers like Breeze Airways and Allegiant, offering convenient and affordable alternatives to larger airports. The public can experience this unique military-civilian partnership firsthand at the upcoming Thunder Over New Hampshire Airshow (September 6-7), featuring the Blue Angels and extensive STEM exhibits.
Experience this remarkable success story yourself—visit Pease International Tradeport to see how visionary planning transformed potential economic disaster into a thriving ecosystem benefiting both national defense and the local economy.
Meet The Leaders of Pease
Tiffany EddyHi everyone , I'm Tiffany Eddy and I'm so pleased that you can join us for the Pease Update , and joining me here is Paul Breen , the Executive Director of the Pease Development Authority . Thanks , paul , for being on your podcast .
Paul BreanThank you , tiffany , I appreciate you hosting .
Tiffany EddyAnd also we have Brigadier General Bill Davis , who is Commander of the Air National Guard , the New Hampshire Air National Guard . Brigadier General , thank you so much for your time and coming on Good morning , Glad to be here , Well honored to have you . There's so much to talk about , but I want to just start by discussing . Could you please tell me about your role and the role of the New Hampshire Air National Guard ?
Brigadier General Bill DavisCertainly , I'm the commander of the Air National Guard in New Hampshire . There's also an Army National Guard that fall underneath one , general General Michelaitis . There's our parent organization , which we oversee , the 157th Air Refueling Wing , which is our largest single presence here in New Hampshire and our mission is aerial refueling and we have 12 KC-46 tankers .
Tiffany EddyWow , that sounds like a lot .
Brigadier General Bill DavisYeah , it's a big unit .
Tiffany EddyAnd you operate out of the Portsmouth International Airport .
Brigadier General Bill DavisWe do . The former Pease Air Force Base now the Pease International Trade Port , and the guard base is about 216 acres , a component of that larger facility .
Tiffany EddySo you get to work with this guy quite a bit , I would imagine .
Brigadier General Bill DavisWe work quite frequently and we have a lot of intertwined interests .
Tiffany EddySo if you guys could explain this to me a little bit , because we have the commercial side of the airport , but then we also have the Air National Guard there . How does this all work together ?
Paul BreanWell , certainly the Air National Guard New Hampshire Air National Guard is our largest stakeholder , is our largest . I don't want to call them a tenant , as they technically did not transfer the property during the original base closure , but they are our largest stakeholder at the facility and we do work closely . Specifically , we can go into a little bit more detail , but we have a joint use operating agreement that allows the military to perform their duties at the airfield and then we also are able to utilize it for commercial endeavors such as air service or corporate jet activity and even general aviation recreational flying .
Tiffany EddyAnd this all came about because of the BRAC closure in 1992? .
Brigadier General Bill DavisYes , the Guard was left as a resident of the former Air Force Base and the remainder of the property went to the Peace Development Authority .
Tiffany EddyAnd could you explain that ? First of all , what's that an acronym for ? What does it mean , and how critical is it to New Hampshire that we survived that round of closures back in 92 ?
Brigadier General Bill DavisSo BRAC is an acronym for Base Realignment and Closure , and it's a process that is run periodically , a congressional process that oversees the properties of the Department of Defense and evaluates which ones are the most vital for the national defense and deserve to be continued , and which ones may be considered for divestment .
Tiffany EddyAnd so the fact that Pease was chosen to stay open . What does that mean to the Seacoast region and really the state of New Hampshire ?
Brigadier General Bill DavisWell , the BRAC in the early 90s was very significant to the seacoast because the Pease Air Force Base was a large employer and a large presence . And the presence is much smaller now . But because of the geographic location of the base , the strategic location that we say frequently , its proximity to Europe and the Middle East , it's a vital part of our national defense and it was retained as a guard base and is still very active to this day .
Paul BreanExcellent . As General Davis mentioned , the closure of the full Strategic Air Force Base in 92 was staggering to the Seacoast community and into the state of New Hampshire . Just to put it in perspective , there were 6,000 jobs tied to the base . It was unknown if those jobs would be maintained . They did downsize and we lost about 4,800 jobs to the base . To put that in perspective , the city of Portsmouth school system , I believe they closed two-thirds of their elementary schools because you had so many men and women Air Force soldiers that were going to be relocated .
