Meridian Air Charter expands to California

Meridian Air Charter based at Teterboro Airport (TEB) in New Jersey announced that it is expanding its air charter operations to California. The expansion will happen in two key phases.

Meridian Air Charter in San Jose, opened in September 2012, is managed by Jim Reyes. Reyes was recently hired by Meridian as the new aviation sales executive for the West Coast and has over 20 years of aviation experience. Reyes previously worked for Meridian in the 1990s when the company was known as Million Air Teterboro.

The Santa Rosa office is scheduled to open in November 2012, and it will be managed by Kelly Pappas. Pappas has a background in non-profit administration and comes from a family with deep roots in aviation.

Meridian Air Charter will be relocating one of its twenty-one managed aircraft from Teterboro to Hayward Executive Airport in Hayward. The aircraft, a Citation XLS, will be moved in January 2013 and it will be immediately available for charter. While most of its fleet is based at Teterboro, the company also has Part 135 aircraft based in White Plains, NY, Bedford, MA and Denver, CO.

Dennis O’Connell, president of Meridian Air Charter said “We feel the Northern California market is currently underserved, and in order to keep pace with our competition, we must be present on both coasts to address our clients’ private aviation needs. This expansion is part of our long-term growth strategy, and we feel the best time to start is now.”

Meridian Air Charter are exhibiting at the NBAA in Orlando next week.