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CLEARWATER - A flight services company at St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport wants to attract more business customers with a big, luxurious and relatively affordable charter plane.
The jet center will cater to corporate travelers and people who want to conveniently and discreetly come and go by air.
The move by Air-1 Aircraft LLC is another step in efforts to make the airport a bigger player in Tampa Bay area business.
"This airport is a sleeping giant," said Bob Cooper, managing partner of Air-1, which is building a $7.5 million jet center at the airport.
Air-1 is one of three fixed-based operators at the airport, serving passengers, pilots and airplanes. Air-1 offers hangars, fuel, maintenance, aircraft sales and flight instruction.
The airport's previous focus was on passenger rather than business traffic, Cooper said. He thinks recent changes in management at the county-owned airport have made it friendlier to business.
The airport soon will have a marketing director - for the first time in its 60-year history.
That...