Paul BreanUnfortunately it wasn't a great economic time on the seacoast with other recessions and other impacts following suit , and the state really didn't know what was going to be done with the property . No one had the money to purchase the property from the Air Force . So essentially the Pease Redevelopment Commission was statutorily created to take a deep look and identify what are we going to do with this ? You know 2,800 acre parcel . What are we going to do to try to stimulate , restoring those jobs and minimize the impact on the actual community and state ? And I have to say you know we're very fortunate that our predecessors took a deep look . You know we don't have an amusement park there , we don't have a large mall space there .
Paul BreanWe now have an area that supports the Air Force's long-term mission of that geographical important location in the world . We're able to host the refueling wing . We're able to host the refueling wing but also we've created a viable commercial endeavor that has economic impacts in the billions to both the seacoast and the state . Specifically , we're looking at 250 companies on the trade port civilian companies . We're looking at about 11,000 people that report to work at the base now , compared to those 6,000 that we're so worried about losing . So it's working . We're proud to say that we're contributing to the economy . We're able to meet what that original Pease Development Recommission envisioned envisioned , you know , we're not . We're offering out good living wage , salaries from a multiple eclectic industry sector , from farmer to manufacturing to business . So it's certainly it's been called the best BRAC realignment , closure , redevelopment of a base in the country and we certainly are proud of that and I'm very grateful for the people that had the foresight to think about how this could work .
Tiffany EddyAnd there's incredible companies , like you said you touched upon , but there's companies like Lonza . Perhaps the cure to diabetes could be being created there . Covid vaccines were being created there is my understanding being
BRAC Closure and Pease's Transformation
Tiffany Eddycreated there .
Paul BreanCovid vaccines were being created there . It's my understanding . Yes , Lonza is basically a pharmaceutical manufacturer that essentially will manufacture one of their customers' medicines . And the big news right now , with Lonza , they've signed a deal with Vertex Pharmaceutical where they will be making a genetic cure for type 1 diabetes patients . They're building about 130,000 square foot facility right now on Pease where Vertex's pharmaceuticals will be made and specifically targeting the manufacturer of this genetic-targeted medicine that will allow type 1 diabetes patients to not have to be dependent on insulin .
Tiffany EddyThat's incredible .
Paul BreanIt is . It is and you know it takes a little bit of a while , it takes a little bit of a duration for these deals to come through at P's but when they do it's usually something of pretty significant magnitude . Specifically , we've seen the growth of Sig Sauer defense contracts all throughout the world . That's happening right at Pease . Those decisions in manufacturing to get those armed force contracts are happening at Pease and it's pretty amazing to see raw steel going in and then the final contract commitment going out as a finished product . That's all being done on site . So we like to think it's big picture stuff and we're really pleased that , you know the predecessors didn't kind of seek the quick buck and maybe retail mall or something like that . We really think we're contributing , you know , in multiple ways to bigger scale economy .
Tiffany EddyIt's amazing too . And then , turning back to the airport a little bit , peas is a Portsmouth International Airport , a federally obligated airport , and what kind of aircraft you know come in . We have the Air National Guard , we have PlaneSense . I think there's an emergency helicopter . I don't want to say a DART , but MedFlight MedFlight Medical flight yes , that can help people in their time of need .
Paul BreanBut if you could just kind of give me a you know who uses the airport and you know why is it critical . Yeah , I'll let General Davis speak to the specifics of the 157th wing and maybe the fact that how fortunate we are to have that fleet and how unique it is to have that fleet you want to touch on that ?
