Sedona Helicopters Now Fly Out of Scottsdale Airpark

A new Scottsdale Airpark location is the first expansion out of Sedona for 28-year-old Arizona Helicopter Adventures. Jake Austin, who, with partner Floyd Ingram, purchased the business in 2010, notes, “A lot of our business comes through the Metro Phoenix area visiting Sedona.” Timing the move to the Airpark now, in the summer, gives Arizona Helicopter Tours time to get ramped up before the busy tourist season, Austin explains.

Sedona is the second-busiest among Arizona’s tourist destinations, and, says Austin, the Airpark location is in the middle of a major corridor of hotels whose guests include Sedona visits on their vacation itinerary. Although the tour company has operated for many years with some of the hotels, Austin believes the local presence will strengthen the company’s presence in the market. He notes that hotels want to attract groups, as that makes up 70 percent of their business, and he is meeting with concierges and group planners of the larger hotels in the Scottsdale area. “For us to be part of [the community] gives them another tool to offer; something attractive, something different, another way to see the Phoenix area.”

Aside from tourist charters, the company also works with real estate agents to show off property and with businesses researching locations for commercial property.