Quarter-century later, Skyward Aviation is still on the ascent
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
Spouses Ronald and Susan Corrado are co-owners, and their daughter, Brianna Casciola, is vice president of Skyward Aviation at Washington County Airport.
Observer-Reporter
Brianna Elliott, vice president of Skyward Aviation, is looking forward to the Aug. 14 street festival at Washington County Airport.
Brianna Casciola was a kid when her parents launched a helicopter company, Skyword Aviation. The misspelling was intentional, a play on words referring to one of the chopper’s missions: flying banners at local fairs.
For 25 years, she has watched the firm mature along with her. Skyward Aviation switched to planes, adopted the standard spelling, expanded, endured the turbulence of the Great Recession, rebounded and continues to expand. It has impressively lived up to its slogan: “Onward. Upward. Skyward.”
“We’ve been on a steady uphill trend since 2011, but the last two years have been really big for us,” said Casciola, a freshly minted top executive for a company that is flying high at Washington County Airport.
Skyward Aviation is displaying a golden touch while celebrating its silver anniversary. The firm arranges 24/7 private charter service, and sells and manages aircraft at the South Franklin Township facility. And this family-run, family-operated business hasn’t stopped growing. Skyward:
- Has gone from five charter jet operations to nine just this year, and “we have another in the works,” Casciola said.
- Operates five hangars at the county airport, three more than it had in 2013, plus the facility’s Fixed Base Operators building.
- Acquired two hangars and an aircraft refinishing center at Wheeling Ohio County Airport in 2017.
- Added 10 employees this year, raising its workforce to 42 – about double the payroll it had five years ago.
“We’ve been the fastest-growing aviation company in the region this year,” said Eric Tabor, Skyward’s vice president of sales. “You look at most airports like this, smaller county airports, you don’t see size and growth like this.”
Skyward Aviation also has ascended from backup to sole provider of fly-outs for organ pickups for the Center for Organ Recovery and Education, Tabor said. He added that fuel sales “have gone way up,” a tax boost for the county, which owns the airport. The county Redevelopment Authority operates it.
Casciola is quick to praise local officials, saying, “We’re lucky to have the county’s support for helping to make this a generator for the county.”
Bill McGowen, executive director of the Redevelopment Authority, was likewise laudatory of this longtime tenant.
“Skyward Aviation has been a very viable business. It has done well providing aircraft management services and, the last few years, running the FBO.
“They’ve grown very responsibly and aggressively, which has been good for them, good for the airport and good for Washington County.”
Company president Ron Corrado is co-owner with his wife, Sue, who also is Skyward’s office manager. Ron is a retired Army pilot who launched the firm Dec. 10, 1993 – 25 years ago last Monday. In addition to displaying banners in flight, the original Skyword (again, note that spelling) offered rides and lessons.
The company’s evolution, most assuredly, has been fueled partly by the oil and natural gas revolution of the past decade. This is the heart of the Marcellus and Utica shale plays, after all, which attracts any number of energy execs.
“I’m guessing that accounts for about 50 percent of our business,” said Tabor, a Peters Township resident.
“We are blessed by our location in a lot of ways,” Casciola said of the oil and gas impact. “Washington County is a central location, in a perfect position to help the Ohio market, the West Virginia market and the Pittsburgh market.”
At about the time shale gas exploration and production were lifting off, the recession was threatening numerous industries and businesses, even leveling some of them. Skyward absorbed a series of hits then, including revenue declines of 55 and 60 percent in 2008 and 2009, but Casciola is proud to note no employee was laid off during the extended downturn.
“We started to see (revenue) increases in 2011 and have had them every year since,” she said.
Skyward’s future is promising, said Casciola, who is seemingly close to the family business in every way. The backyard of her South Franklin home is level with one airport runway.
“We’re hoping to expand to more airports, to larger aircraft. We want to increase and broaden our services. We’d like a heavier jet. Bigger makes us more worldwide.”
Yet she also has a keen appreciation for the company’s past and present.
“The thing about our history,” she said, “is that my parents started this from nothing. It was their passion. This is the quintessential American dream, and my dad has lived it.
“The reason this company has been successful is my parents and their hands-on approach. My dad always said to do things with integrity. That’s a reflection of your name.”
Whether it’s Skyword or Skyward.