Brigadier General Bill DavisSure . So we have , as I said earlier , 12 KC-46 Pegasus aircraft , air-fueling aircraft , and that is our primary aircraft design , our core mission and what a lot of people see and may mistakenly attribute to P's . Understandably , a lot of military planes of all services in all nations fly through Pease as transients , but they operate primarily from the Paul's side of the trade port runway which he can touch on . But there's a very active military traffic there external to Pease . So , pardon , I say Pease , pease , air National Guard Base , okay , and then there's a whole other Base , okay , component of P's , and then there's a whole other facet of aviation on the PDA side .
Tiffany EddySo sometimes when I'm golfing over on the blue course , I'll see a giant plane , maybe doing touch-and-goes . What is that and why is that important ?
Brigadier General Bill DavisYep , so there's people who actually will time their golfing to hope to see that sort of thing , and then they clap and cheer when it goes by , which is pretty fun to watch . It's cool , yeah , and the plane you're probably referring to is several large cargo planes that flow through peas . Sometimes , um , they'll do what's called touching goes and I'm not a pilot , but I've been close enough to them to pick up a few terms um where they will come and just use the runway . So the Pease runway is 11,321 feet long , quite long , and it's a great place to go to practice . So we'll see a lot of aircraft from different services that will fly through to get their training requirements done . And the planes that you see go over the golf course . Sometimes you may see what seems like the same plane might go over you every five minutes for an hour .
Brigadier General Bill DavisAnd they're doing , touching those ?
Tiffany EddyBut they could be from a different base somewhere else in the country .
Brigadier General Bill DavisYep , they could be . So sometimes we have transients that are like a one-time shot , like they might come through once every couple years . We have others who will regularly visit us . So the Rhode Island Guard Unit C-130s will come through Westover . Massachusetts C-5 , the large cargo plane that you probably see will come through regularly to do transition work , to land and take off . Also , you'll see active duty units come through with different planes . So , yeah , there's some kind of like the swallows of Capistrano returning regularly and then there's just some one time that come through .
Tiffany EddyThat's amazing . And then I believe APES was hosting air exercises , or was the home base for air exercises that were going to be taking place . Was it over Europe or over the Atlantic ?
Brigadier General Bill Davistaking place , was it over Europe or over the Atlantic . Well , we are a regular stop for exercises of not just aviation types , but we've also been the staging area for naval exercises in the past , for civilian-military partnership exercises that take place either in or around Portsmouth . That take place either in or around Portsmouth . So Pease is a location that is ideal for many different purposes , and it's used for many different purposes , but one that you may be referring to . Just recently , I believe and , paul , please correct me if I misspeak , but the Marine Corps held an exercise , operation Atlantic .
Paul BreanAlliance .
Brigadier General Bill DavisI believe that sounds right , yeah , and that was staged out of Pease , but I'm not sure , actually , if they were on our side of the runway or your side of the runway .
Paul BreanSo , tiffany , my background was commercial aviation before I arrived at Pease , and I guess part of it's just being naive that if I saw a military airplane at Pease I figured , oh , air Force has that , the New Hampshire 157th is taking care of that .
Paul BreanQuickly I learned that it's simply not the case that their mission is designed for their mission and their resources are designed to handle their mission and the majority of the military activity that isn't specific to the 157th Wing's mission would be handled by the commercial side of the airport .
Paul BreanFor instance , we may have a C-17 wing out of San Diego or Texas that is being mobilized into theater , being mobilized into theater , and they may fly those C-5s or C-17s loaded up , ready to bring material supplies or airmen and airwomen or Marines and Army soldiers over to theater .
Paul BreanWhat they likely do is usually they'll make their way to Portsmouth , they'll bed down for maybe a night or two before they decide to go across the Atlantic , cater the aircraft up , fuel the aircraft up and get the crew some rest , usually in a nice hotel in Portsmouth proper . But that would all be handled on the commercial side unless it was , you know , paired with the 157th mission , so incredible amount of resources by our fixed-based operator that helps support that . But to put it in perspective , we do about
The Thriving Business Hub
Paul Brean2 million gallons of Jet A a month , wow , and that is primarily to support those non-New Hampshire Air Guard missions from other bases around the world . And you know , obviously we have some commercial activity in there and some cargo activity , but that is primarily . The bulk of that fuel is going to other defense units that are utilizing Portsmouth for that technical stop .
