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Newton location suits Lifeteam air ambulance

BY PHYLLIS JACOBS GRIEKSPOOR

The Wichita Eagle

NEWTON - Lifeteam chief operating officer Missy Knott calls it a "work in progress," but the air ambulance company is mostly settled into its new headquarters at the Newton airport.

"This is something we've worked for for years, consolidating all of our operations people in one location," Knott said.

Lifeteam has dropped "Midwest" from its name and put out a new gold-and-blue logo, a change from the blue and silver colors of its former business partner, Midwest Corporate Aviation, at Jabara Airport.

Lifeteam, which started in 2002, had been split between Jabara and offices in Hutchinson, where it had a maintenance shop, and payroll and human resources offices.

The additional space has enabled Lifeteam to upgrade its communications center. Additional technology enhancements are in the planning stages, said Carol Lee, director of communications.

"It's great to have the space to install the equipment that enables us to upgrade all of our tracking services," Lee said.

Knott said it's also nice to have everyone in one place.

"We used to have to get together a couple of times a month and talk by phone," Knott said. "Now it's just a walk down the hall."

The company bought out Midwest Corporate Aviation's interest about a year ago. In August, both of its airplanes were taken out of service for maintenance. The company has since replaced its oldest King Air with a lower-time model that it is in the process of upgrading and converting to a medical interior.

Midwest Corporate Aviation has filed a suit against four former maintenance employees. Part of the suit accuses two of those employees of interfering with Midwest's business relationship with AirMD, the licensed entity under which Lifeteam does business.

The suit alleges that Lifeteam left Midwest Corporate Aviation because of maintenance issues.

Knott, however, said the move from Jabara to Newton and the consolidation of its maintenance operations was planned for a long time and was not related to any issues with Midwest Corporate Aviation's maintenance personnel.

Lifeteam currently has helicopter bases in Hutchinson, Emporia and Dodge City. It has fixed wing bases in Liberal and Great Bend. The Great Bend base had been out of operation since August when the airplane based there was taken out of service.

The new King Air will be based at Great Bend when renovations on it are complete, Knott said.

Its main competitor, Wichita-based EagleMed, operates 14 bases in four states with 14 helicopters, six King Airs and one jet.

Reach P.J. Griekspoor at 316-268-6660 or at pgriekspoor@wichitaeagle.com.