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The two young Cutter brothers would
follow their father’s ambitions, learning to
fly early and later serving in the military
during the 1950s. Once back in civilian
life, Bill made another calculated growth
move, this time out of state. Cutter opened
its doors in Phoenix, Arizona, at Sky Harbor
Airport in 1959. A little later, the family
navigated a severe blow as William P. Cutter
passed away in 1963. Sidney took the reins,
remaining in Albuquerque until 1974. The
mid-70s would find Sidney pursuing other
personal ambitions while his brother Bill
took control and continued Cutter’s own
manifest destiny. He saw that further devel-
oping the company’s maintenance services,
aircraft sales teams and charter footprint
would be the way forward. The 1990s saw
more of the same with the Deer Valley, Phoenix location opened in 1997, followed by San Antonio, Texas in 1998.
In September 2002, Bill’s son, William W. Cutter, became the president of Cutter Aviation. Known to all simply as Will Cutter, he has continued expansion in Texas, Colorado and Arizona. Will is proud of his upbringing in the family business, telling of his early years cleaning hangars and airplanes, learning all he could about selling and keeping customers happy. By 2014, the company had 250 employees and reached nearly $100 million in sales tracking to exceed $130 million from sales of the new HondaJet in 2015.
Sadly, on December 11th, 2018, Bill Cutter passed away. He was honored as a lifelong advocate for general and business aviation. “We acknowledge his devotion to profes- sionalism and customer service, which equaled his passion for the industry, his good humor, grace and charm will not soon be forgotten” (AIN). Bill was prominent in the industry and at his family’s businesses up until the day he left us, even attending Cutter’s 90th anniversary celebrations at NBAA in Las Vegas in 2017. A life-long aviation enthusiast, Bill learned to fly sitting on his father’s lap and became an ATP-rated pilot in fixed-wing, helicopter and lighter than air aircraft, along with achieving several jet and turboprop type ratings. As an aviator, he accumulated thousands of hours during his life, with his most recent flying being in his treasured 1944 Beech Model 17 Staggerwing.
At the end of 2021, I had a chance to travel to Phoenix and sit down with Will and get to know his staff at the Sky Harbor location. I wanted to get an idea of some of the challenges facing the business today and what they’re doing to overcome them. Just as so many businesses are finding it difficult to find and retain good employees, Cut- ter is in the same position. Aviation is unique, too, because of the high level of skill needed for in-demand pilots and maintenance technicians.
The first thing out of Will’s mouth as I sat down in his office overlooking Sky Harbor’s runway and mountains behind the airport was, “Our employees are the most im- portant aspect of this business. And we don’t just say it, we
From the very beginning until the current day, Cutter has provided flight services to businesses and individuals across the Southwest. Here on display is Cutter’s early lineup of Beechcraft air taxi equipment.
William Cutter and Walter Beech.
invest in them. We invest in training, we invest monetarily through bonuses, benefits and industry-high pay rates. And we’re always growing, so personal growth opportunities are high.” Cutter’s CARE (Cash and Recognition for Everyone) program is a profit-sharing plan whereby a percentage of the company’s profits are divided equally among all employees each month. “Some months, that doesn’t add up to a whole lot, but I like to be there to hand out the checks. That’s part of the fun side of the business.” The company’s AERO program also offers bonuses based on employee seniority in addition to matching their 401k contributions.
Regarding suppliers, Cutter Aviation shows how much it values long-term relationships, maintaining long and healthy partnerships with Dallas Airmotive, now Standar- dAero, and Aviall, now Boeing Distribution, and Phillips 66. Fuel is a large part of Cutter’s business. “Phillips 66 is a favored fuel brand for pilots, and we have an 80-year history with them, so it’s a good fit.”
Aircraft sales are the bread and butter of Cutter’s revenue pie. And just like their valuable relationships with other vendors and suppliers, the OEMs who manufacture the aircraft they sell are extremely important to them. Will
February 2022 / TWIN & TURBINE • 21