Tiffany EddyYeah , and I want to touch upon the commercial side too , with Breeze and Allegiant and new destinations that are coming out of Portsmouth International Airport . But one question just occurred to me . I think we can talk about this . But Bob Craft's plane a year or so ago I remember seeing it on the runway and he was lending out his plane to help bring soldiers home . Do you remember that ?
Paul BreanSo the Department of Defense has what they call the Civilian Reserve Air Fleet . And please , General Davis , if I have anything wrong here , please correct me so far .
Brigadier General Bill Davisyou're right on track . They refer to it as CRAF . The CRAF that's the acronym .
Paul BreanWe call it the CRAF program that essentially the Air Force or other branches of the military wouldn't have enough aircraft or resources to move around the number of American soldiers and contractors that we have . So they do contracts with airlines . And yes , specifically to the Patriots plane , it's a Boeing 757 that off-season off the Patriots schedule , that off-season off the Patriots' schedule . As we all know , it's expensive to have an aircraft and I think it's a good business decision to put that aircraft out to service when it's not being utilized by the Super Bowl-winning New England Patriots . So they do put that out to lease and at one point I know it was flying under the craft program and fortunately some lucky soldiers were able to take a flight on you know where Tom Brady and others get to hang out on . So yeah , pretty cool that we had that come in and I haven't seen it in a bit , but hopefully it'll be busy in a couple months bringing the Patriots around the country .
Tiffany EddyThat would be good . Hopefully another Super Bowl .
Paul BreanIt would go .
Tiffany EddyTurning over to the 157th . Could you maybe just explain what is their role ? How does this work ?
Aviation Operations at Portsmouth
Tiffany EddyI've never been on a refueling mission yet , but fingers crossed , one's coming up . But why is it important that it operates out of Portsmouth ?
Brigadier General Bill DavisSo , as we discussed , the plane we currently fly is the KC-46 , and it's based on a Boeing 767 . So it's a modified Boeing 67 . The plane it replaced here at Pease Air National Guard Base was the KC-135 , which was developed in the 50s and was based on a Boeing 707 . So this plane is worldwide capable . We operate all over the world . Its primary mission's air refueling , but it can also carry cargo passengers and air medical evacuation if it's so tasked . It's a brand new airplane and it represents the first time that a new aircraft has been fielded to the Air National Guard and the Air Force simultaneously , so we received it at the same time . The active duty received it , which was remarkable and notable . Our location in the northeast and our proximity to refueling tracks , and also the routes over to Europe and the Middle East , make us a prime location for operating this type of mission .
Paul BreanTiffany if I can put my airport community director hat on for a second the KC-46, . Implementing that into our fleet model at the airport actually has made my job a lot easier . Specifically , the Boeing KC-46 is next generation engines as far as noise , so what we would call the decibel level is a lot lower to the community . Additionally , with the KC-46 fleet , new Hampshire Air National Guard also received a full flight safety Boeing KC-46 flight simulator . Okay , so there's actually less hours flown in the actual aircraft in what we call our airfield pattern .
Paul BreanOh wow , those pilots are actually training in the flight safety simulator . Whereas with the old aircraft pilots have to get so many night hours a month , they have to get so many touch and goes a month , they now have the ability to do that flying in the simulator , which takes relief off of the patent . So it's something that we recognize on a systemic level that less noise in the Patton , less aircraft activity in the Patton , and it really was a goal of the Air Force and we're seeing it firsthand that it's a great community aircraft to be operated locally .
Tiffany EddyAnd how long have they been in operation at Pease ?
Brigadier General Bill DavisSince 2019 , we started receiving them . And a few augments to Paul's point One is that the plane is quieter than its predecessor , which had four engines . This plane has two engines , so the noise impact is lower . Also , the environmental impact is lower and when we were soliciting public support for getting the KC-46 , that was helpful that we were able to say this plane is actually . It's really quieter and no offense to our civilian brothers and sisters down the ramp , but it's actually quieter than many of the planes that operate on the civilian side . Now , fighters are a different story and they come through occasionally , but they they don't have the low noise . So the plane is brand new .
