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Weekly UpdatesPeninsula Airways is celebrating its golden anniversary this year, an achievement few companies can appreciate, especially in Alaska.
In 1955, when Elvis Presley was signing his first recording contract with RCA Records, Orin Seybert was trying to get his new business off the ground with his 1946 two-seat Taylor-craft airplane.
Today Seybert is proud to say PenAir is the largest regional air carrier in the state, with more than 400 employees and a fleet of 40 aircraft to provide scheduled passenger service to 36 communities throughout Southwest Alaska.
PenAir also offers cargo shipping, small-package express, mail delivery and charter service throughout Alaska, Canada and the Lower 48.
PASSING THE TORCH
At age 69, Seybert tries to back away a little from running the company. The one thing he continues to do is to personally sign more than 400 paychecks that make up the company's payroll. As he puts it, "I want all my employees to know who they are working for."
While Seybert is still involved with major corporate decisions, the business is primarily run by his oldest son, Danny, who is the operations officer. Overall there are a dozen family members working for PenAir, including his other son, Lloyd, who is the air taxi manager and pilot. Seybert also has three grandchildren on the payroll, including granddaughters Adrianne and Tonya Christensen, who are flight attendants, and Travis Seybert, a high school student who is spending his second summer working as the assistant village agent in Egegik.
IN THE BEGINNING
When Seybert started the business he had no clue on what was over the horizon; in fact, starting his business was almost a fluke.
The 19-year-old pilot was living with his parents, who were teachers in the village of Pilot Point, about 400 miles southwest of Anchorage. They moved there in 1949 when Seybert was 13. He learned to fly in high school while living with his grandparents in Silana, Kan., because there was not a high school in Pilot Point.
After graduation he left Silana in his little two-seater and headed back to Pilot Point and his parents. "The only reason I learned to fly and brought a plane up here was so that I could get out of that little village," he said. "I wanted to be able to fly around and see Alaska.
"Also, there were no girls my age there, but I heard there were a lot of pretty girls in Chignik, so I had to check that out, too."
CALL TO DUTY
Having the only plane in the area, Seybert would often have people offer to pay him to go on a flight.
He also flew mercy missions. With almost no transportation to the hospital in Dillingham, Seybert would often transport people who were sick or injured.
"I had the only resource available; there just weren't any other airplanes around for hundreds of miles in those days," Seybert said. "I just felt it my duty to put them into the airplane and transport them to the only hospital in the area, which was located at Dillingham. I never even thought of charging anyone or being compensated.
"After doing that a few times that first winter in 55 and 56, the doctor at the hospital said, 'son if you get a commercial license, I have a budget, so I can pay you for these trips.'"
TURNING POINT
From that point, Seybert was serious about his business; in the spring 1956, he got his licenses and certificates. That is also when he first turned his focus toward the seafood industry. He saw the potential with the industry in general and the salmon canneries in particular.
"The airline business is very tough with a lot of competition," Seybert said. "And things can happen beyond your control, like what happened to Reeve (Aleutian Airlines) when the Navy closed its station in Adak with 6,000 people.
"Within a year after closing the base, its population dropped to about 100; that's the main reason they went out of business."
Seybert went on to say PenAir has faced many challenges over the past 50 years, and besides a little luck, the primary reason he has survived was his relationship with the fishing industry. His largest group of corporate customers was--and still is--the seafood companies in Seattle, which include Peter Pan Seafoods Inc., Trident Seafood Corp. and Unisea Inc.
FIRST BIG MOVE
1965 was another very important year for PenAir; that is when it incorporated and purchased the fixed-base operation in King Salmon that included the Chevron Airport Dealership. King Salmon would be both his headquarters and provide a good footing from which to grow the company. PenAir maintained its headquarters there until 1989, when it was moved to Anchorage.
Ace Griechen was Seybert's first employee; he hired him in 1958 and he continued to fly with PenAir for more than 30 years.
"I couldn't have worked for a better man for all those years," said Griechen, remembering back to the early days of the company. "We had a wonderful time just flying and building the company from scratch."
By 1973, PenAir expanded its assets and regular services between King Salmon and the Pribilof Island communities, St. Paul and St. Charter. Service also was offered to the Aleutian Islands, Dutch Harbor, Atka and Adak.
In 1977, Seybert was continuing to fly high with a pair of Grumman Goose aircraft that he purchased from Reeve, along with a subcontract covering all Bush points certified to Reeve throughout the Alaskan Peninsula and Aleutian Islands. That is also when PenAir started its Cold Bay operation using the Grumman Goose aircraft. This way Reeve could turn over the route to PenAir and both companies would make money.
WHAT I KNOW BEST
Even though there were many ups and downs throughout the years, PenAir stayed true to its mission. Seybert said that while people have offered suggestions on how he could branch out and make money in other businesses, he said it was important for him to do what he knows best and that is running an airline. Another key to his success-which stems back to his beginnings--is putting his customers' needs first and always emphasizing safety.
"Our emphasis has always been on safety and customer service," he said. "Safety has to be of paramount concern, and the people realize that. Our customers will stick with us even if some other guy comes along and offers to do the job at half price. They know they can count on our service and concern for safety; that's been the philosophy that's made the difference."
"Orin has been a godsend to many companies in Alaska, and certainly we're one of them," said Chuck Budrant, president of Trident Seafoods Corp. "They've (PenAir) provided excellent service to us all over Western Alaska, but the most important thing for us is his service to Akutan where we have 800 employees.
"He provides us the service with a couple of Grumman Goose aircraft built before I was born. I know it's not that financially rewarding to him now, but it's a commitment he made to me 40 years ago when he said that he'd always be there for me, and Orin has stuck to it."
RECENT ACCOMPLISHMENTS
The two most important things to happen to PenAir over the past 15 years were getting the Federal Aviation Association 121 certification in 1996 and the relationship PenAir has developed with Alaska Airlines.
The FAA Part 121 regulation sets major air carriers like Alaska Air and United Airlines apart from their junior counterparts; accomplishing this allowed PenAir to fly with the "big birds."
According to Seybert, these regulations are much more restrictive, more expensive to operate under, more maintenance intensive and requires additional extensive training for the pilots.
"It required a lot from us," Seybert said, "but we did it. There were 60 major commercial air carriers out there that had to get the AFF 121 certification, and I'm proud to say that we were the first airlines in the U.S. to achieve that certification. I knew it was coming and started preparing for it much earlier. Of course all the others made the deadline, but we were just a little ahead of that deadline."
In November 1991, Seybert said PenAir signed an agreement with Alaska Airlines and became an Alaska Airlines carrier primarily out of Anchorage, King Salmon and Dillingham. And over the past year, PenAir picked up the Dutch Harbor run, which added to the company's growth and income.
"We are quite dependent on Alaska Airlines, and we have a close relationship," said Seybert. "It is very beneficial to both them and us because we can do a lot of their work cheaper then they can, so we both make some money off of it and the people get better service."
KEY TO SUCCESS
Service to their customers has always been a key ingredient to the company's success. Without a doubt, that is one thing that will be carried on by the next generation.
"It's important to remember why my father started the company," said his son, Danny. "Dad wanted to help people. That's been his philosophy over all these years, and we're going to use that same philosophy during the next 50 years."
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