Milwaukee General Mitchell International Airport’s newest private Jet IN terminal offers unparalleled experience

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By Steve Schuster and Ethan Duran
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When you walk through the front doors of Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport‘s newest private Fixed Basis Operator (FBO) Jet IN terminal, you’re immediately greeted by the smell of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies, reminiscent of the days of Midwest Express Airlines — only there’s one distinct difference: the planes, hanger and ground amenities for both passengers and flight crews offer a next-generation state-of-the-art experience.

The $11 million green field new construction development opened its doors for the first time in April, and is “the last developable green field parcel on the airport,” said Jet IN CEO Joseph Crivello, noting that Jet OUT has a 40-year lease on the land with Milwaukee County, while Jet IN LLC owns the buildings, concrete ramp, parking lot, everything above the ground and stormwater system. Jet OUT LLC operates a fleet of five airplanes out of this facility.

“On the Jet OUT side, we are excited to have a Milwaukee-based company like this. We are also growing to other cities this year. We are a great job creator. There are 50-plus W2 employees that are Milwaukee-based and these are high paying stem-type jobs. We have 28 pilots on salary,” Matthew Wild, director of Sales and Marketing said.

Crivello said he hadn’t initially intended use of the facility for political gatherings such as the Democratic National Convention in Chicago or Republican National Convention in Milwaukee next year, but that the new facility could serve as a more luxurious means for travelers to fly to Milwaukee in less time and at a more affordable price  — comparable to flying business class, for co-owners. The process has taken nearly 5 years from initial conversations with officials to the actual groundbreaking.

“We started discussions with Milwaukee County back in 2017 about this project. It does take quite a while to obtain the necessary permits from the FAA; from the local airport authority, which is owned by Milwaukee County; from TSA; and all of the government agencies that have a regulatory responsibility,” Crivello added.

“We are very pleased to be the private first ground-up construction development on the airport in literally decades,” he said. It has been 30 years since any other private FBO has been constructed at Milwaukee’s airport, he added.

Wild said, “it’s important to know, there are not any county or government funds that built this facility. It’s a privately funded facility.”

“We don’t have a tax incentive finance (TIF) district or anything like that. This was 100% in private funds that built this facility,” Crivello added.

There are currently two other FBO private terminals that utilize Milwaukee’s General Mitchell International Airport runways. Jet IN and Jet OUT’s competitors include: Signature Flight Support and Avflight Milwaukee, both of which declined an interview with The Daily Reporter.

Crivello and Wild said that what sets their FBO apart from the competition is the new facility, which offers the next-generation of amenities to pilots and flight crews, as well as passengers.

“Our facilities are brand new. We provide an array of amenities that really can only be provided in new purposed and designed facilities like this. For example, some of the comforts like the in-floor hydronic heating which benefits the mechanics working on the aircraft and pilots that are pre-flighting their aircraft in the hanger. It makes the hanger more comfortable for them and more energy-efficient for us, as well,” Crivello said.

“We also have some great pilot amenities here in terms of our pilot lounge. Our exercise facilities, shower facilities, quiet room and then, of course, the sky lounge upstairs with the balcony which overlooks the main East-West runway,” Crivello added.

Jet IN’s fixed-base operator brings luxury services for passengers and easy connection to the airport’s runways as they fly in and out of Wisconsin from the Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport without having to deal with the crowds of a commercial side of the airport.

The company offers direct-to-destination flights to places that aren’t served by major airports and allows private investors to extend the range of their business through their sister company’s fleet, Crivello said.

“Public transportation can’t solve all air transportation challenges. Some air transportation challenges, particularly for businesses that have a need to travel to small towns, are best solved by private transportation and are most efficiently solved by private transportation,” Crivello said.

“We are going to take you straight to the airport that’s closest to your final destination. So we’re not going to have you connect through O’Hare. We aren’t going to have you fly into a city and then drive two hours to a smaller regional airport town. If you look at what makes up this part of the country, we have all of these smaller towns and that’s where a lot of industry, manufacturing, and real estate holdings are, yet they are not served by major airports,” Crivello added.

But travel is not limited to business. A bachelor party heading to Las Vegas or a Bachelorette party heading to Charleston could utilize Jet OUT’s services for about the same cost as flying business class, if using their co-owner services. Although private charter flights open to the general public are more costly, if a larger group travels, that cost can be divided among the group.

Jet OUT officials also said they believe they are directly enabling private investment in more rural parts of the country, “by allowing investors to extend the range of their business with the AirTran portion options we are providing with our Jet OUT subsidiary,” Crivello said.

The 10,000-square-foot passenger terminal accommodates up to 100 people and includes a conference room, exercise room, shower and offices. A darkened snooze room is available for pilots and crew taking breaks in between flights. The terminal includes a first-of-its kind balcony, which allows guests to watch departing aircraft take off.

The hangar, which is nearly 40,000 square feet, can fit up to 11 ultra-range transient and tenant business jets and holds storage and maintenance areas for tenants. Jet IN’s routine equipment from courtesy Teslas to tugs and power carts are all electric, cutting the need for diesel-eliminating air units. This cut down on the energy bill significantly and having water-circulated heat where people work made the facility dramatically more efficient, Crivello added.

Step outside of the 28-foot-tall hangar door and enter the concrete ramp, which stretches across 3 acres and is made of 11-inch steel-reinforced concrete. The flat ramp was a construction feat as Green Bay-based Absolute Concrete brought around 220 trucks and poured concrete for two and a half days in December, Crivello said. Milwaukee-based Schmitz Ready Mix concrete supplied the concrete.

Crews had to dig 30 feet to install a massive underground stormwater system, which allowed other stormwater systems to operate without being overwhelmed during inclement weather.

Next door is a 10,000-square-foot maintenance hangar leased by sister company Jet OUT. Four aircraft mechanics work out of the facility.

On top of being supplied and contracted by Wisconsin-based companies, Jet IN also forged partnerships with food and beverage suppliers like Valentine Coffee.

“On the Jet OUT side, we’re excited to have a Milwaukee-based company like this. We’re also growing to other cities. You’ll hear more about that and more aircraft will come this year,” Wild told The Daily Reporter. The company has employees in Chicago and is watching other cities as well.

Jet IN owns the passenger terminal, hangar and leasable space, provides fuel services and catering, Wild noted. Jet OUT operates aircraft through a co-ownership program and charters competitive with business class flights.