Tiffany EddyIt is state-of-the-art and we're very lucky to have it Well . I can't wait to see it in action . How complicated is it to do an air refueling mission ? I've seen videos of it . It looks very challenging , but is that really the case ? It must take hours and hours of training and practice to be able to do it , and also it's got to be mission critical , because when these guys are over the Atlantic and they need fuel , the fuel has to be delivered .
Brigadier General Bill DavisYes , it certainly is very complicated and not my area of expertise , but I've picked up a lot from being around . Not my area of expertise , but I've picked up a lot from being around and I can say like this the way that the refueling you'll see is materially different than the refueling we did with the former plane . So the current plane , the operator sits towards the front of the plane and uses a screen with 3D glasses to remotely refuel the aircraft behind the plane , whereas the predecessor you actually were physically in the back of the plane looking down and manually operating controls to refuel it . So that was a big advance . And it involves timing .
Brigadier General Bill DavisYou know that the planes rendezvous at the right time at the right altitude . Safety is a concern , Weather is a concern , Night or day is a concern . So it is like a ballet , a complex ballet , to pull off all of those things . And when planes are transiting across the ocean , to your point , smaller aircraft like fighters tend to not have a lot of internal fuel capacity , so refueling is an essential task for them to frequently do on a transit across the ocean . And that happens regularly with our planes and many others in the Air Force .
Tiffany EddyOh , it's fascinating .
Brigadier General Bill DavisIt is fascinating .
Tiffany EddySpeaking of fighter jets , because you touched upon that , I want to bring up the air show that's coming up , yeah we're excited , but real quick .
Paul BreanOn the heels of Bill , oh sure , excuse me on the heels of General Davis . An Air Force pilot did tell me that nobody kicks ass without tanker gas .
Brigadier General Bill DavisIs that what you're saying ? It's true . Yeah , it's an acronym that we like and , yes , it is true .
Tiffany EddyAnd you know what . It just occurs to me how many air refueling wings are there in the Air National Guard ? Is this one of how many ? Nineteen , nineteen , okay , so pretty special that we have one .
Brigadier General Bill DavisYep and we , as we said earlier , we're the first for the 46 .
Brigadier General Bill DavisAnd there is one more now in New Jersey that is going to receive the 46 . And there's one in Selfridge Michigan Selfridge Air National Guard Base , michigan . But we were the pioneers in the Guard , and I'd like to add that we are in the process of creating or standing up a test center to develop new technologies and capabilities for the KC-46 . And that was a great achievement that we were able to get that designation . And it's because of work that our people did designation and it's because of work that our people did innovations that they came up with that convinced our higher ups that we were a site worthy of
KC-46 Refueling Mission
Brigadier General Bill Davisincreasing our footprint , and so that's going to be a new mission for us going forward .
Tiffany EddyWell , that's exciting . So Blue Angels Thunder over New Hampshire Airshow . Okay , so this is coming up in early September . I think it starts September 7th 6th and 7th .
Paul Brean6th and 7th yes , excellent .
Tiffany EddyAnd what can we expect ? Why would someone want to go to this ?
Brigadier General Bill DavisWell , the airshow is one of my favorite activities all year . We're going to have a great show this year . The Blue Angels are a huge draw . We're expecting 40,000 to 50,000 people a day . Depending on weather , of course , is a big factor , but if we get good weather the show lineup is excellent , both the flying acts and the static displays , the displays on the ground , interesting aircraft from all across the services and all across the civilian spectrum . So it will be a great family-friendly event and it'll be some action and some education and it will let us show you know what we do and the professionalism of our men and women , and we're really looking forward to it .
Tiffany EddyDo you think this is a fun way to just remind people , too , of the importance of the mission ?
