Full-body scanners.

The mere sound of those words is enough to make frequent flyers wince, and they are likely to hear it more now as new security measures and procedures are unveiled in commercial airports. Managers of general aviation airports, however, say such measures are increasing activity on their runways.

“As things get tighter, I think you’re going to see more corporate travel,” said Steve Sudbury, airport administrator for the Sumner County Regional Airport in Tennessee. “Time is money in the corporate world.”

From increased airport security to falling fuel prices, corporate flight is on the rebound—good news for the ailing general aviation industry.

In Gallatin, Tennessee, Sudbury said the gallons of fuel sold (a prime indicator of airport activity) between July 1 and December 31, 2009, increased 20 percent when compared with a year prior, a fact he attributed to an increase in corporate flights.

Myron Lasater, general manager at the Lebanon Municipal Airport, in Lebanon, Tennessee, said he’s seen an increase in business flights as jet-fuel prices, once as high as $8 a gallon, have receded to roughly half that.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration, general aviation activity peaked in 2006, when 1.9 billion gallons of fuel were consumed. Activity decreased in subsequent years, hovering around 1.8 billion gallons of consumed fuel in 2007 and 2008. Final figures for 2009 were not available, but the FAA was forecasting consumption of 2 billion gallons.

One of Tennessee’s most active general aviation airports, with an estimated 80,000 annual flights, is the John C. Tune Airport, operated by the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority.

According to figures provided by the authority, gallons of fuel sold at John C. Tune dropped 20 percent from 2007 to 2008, when 621,184 gallons of fuel were sold. The airport sold 587,269 gallons of fuel in 2009, though that figure does not include December fuel sales.

In terms of the punches absorbed by general aviation in recent years—gas prices and the economy, in particular—Emily Richard, spokeswoman for the airport authority, said the recession has been most influential, as less discretionary income has impacted recreational air travel and pilots in training.

Bob Woods, director of the Tennessee Department of Transportation’s aeronautics division, said he’s also hearing of increased corporate activity at local airports. However, he said it’s still below where it was three years ago.

According to the FAA, there was a total of 6.34 million hours' worth of corporate or business flights in 2006; by 2008, that figure had fallen to 5.59 million hours. Figures for 2009 were not yet available.

Not surprisingly, general aviation airports are having to show some flexibility in how they operate.

“You can’t make it on fuel-sales alone,” Lasater said.

At Lebanon, where he’s vice president of RediAir, the company that manages the airport, Lasater said he’s being supported by aircraft maintenance services, while flight training provides some extra cushioning.

Woods, of TDOT, said many airports are asking for assistance to purchase unmanned fuel pumps that accept credit cards, helping them cut expenses and add convenience for flyers. And while it’s not quite a gas war, he said airports are keeping their gas prices as low as possible. He said many airports also are seeking help to extend their runways to 5,000 feet, which he said is a new “magic number” for the insurers of larger corporate planes.

Despite the perceived uptick in activity, not every local airport is reporting increased corporate travel.

Ernest “Bill” Colbert, owner of the Cornelia Fort Airpark in East Nashville, Tennessee (which is currently for sale), said he’s seeing less activity by company planes.

“They’re either selling them or not using them,” he said.

Charter-flight activity also is down, he said, which he attributes to the public shaming Detroit auto executives received when they flew individual corporate jets to Washington in late 2008 to ask for bailout assistance.

Lasater acknowledged the black eye inflicted on corporate flight by the recession and the expense of owning a corporate plane. But he still forecasts growth.

“It’s going to cost you money from the day you buy it, but you can’t do business without it,” he said. “What’s the CEO’s time worth?”

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Eric Snyder writes for the Nashville Business Journal.