Thermal’s Airport Thrives in Remote Desert Location

This desert burg would seem an unlikely place for Las Vegas casino mogul Steve Wynn to dispatch a chartered MD-80 jetliner to pick up high rollers.

The small Riverside County airport, not far from the Salton Sea, is surrounded by date trees, desert brush and dilapidated buildings.

But don’t let first impressions fool you.

The airport--with roots dating back to World War II--plays host to a growing number of celebrities and captains of industry, arriving in their private and corporate jets. They are whisked away in quiet anonymity in luxury sedans and stretch limousines without having to set foot inside the small passenger lobby.

But there are exceptions. Former President Gerald R. Ford loiters inside and watches a little television while his plane is prepared.

Unpretentious as the Thermal airport is, it can’t be dismissed as some boondocks tarmac for old flyboys.

The reason for the popularity of this sunbaked airstrip 25 miles southeast of Palm Springs: It is the gateway to the opulent communities of La Quinta and Indian Wells, Rancho Mirage and Palm Desert, just a few miles up the road.

Corporations, too, are finding this airport an attractive alternative to the one in Palm Springs; they send their charters here instead, loaded with executives headed to convention meetings--and golf and tennis matches--at nearby resort hotels.

Indeed, that is why the airport--the only jet facility in the world that is below sea level--was renamed last year as the Desert Resorts Regional Airport. It sounds a lot better than Thermal, and it better describes the role it is playing in the growing economy of the Coachella Valley.

“Most Fortune 500 companies own their own private jets,” said Craig Cypher, general manager of La Quinta Aviation, which contracts with Riverside County to operate the airport. And by last estimate, Cypher said, more than 200 chief executive officers among the Fortune 500 own second homes in the chic, gated neighborhoods nearby.

During “the season”--those delightful desert months of January, February and March--about 50 corporate aircraft can be found parked at this humble airport any given day.

More than just fixed-wing aircraft use the airport, which covers more ground--more than 2,400 acres--than Ontario International Airport.

Blimps that provide aerial television coverage of the professional golf tournaments staged nearby tie down here. And Bell Helicopters tests its new helicopters here to determine their performance in hot weather.

Many corporate executives were first introduced to the valley’s resort playgrounds during business meetings, and then bought homes here.

Thus, one of the local marketing spiels: “Come here for business, stay for pleasure.”

But many executives, celebrities and others looked for a way to arrive quietly, and were drawn to Desert Resorts Regional Airport for its privacy.

The arrival of gleaming Learjets and Gulfstreams is a far departure from the early days of the airport. It was built by the U.S. government months before America entered World War II.

Army pilots were brought here to strafe the desert in training exercises in conjunction with Gen. George S. Patton Jr., who was preparing his troops in the nearby desert.

After Patton’s soldiers departed for North Africa, the Navy moved in. Unable to train in San Diego because of coastal blackouts, the Navy dispatched its Corsair and Avenger carrier pilots 150 miles inland and they flew their simulated torpedo runs over the Salton Sea.

At the peak of the war, the government constructed 180 structures, ranging from barracks to officers clubs. And because it was so hot, they built a pool, too.

After the war, the airport returned to civilian normalcy, and became a popular stop for barnstormers and other fliers. In time, Palm Springs would improve its own airport, and this one became mostly neglected.

In recent years, as the resort communities southeast of Palm Springs matured, the airport at Thermal grew in popularity among private and corporate passengers.

The airport does not accommodate any scheduled passenger air service; there are no air traffic controllers, and pilots land their aircraft following visual flight rules.

But that’s not usually a problem for them, Cypher said. Because of consistently good weather, pilots typically can land under visual rules 355 days a year, are unhampered by the mountains that more closely surround Palm Springs, and face less wind than is encountered in Palm Springs.

The main runway runs 6,800 feet, and is sturdy enough for aircraft as large as Boeing 757s.

If the appearance of corporate aircraft in Thermal seems incongruous in an area not otherwise noted for commercial and industrial development, officials hope to change that.

Riverside County has identified hundreds of acres around the airport for redevelopment, hoping to tease manufacturers into the area with various incentives. As an added boost, the area is included within a state-sponsored enterprise zone and a federal empowerment zone that offer employers various tax credits to entice them to create jobs.

Several companies have moved to the area in recent years, ranging form golf cart manufacturers to vitamin supplement distributors.

More homes are coming, too. The Riverside County Board of Supervisors last week approved a master plan for a new community that, at build-out, will include more than 7,000 homes just south of here.

Key to the region’s growth is the proximity of Interstate 10, a trucking expressway that leads to Mexico, a railroad spur--and the small airport.

Michael Bracken, director of the Coachella Valley Economic Partnership, said his marketing campaign targets the airport’s tony customers.

“Every time a plane lands,” he said, “we leave for them a cool little gold-plated money clip.”

It is inscribed with a small golf flag and the words: “Par 4 business.”