Brigadier General Bill DavisIt covers a lot of things , yes , so it definitely shows the importance of our mission , the breadth of our mission . A KC-46 flying demonstration is part of the show , so a KC-46 will participate in the flying portion of the show and be on the ground as well , and so our Army National Guard soldiers will be there as well to show some of their equipment and capabilities and other services , and it's just such a concentrated spot . It's an amazing variety of experiences . It will be held also in conjunction with a STEM Science , technology , engineering , mathematics , math . Is that the last one ?
Paul Breanthat's the one I always forget .
Brigadier General Bill DavisFor the past few years we have been operating a stem uh fair and it's grown to the point where it fills two hangers of displays and we bring in local schools and groups that show off their capabilities . That is a show unto itself , I think , and that's all part of the airshow program robotics technologies .
Paul BreanIt's amazing to be able to showcase these young students . You know , that is a show unto itself , I think , and that's all part of the Airshow program Robotics technologies . It's amazing to be able to showcase these young students . You know what career paths they could take in the future . They do an incredible job . You know , whatever your focus is , these kids will be able to get hands-on experience in the static displays , in the STEM tents .
Brigadier General Bill DavisThe base . It's like a little city and it gives everybody a chance to see all the parts of the city . So we have a police force , a fire department personnel , we have a finance section , we have , obviously , pilots and maintainers . We have civil engineering and , like a public works function , public affairs . We have lawyers , so we , our base , is like a small community that has all sorts of functions to keep the community running .
Tiffany EddyWow , that's fascinating . I had no idea .
Brigadier General Bill DavisIt's all right there .
Tiffany EddyThat's . That's great . I want to turn back over to you for a second and talk about the commercial side of the airport . But there's been some exciting additions with Breeze and Allegiant and I know that the increase in passenger travel . There's been an increase in passenger travel , some new destinations .
Paul BreanYes , at Portsmouth Airport we're so fortunate to have two carriers , airline carriers that recognize the value and the efficiency of a secondary airport . We're certainly not a secondary airport in the military mind , but we are in commercial aviation and in our airline activity and we're late to the game . We didn't become a commercial airport until 1992 . Obviously you have Portland Jetport , very successful to the north . We're a small state . We have Manchester up the road a bit , we have Boston to the south and then we have emerging secondary airports such as Worcester and other airports that are trying to grow .
Paul BreanAir service we're very realistic in our air service but we think we have a niche with Breeze Airways and Legion Airlines . They understand that most of the demographic going through our airport really want a very accessible way , whether it's to get to a brand-name theme park or if it's someone that has a second property in Florida and they want to spend time with a loved one or get a loved one up to spend time with them . The rates , the fares on our tickets are usually to the point where you can afford to send someone up to make that kindergarten graduation or make that , you know , junior high baseball game . So we see a lot of that we see a lot of repeat folks that still have loved ones in the in the family , in the in the area and are able to to use the airline to kind of commute back and forth . But we're excited . Breeze Airways just announced rally
Thunder Over NH Airshow
Paul BreanDurham service starting in December 1st . So we can . We can say that we have other places other than Florida on our flight map , but no , we do have about six destinations in Florida , from Orlando to southwest Florida , punta Gorda in Fort Myers , tampa , st Pete in Sarasota , and really , you know I get asked a lot in the community . You know why don't , why don't your airlines go to anywhere else besides Florida and what , what .
Paul BreanWhat the airlines are very smart at is dialing capacity and they see what's going through Boston , they see who's driving down . 95 on the seacoast isn't going over 101 to go to hey , instead of driving down to Boston , we can put you , you know , on a low fare flight direct into an airport right near where you ultimately want to go anyway . So it makes sense . We're excited . We'll do about 100,000 passengers a year this year , which , to put it in perspective , is very minute compared to Manchester and Portland and Boston , but for those Seacoast residents that utilize it . It's like they have a private airport in their backyard and we're really impressed by how it's resonating in the community . And we're starting to see those return customers and there's incredible value there People looking to see what they're getting for , what they're paying as far as parking and the actual airline ticket , and there's incredible value there . People look in to see what they're getting for , what they're paying as far as parking , and they actually are lying ticket .
