Acadiana Regional Airport (ARA) covers an area of at an
elevation of 24 feet (7 m) above
mean sea level. It has one
runway designated 17/35 which measures 8,002 by 200 feet (2,439 x 61 m). It also has one
seaplane water runway landing area designated 17W/35W which measures 5,000 by 150 feet (1,524 x 46 m). In the past, U.S. Navy
F/A-18 Hornet supersonic fighter-attack jets from
VFA-204 based at the
Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base New Orleans also visited ARA on occasion on a repeated basis. According to its website, AvEx had extensive experience painting commercial jetliners at its large hangar complex located on the airport, including
Airbus A300,
A310,
A319 and
A320 aircraft;
Boeing 737-300,
737-400,
747-400,
757-200,
767-300,
777-200,
777-300,
787-8 and
787-9 aircraft; and
McDonnell Douglas DC-10,
MD-11,
MD-80 and
MD-90 aircraft. AvEx also lists
Boeing and
FedEx on its website as two of its major customers for aircraft painting services. A number of new
787 Dreamliners were painted by AvEx for Boeing during 2015 and 2016 at this facility prior to their delivery to airline customers. U.S. based Bristow is a large, worldwide operator of helicopters for the offshore oil and gas industry, including in the nearby
Gulf of Mexico. Bristow has operated
AgustaWestland AW139,
Bell 407,
Sikorsky S-76 (S-76C+ and S-76C++ models) and
Sikorsky S-92 helicopters with these rotorcraft types being maintained at its Gulf of Mexico operational headquarters located on the airport. ARA was also the location of the former headquarters of
Gulf Air Transport from 1979 to 1990. Gulf Air was a charter airline which operated jetliners such as the
Boeing 727 (B727-100 and B727-200 models) and stretched
Douglas DC-8 (Super DC-8-61, Super DC-8-63 and Super DC-8-71 models) as well as
Convair 580 and
Lockheed L-188 Electra turboprops among other aircraft types. ==See also==