b'48 TRK HANGARSTruckee Tahoe Airport Pioneers AirbnbApproach for Short-Term Hangar Rental BY MICHELLE GARDNERWhile shortages of general aviationSecuring hangar space is especially hangars continue nationwide,critical during winter because TRK is Truckee Tahoe Airport (TRK) haslocated in the Sierra Nevada Mountains FACTS&FIGURESfound a way to accommodate transient aircraftat an elevation of 5,900 feet. With annual Project: Online Platform for On-Demand, Short-Termin need of storage space, and earn additionalsnowfalls of about 206 inches, hangars are Hangar Rentalsrevenue in the process. A new online platforma de facto deicing system. Demand remains Location: Truckee Tahoe Airport, in CAhelps the California airport rent tenant hangarshigh during warmer weather, with outdoor Strategy: Optimize & monetize hangars that areto transient customers on a short-term basisenthusiasts coming to the region for biking, temporarily vacant; provide short-term rentals towhen based aircraft are temporarily away.golfing, boating, etc. In fact, the airports transient aircraftThe airport and leaseholders who choose tobusiest times are July 4th and Labor Day Technology Provider: Altaportparticipate share the rental revenue 70%/30%,weekend, when it logs up to 800 operations Booking Site: www.altaport.info/airports/ktrk/ respectively, though that split may change asa dayabout eight times more than usual. reserve the program evolves.Currently, all 227 of TRKs hangars are Cost to Airport: 1-year service contact withThe first rental booked through the web- leased and there is a multi-year waitlist Altaport; company also collects undisclosed percentagebased system occurred on Dec. 19, 2024,for the next available opening. Yet, airport of each transactionand TRK had logged 26 transactions by thestaff estimate that 30% of the hangars are Timeline: Developed in about 8 weeks; launched inend of this June. Many have been multidayvacant on any given night. Thats because December 2024; refinements ongoing bookings; the longest was two weeks. Mostmany tenants live in Los Angeles and the Hangar Rates: Cessnas & similar planes pay $150/ customers are corporate flight departmentsSan Francisco Bay area but have vacation night weekdays, $188/night on weekends; turbineor owner/operators who are on the waitlisthomes in the Lake Tahoe area. After they fly aircraft over 5,000 lbs. pay $300/night; Pilatus orfor full-time hangar space at TRK.home, their hangars sit empty.similar models pay $450/night; small jets pay $675/night; medium to large jets pay $1,000/night. TowingDirector of AviationThis struck Menasco as inefficient. And fees of $250 to $350 depending on size of aircraft.Jeff Menasco isas a colonel, wing commander and C-130 Market Acceptance: 26 reservations made Dec.encouraged by thepilot in the U.S. Air Force, he was trained 2024 through June 2025 results thus far. Weto constantly improve efficiency. When he Tenant Participation: 5, with another 4-5have had repeatbecame Director of Aviation at TRK in 2023, preparing to join customers already andhe prioritized innovation. Key Results: Improved efficiency of existingapproximately $30K inWeve been searching for a way to infrastructure; new revenue stream for airport &revenues to date, heJEFF MENASCO maximize our hangar usage, Menasco interested tenants; automated reservation systemreported in June. saves staff timeSeptember 2025AirportImprovement.com'