Tiffany EddyAnd there's been improvements to the terminal too , correct .
Paul BreanCorrect . You know we're very smart . I never want to get out in front of my skis , but we build for the now , not so much for the future . But obviously airport security has evolved and you know , we see it when we travel . There's new technologies . Well , those technologies take power and they take space and you know we had something called the pandemic , where people , you know , don't really want to be corralled in in a tight area .
Paul BreanSo we've gone to my staff and I have gone to the PDA board to ask for , you know , improvements , and I think we've been very smart about the square footage that we've added and the services that we've added . We know what we are and we know what we'll never be . There's multiple levels of limitations of where air service could go . At PEs , we just simply don't have the infrastructure because of the commitment to the Guard and other entities . But we're smart and we think , you know , we think we have a niche market and we're going to make sure that that niche market that chooses to fly is able to do it safely and efficiently through the building .
Tiffany EddyYeah , it's a tremendous asset , I think , for the Seacoast region to be able to have this and have options to not have to drive down to Boston and fight through all that traffic which can really it can take hours .
Paul BreanHours and economically we priced our parking . We didn't do an extensive survey , we basically sat around at a table and we said , hmm , what if you could park for a week ? Average family vacation to Disney is a week . What if you could park at Portsmouth International Airport for what it costs to park at Logan for a day ? So we came up with a number that right now it's $7 . This was six years ago . We have to increase that in January , we'll be going up to $9 a day . But in essence we kind of wanted to put it out there that , hey , you can go on your whole vacation park for a week at Pease , walk to the terminal , not have to take a shuttle bus , not have to take a moving sidewalk , literally walk with your loved ones or take our free courtesy van and you can do that for the price of what it's going to cost you to park for one day at Logan .
Tiffany EddyYeah , yeah , no , it's expensive . I think one of the other things too is there's nothing like coming home from a trip and being home , as opposed to having to get in the car and drive an hour and fight through traffic and it's just . It's such a pleasant way to come back to a smaller airport , much more relaxing .
Paul BreanYou know it's interesting . So Breeze , they're an incredible airline . They actually have three cabins in their aircraft . They have what would equate to a first class , a business class in an economy . They call it something a little bit different , but essentially that's what it is and we're familiar that there's some affluent demographics in the seacoast and almost every breeze flight that first class cabin is completely sold out . That first class cabin is completely sold out . And if you think if you're you know a frequent traveler down to Florida that maybe you have a second home in southwest Florida or central Florida and you live in a Rye or you live in a Newcastle or Portsmouth proper , you're six minutes from the airport . It's a great story . When it all works , it's a really good story .
Tiffany EddyWell , there's a lot of great stories going on there .
Brigadier General Bill DavisAnd I would to Paul's point about the size of the airport for perspective or difference in perspective . While it's a second-tier airport volume-wise on the civilian side , on the DOD side it's in the top 10 busiest towers for the Department of Defense in the system . Wow , and so it's a different . It's an apples and oranges kind of thing , but as part of our partnership we perform certain functions on the guard side and the PDA
Commercial Airport Success
Brigadier General Bill Davisperforms certain functions on theirs . Air traffic control is one of the functions the guard provides . So a DOD Department of Defense tower it is one of the top 10 busiest in the system hour .
Tiffany EddyIt is one of the top 10 busiest in the system . So how does that work if ?
Brigadier General Bill DavisI'm on a breeze flight and it's flying into Pease . Dod is handling that . Yes , oh , wow , yep . So the Guard , air National Guard controllers control the entire airport from an air traffic standpoint .
Tiffany EddyWow , that's fascinating .
Brigadier General Bill DavisIt's a 24-hour tower .
Tiffany EddyIt sounds like a great partnership .
Paul BreanYeah , it allows us to do about 70,000 operations a year . We have approximately 150 based aircraft at Portsmouth and , like I said , we'll move about 100,000 passengers this year . We are home to one of New Hampshire's largest businesses , which is Plain Sense , one of the first fractional ownership jet companies out there . Essentially , you subscribe to own an equitable share in the actual aircraft and they will have two pilots in the aircraft at your disposal and take you wherever you want to go . But they literally started out as a very small company and they've grown into an incredible 500 plus employee company and I believe they're up to roughly 70 aircraft and they just mirrored their facility that they have in Portsmouth out in Nevada with the intent of really kind of bringing that program on the west coast . But corporate headquarters are right at the airport in Portsmouth and we're really fortunate to have them and a multitude of other small aviation firms at the airfield .
Tiffany EddyWow , that's incredible .
Paul BreanIt started right at Portsmouth it actually started in Norwood Mass for a very short time and then I think they understood the New Hampshire advantage . They actually went to for a short term . They went to Manchester , new Hampshire , and , I think , forward thinking , they knew that they would be a little bit landlocked with the larger airline activity and cargo activity at Manchester . So they decided to build a corporate facility at Pease and it's been very rewarding to see them grow and we think that they're due for another level of development and we look forward to working with them , that's wonderful .
Tiffany EddyThat's wonderful . And going back to 10th busiest tower , because that's very , very impressive . What does that mean ? Having all that activity in Portsmouth ? It all sounds really positive .
Brigadier General Bill DavisWell , we are in a competitive business in the Air National Guard in that we provide a service and that service is the defense of the United States and the support of the citizens of New Hampshire . We have a dual role state and federal and the viability of the airport at peace and the guard mission is vital to our survival as an organization and we think we are excellent . I mean , obviously that's selfish and parochial , but we really do . We excel at pretty much everything that we try to do . So our location , our aircraft , that we have , the men and women , the quality of our personnel , they come together to a formula that's been very successful . So and we look forward to that just getting better in the future- Wonderful .
Tiffany EddyAny closing thoughts ?
The Partnership in Action
Tiffany EddyIt's okay if you don't . It's an incredible partnership .
Paul BreanIt's an incredible partnership . Our predecessors did a great job thinking about it and our predecessors did a great job thinking about it . We literally have the responsibility of clearing the airfield for their arrivals in the winter . We have to do that work for our contractual obligation that allowed us to get the property . If we're going to be putting all that energy into it and we have this commercial side of the airport , we might as well try to get some revenue in by offering that service out to other carriers that want to opt in right there .
Paul BreanBut that's just a little bit of an idea of the mindset behind it that our success leads to their success their success leads to our success , and it's an incredible partnership that we have at all levels , from the folks that are actually doing the work out in the field to New Hampshire leadership and in the Department of Defense leadership .
Tiffany EddyYeah , absolutely , and it really seems to be taking something that potentially could have been a devastating , you know , closure and granted , there was jobs lost in it . For a while we retract , contracted , but now it seems like that this has developed into an incredible success story for not just the airport , the commercial side , the Air National Guard , but also the residents out in the seacoast . Absolutely General . Any closing thoughts on your end ?
Brigadier General Bill DavisSure , I'd echo Paul's comments about the success of the partnership that we have , and we interact on many levels and they are essential to our function and they go quite well and we appreciate the partnership very much . We're very much looking forward to the air show . It's going to be a wonderful event . It will give us a chance to really communicate our message to a broad audience . A lot of people they see the planes flying around and they drive by the base but they don't necessarily understand all that goes on there and all the opportunities that are there and all the functions that we perform and can perform , and so this would be another way for us to communicate that message and it was great to be on the podcast with you and Paul as another way to share our story .
Tiffany EddyWell , it was wonderful having you on and that was fascinating . I mean , I learned a lot , and I think that people know about the airport but don't necessarily understand the partnership and how critical it is to not just the seacoast but also to our country . So thank you both , Brigadier General Bill Davis , commander of the New Hampshire Air National Guard , and , of course , Paul Breen , executive director of the Peace Development Authority . Thank you so much , gentlemen , for sharing this wealth of information . Thank you , Tiffany . We hope we see you at the air show . Yeah , of course I can't wait .
Paul BreanThank you .
Tiffany EddyThank .